Rage Against the Machine: Battle of Mexico City

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DVD Reviews of Rage Against the Machine: Battle of Mexico City

DVD Review: Outstanding live DVD
Summary: 4 Stars

First off, the songlist is outstanding...Rage was a band never really known to waver much from a classic live setlist, and this show is no exception, but none of the songs could be considered 'throwaways', either. The songs span the most-loved and best-known tracks from their first three albums, paying special attention to the Battle of Los Angeles record, since this show was recorded just after its release. For me, personally, the stand-out tracks are "Know Your Enemy", "No Shelter", "Bulls on Parade", "Calm Like a Bomb", "War Within a Breath", and, of course, the closing "Freedom". I heard somewhere that Timmy C is playing 128th notes on his little bass solo on "Know Your Enemy", which I must say, is pretty damned amazing. This performance had a wholly energetic crowd completely mesmerized by Rage's performance. I think the show, in its entirety, is just over an hour long...not bad at all. With fourteen songs in all, there is nothing to get upset over here.

Here are the only gripes I have with this DVD. While outstanding, it certainly isn't perfect:

1. The sound quality. While not bad, and still better than the majority of live DVDs out there, sometimes the balance of the sound just isn't up to par. There are some songs where Timmy C is practically inaudiable, or where Zack's lyrics seem to be muted out...I usually have to turn my stereo up to a pretty high level to enjoy listening to their performance.

2. Camera work. Again, this isn't a terrible quality, some of the directing just could've been done better. Especially when compared to the cinematography of the first video, the camera on this one just doesn't measure up. Not awful, but not great, either.

3. Censoring. This actually isn't a complaint, but a lot of other reviewers might've mentioned how Zack's 'offensive' lyrics are intentionally muted out from the soundtrack...turn the settings of the DVD onto Dolby Digital 5.1, and this is no longer a problem. Now you can hear Rage in all their vulgar, 'damn the man' glory.

4. Subtitles. Although this is a rather pointless downside to the DVD, whoever typed up the subtitles to each song must have never listened to Rage before, much less actually consulted the lyrics to each song before transcribing them. Not recommended for the deaf or hearing-impaired...or anyone who assumes the subtitles are even remotely correct.

5. Extra feature footage. Although I'm definitely glad that the additional documentary footage was included, did it have to be inserted in between songs on the live performance? I would've watched them anyway, just not in the middle of the live show, preferrably. This can be a minor irritation while attempting to watch the show all the way through, but anyone inclined to push the 'Next Chapter' button on their remote won't have any worries.

Overall, this is one of the best live DVDs I've ever seen a band release, and like I said earlier, if you're a Rage fan, it's extremely unlikely that you'd be disappointed in buying this peice of work. While it doesn't capture the band at their prime, it really is one of the best shows they've probably ever done, and from a band that will go down as one of the best live acts in rock history, that's really saying something. If you are new to Rage, or simply want to get deeper into their music, picking up this video would be a great way to explore them further. Unforunately, though Rage is one of my all-time favorite bands, I was never fortunate enough to see them live (it seems that this affliction holds true with many of their newer fans, as well). However, this DVD is about as close as you can get to actually being in the pit, mere yards away from the band members themselves. Pick up a copy of this DVD as soon as possible, you won't regret it.

Description of Rage Against the Machine: Battle of Mexico City

Hard Rock & Metal Music CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock