DVD Releases September 30, 2008: Chaos in Motion : New DVD Releases

Chaos in Motion [2 DVD]
Directed by Mike Portnoy
Average customer review:

Product Description

Dream Theater's Chaos In Motion World Tour kicked off June 3rd, 2007 in Milan Italy and ended on June 4th 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Chaos In Motion 2007-2008 captures it all. Legendary drummer Mike Portnoy has assembled over 3 hours of live performances spanning the globe. Complete with a behind the scenes documentary, live screen projection films, music videos and a never before seen photo gallery, Dream Theater bring their fans the ultimate tour souvenir.

Track Listing

Heroes of Our Time
Fire Still Burns
Reasons to Live
Heartbreak Armageddon
Last Journey Home
Flame for Freedom
Inside the Winter Storm
Warrior Inside

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #459 in DVD
Released on: 2008-09-30
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 2
Formats: Best of, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Original language: English
Number of discs: 2
Running time: 270 minutes

Customer Reviews

A highly recommended purchase
I know some people like to write a song by song review of an album/DVD, but I don't really have the patience to do that, so I will just state my likes and dislike of Chaos in Motion.

THE PROS:

1.) The set list in my opinion is very good. Mike Portnoy tries to always give the fans a completely different experience from live album to live album, so it is nice to have tunes such as "Blind Faith" and "Lines in the Sand" on here. If you are a fan of Systematic Chaos (as I am) then you will also enjoy fan favorites such as "Forsaken" and "Constant Motion.

2.) The behind-the-scenes documentary is fantastic. It really gives the viewer an idea of what life on tour is like. Dream Theater are not a bunch of rockstars in the traditional sense. These are semi-normal people who have to make many sacrifices to do what they do for us. Aside from a tour of the stage, bus, and venues, there is a section where all the band members talk about one another from their own perspective which is interesting - for a DT fan at least.

3.) Musicianship is obviously fantastic. Jordan rips it up on the Zen Riffer (Key-tar)!! Labrie's vocals are just as good on this DVD as they have been on the past two live releases. The rest of the guys do their normal thing....normal for them....superhuman for many musicians.

4.) Promo videos and live screen production films are a great addition. This is just another example of how Mike Portnoy gives the fans more for their money. Any other band would just throw 15 or 20 songs together and say here ya go. Dream Theater is a class act though....

THE CON:

1.) The onnnlllyyyyyy thing that I can complain about is the video quality. Being that this DVD is a compilation of songs from different shows all around the world, the production value is sacrificed. It is not as sharp as Live at Budokan or Score. Don't get me wrong, it's not shot with a cellphone, but there is a noticeable difference in quality between this DVD and the aforementioned two live shows. I was disappointed...

Another GReat Dragonforce album, better than the first.
Dragonforce has definitely come a long way since the album sales of Inhuman Rampage hit, "Through The Fire And The Flames" was featured on Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock. They are on the tip of every metalheads lips. Ultra beatdown is a big step forward while maintaining the sound they had on Inhuman Rampage. The first song on the album, "Heroes Of Our Time", I believe is a great tribut to all the soldiers fighting in the war in Iraq and is worthy enough to be in, if there is going to be one, the next Rock Band or Guitar Hero videogame. I definitely recommended this album to any metalhead who is interested.

Chaos in Motion is the Perfect Title
After seeing somewhat of a mix of reviews for this new title so far, I wasn't real sure what to expect when I put Disc 1 in the DVD player. In the end, this is one Dream Theater fan that is well pleased with the release. An important note out of the gate though, as a couple of reviewers have pointed out, this is -not- another Score or Budokan. The production of this is run and gun, raw video footage both onstage and backstage.

But... that is the best part. This is closer to "5 Years in a Livetime" or one of the official bootlegs, in that it is a collection of footage that captures the essence of the band. Yes, you see that even prog-rock demigods are human. Small mistakes, personalities worn from the road, vocals off from a bad monitor mix or fatigue. If you want polished and perfect then buy Score. But to this former sound engineer, perfect isn't reality and sometimes I like the "uncut" version as is presented here.

The great part about this too is that it shows how hard working and talented these guys are. It is one thing to see the killer performances of a big show like the Score DVD captures. It is another too see the unrelenting energy these guys bring to show after show on the road across North American and Europe. I've not yet been able to make it to a live DT show, but given what I see on DVD you can count me in on the next tour.

As another review also points out, these guys are -great- at releasing live material with little overlap to prior DVD/CD releases. Each subsequent Rush show on DVD is getting more and more redundant, but each DT video is another piece of the big puzzle of their live career.

Now... throw in the second DVD with documentary and supporting material, and it makes this whole package a no-brainer for any real DT fan. For those of you that are fair-weather friends, well, buy it anyway. It will bring you closer to complete understanding and acceptance .

As for the one reviewer that says maybe this isn't so great for hard-core DT fans, well, he's not speaking for this one. Again, another thread in the incredible tapestry of Dream Theater!