With the 1992 release of Countdown to Extinction (#2 on Billboard), Megadeth finally found what they were looking for, but Mustaine's heavy drug and alcohol abuse threatened to sidetrack the band at every turn. After numerous bouts in-and-out of rehab, and with drummer Nick Menza and guitarist Marty Friedman, they found the success they were always chasing. The put an amazing cap on their 20-year career with Rude Awakening (live DVD) as Mustaine recently announced he had suffered a career ending wrist injury.

Unlike some bands, Megadeth live sound like a different band, and that's a good thing. They don't just arrive onstage and churn out the standard setlist of songs. Although, they don't engage the audience with a lot of banter, they play their music and get the job done. Their live sound is much more raw than the over-produced sound that plagued their last few albums, with the exception of The World Needs a Hero.

Mustaine and company fly through a 20+ set-list that includes a perfect mix of old and new material. Mustaine snarls the vocals in his trademark style as Al Pitrelli and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso soldier along with the rest of the band. Bassist Dave Ellefson is given less screen time than the others and that's a shame. He's long been underrated as a bassist, but sadly shows little of his trademark flair on this live recording. Devoid of any pyrotechnics or fancy stage, they are definitely all about the music. Nothing is meant to detract from the concert experience and Mustaine effortlessly guides the crowd the entire way.

Production of the disc is done quite well. The audio and video complement the concert perfectly and recreate the experience well enough. One small complaint, because of 5 songs being included under the Extras area, the track listing on the back of the DVD is incorrect. With that in mind, it's an excellent set that showcases the bands legacy and serves as a sad end cap on a great career.

Video: The video is presented in a 4:3 transfer that accommodates the picture well enough. The picture at times washes out and loses color, but it is expected when dealing with things such as concert lighting or no lighting. There are no flaws in the transfer that would otherwise detract from the viewing.

Audio: Just another reason I love concerts on DVD. There's nothing like a good 5.1 Digital mix. There's just the right amount of reverb, crowd, and instruments in this to make it fell like you're there. Properly mixed, DVD Audio can have a larger than life and chest filling sound and it's done perfectly here.

Extras: Not a lot, but just enough. The strange inclusion of 5 extra songs, but not mixing them into the concert is downright odd. There a great 5 songs and it's a shame they can't be played in a normal viewing. Interviews with the band and behind the scenes footage are added as an extra reason to pick this disc up. An article and web links are also included.

Overall: It's a fitting finale to the longevity of the band to have such a well-produced disc released. Good enough for new and old fans. It sounds and looks good enough that it won't disappoint. It's definitely worth checking out.