Hannibal

For fans of rock interested in something with a little more bite than cookie cutter, three chord empTV material.

This is the most incredible performance of the band captured perfectly! I called around after finding out Best Buy did not recieve any shipments and none at Circuit City. Tower still says the date is May 8th! After calling around, a Suncoast employee put one behind the counter and I got it the next hour. If you are a DT junkie you will love this disc. If you aren't, this will make you into one. The most incredible live technical playing and composition I have ever seen. Labrie was definitely on his "A" game that nite. This band blows many others to shame! (see dance of eternity). In addition to the extra tracks, (ACOS alone is worth the price!) the audio/video for three additional tracks was incorporated into the documentary. The commentary is funny. It also clears up the story explains some of the meanings behind the visuals as well. Also, there is one hidden feature I found so far. It's in the bonus section - you'll have to wait for it. One of the best purchases I've made recently.

edclem

What is the audio mix? 5.1, stereo?
Now that I know that Worst Buy / CC probably won't have this one for awhile, I may look online.

Thanks for the review!

Hannibal

The mix is regular two channel stereo courtesy of Kevin Shirley, who felt that it was better for the up-on-stage performance. I like the sound coming at me as if I am at the concert. I think another reason was probably budget.
Given that the band recieves absolutely no support from their record label, one wonders how the fans got a dvd release at all. It still sounds great though.

Additional notes:
I found this question was asked on Portnoy's site..here was the response/reason:
5.3.3 Why is the sound not in DTS and/or 5.1 channel? 5.3.4 How come there aren’t any alternate camera angles?

While DVD’s hold a significant amount of information, there is a limit. Mike would have loved to thrown in every feature possible (being the video and movie buff that he is) but his hands were tied. Essentially what it boiled down to was either Mike could use that space for alternate camera angles or for bonus footage (extra songs, etc.) – Mike ended up choosing the bonus footage. Had Elektra given him the OK to do a double DVD set, Mike would have no doubt thrown in all the other extra features. The reason there is no 5.1 audio (it actually would have fit) is because Kevin Shirley for whatever reason, decided to only do a stereo mix.




[Edited by Hannibal on 04-26-01 at 11:51 AM]

edclem

Cool, thanks!

I'll definitely be picking this one up ASAP.

biggestmuff

I've only found one actual hidden item. Color bar test and wait. Funny stuff. What about you?

Hannibal

That's the only one I've found too.