It seems that a lot of bands have been releasing DVD's recently, and so comes a Mudvayne live DVD, but not as a devious attempt to cash in from their fans. This is aimed at the dedicated fanbase that Mudvayne have gathered, and it's exactly what they want. Ninety minutes of concert footage reminding us of why we love Mudvayne.

The live footage is inter-dispersed with the band chatting as they cruise around their home town of Peoria, Illinois, which is great because we get to see them without their trademark make-up, and there's some interesting stuff there.

It has everything you expect from a Mudvayne live performance - the passion, the energy, all the live favourites, a blinding version of Pharmaecopia, and an incredible sound from four very talented guys.

Kud shows what a truly versatile vocalist he is, switching between his trademark growling and angelic melodies, against Gurrg's mean backing vocals. Between songs Kud's every other word is fuck or motherfuckers - and little else, but the music says it all. There's quality footage of all four band members, Greg never fails to impress with his killer riffs and psycho stares, and theres some quality bass and drum work from Ryknow and Spag.

It's not the same as the Mtv2 concert you may have seen, which was also a great performance, but it didn’t have the close-ups and capture the intensity of the performance as the DVD does. It's not perfect picture quality, but that doesn’t detract from the viewing experience in any way. There's some clever camera angles, and the sound is good.

The bonus features include the 'Death Blooms' video, which is cool to see again 'cos I only ever saw it twice on Mtv2. There's also a small photo gallery, the official Mudvayne biography, and some cool backstage footage showing how Kud gets that covered in blood look.

If you're a dedicated Mudvaynian, then your going to want this, and you won't be disappointed. As a music DVD it serves well, because of the length of the live footage, 90 minutes in total, and because Mudvayne are a very exciting and captivating live band. And it's a pleasant taster of what is to come when they finally get their butts over here to the UK.

(Written by Nicola 27/01/02)