First, there are some things with Music of Mass Destruction that piss me off so much I was thinking about returning it after only watching the dvd once. Luckily I calmed down and after a few more viewings I was able to see the positive aspects and decided to keep it. First of all, Charlie Benante is awesome. His double bass drums are the most powerful weapon in the Anthrax arsenal. Throughout the concert Charlie doesn't miss a beat and puts other drummers his age to shame (Lars Ulrich....bastard). The track list on both cd and dvd has all the bands "hits" and some of the better songs from their last record and the crowd participation is great, lots of singing along. The dvd has cool menus and some extra stuff that shows the band really wanted to go all out and not half ass this.
The thing that almost killed this release for me is the fact that the solos to some of their classic thrash anthems have been left out! WHY? Legal reasons with original guitarist Dan Spitz? Rob cant or hasnt learned to play them yet? WHAT IS IT?! I was really digging this release until the part in "Caught In a Mosh" where the band jumps right over the solo. The song still sounded great but I was crushed. Another thing that gets under my skin is John Bush and his lame rants to the audience ("Are you ready for Anthrax heavy metal?!"). I like Bush as a vocalist but only to a certain extent. On certain old school songs his voice works well but on tracks like "Indians" he just can't match Belladona's range.
So while Music of Mass Destruction isnt horrible and I dont regret buying it, I cant really recommend this. Maybe if you are a super die hard Anthrax fan but anyone else should really stay away. Highlights include:
What Doesn't Die
Caught In a Mosh
Safe Home
Belly of the Beast (with Celtic Frost intro)
I Am The Law
Indians
Metal Thrashing Mad