Megadeth--Rude Awakening

Megadeth--Rude Awakening (2002/Sanctuary) Rating--8.6

Megadeth makes its first official live release one to remember. The band puts on a clinic on "how to's" for live albums: They pull songs from all of their past releases (save the somewhat disappointing 'Risk'), they intermix the styles/eras well, there are several surprise selections included, and they give just enough from the new album to interest the potential buying fans.
There is very little dialogue from Mustaine, as he prefers to simply gallop his troops from one shredder to the next--which is certainly fine with me. There is tight and aggressive playing throughout, with the only possible drawback being the rhythm guitar sound, which may be a bit lower than what some might like.
The strong cuts from disc one include "Wake Up Dead," "A Tout Le Monde," "Hook in Mouth," and the rip-roaring "Devil's Island". A semi-surprise is "Angry Again" off of the 'Hidden Treasures' disc. Now if only we could have gotten "99 Ways to Die" to go along with it!
The second disc produces "Almost Honest," "1000 Times Goodbye" (without the annoying chick babbling away), "Mechanix," "Tornado of Souls," "Peace Sells," and the crunching 'Countdown to Extinction' album-closer "Ashes in Your Mouth".
Little to argue about here--Megadeth definitely closes down (yes, it appears so) its career in style.
TRACK LIST: DISC ONE--Dread and the Fugitive Mind/Kill the King/Wake Up Dead/In My Darkest Hour/Angry Again/She-Wolf/Reckoning Day/Devil's Island/Train of Consequences/A Tout Le Monde/Burning Bridges/Hangar 18/Return to Hangar/Hook in Mouth
DISC TWO--Almost Honest/1000 Times Goodbye/Mechanix/Tornado of Souls/Ashes in Your Mouth/Sweating Bullets/Trust/Symphony of Destruction/Peace Sells/Holy Wars

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