Mudvayne grants us All Access to. . . what, exactly?

Within the heavy metal sphere, Mudvayne have always been the kings of using the DVD format to give their fans extra ways of looking at established content. Working off of their debut L.D. 50, the band released an impressive DVD single for their hit track "Dig," and went on to release a true hallmark -- L(ive) D(osage), which combined the video for "Death Blooms" with a stellar, full-length concert. Since the release of The End of All Things to Come, however, the band's track record seemed to be slipping. After keeping fans in suspense, the unimpressive DVD single for Not Falling seemed to cop out on depth of content, leaving fans waiting only for the follow-up live DVD as a better alternative. In short succession to a disappointing live audio CD (Live Bootleg), the band has come through with All Access to All Things, a DVD combining the recently released video for "World So Cold" with a full live set and lots of bonus interviews and features (for a total running time of 114 minutes). Sounds promising, given the band's history -- unfortunately, this is a disc that falls far, far short of its expectations, mainly by botching the main feature.

The heart of the DVD, like its predecessor, is a live set: Ten songs, mixed between the band's debut and sophomore albums. But there's a huge, glaring, rookie mistake in this main feature -- someone did a terrible job with the audio portion of the performances. While the tracks were well-chosen and selected from several different performances on 2003's Summer Sanitarium Tour, each and every one is lacking tremendously in clarity of sound. When the tracks inevitably get to their churning, heaviest point, the bass guitar and percussion (the heart of every Mudvayne track) elicit painful static scratches and get blurred into a big, soupy mess. In short, there is simply no way to appreciate the fact that the band's performances are exemplary on a level that's anything but cerebral -- the obvious skill of the band is destroyed by awful noises whenever the songs reach their frenzied peaks. The key performances, for what it's worth, are of the band's instant classics -- "Not Falling," "Death Blooms" and "Mercy, Severity" -- but each of the ten performances would be truly enjoyable if they were just recorded and mixed competently.

What of the other features? It's hard to resuscitate a whole DVD when its very core is poorly executed, but in all fairness, the band has done a good job of giving their fans something more than a standard live disc. Between each performance, there's five to ten minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, ranging from band interviews on the tour bus to shots of the band goofing around in their dressing room, giving the often cryptic musicians a distinctly human side and giving the viewer something to enjoy while their ears aren't being bombarded by snarling static sounds. The only stinker on these in-between shots is toward the end, as they seem to run out of ideas and interview their stage crew during a sound check. Any avid concertgoer can tell you that sound checks are but a necessary evil, and this is basically no exception, earning an easy skip.

A major saving grace for the disc is the video for "World So Cold." In addition to the fact that the track is one of Mudvayne's most developed and sensitive to date, the band put a lot of obvious work into the music video, which uses visually appealing sets to portray the world as vocalist Chad Gray sees it -- cold and self-absorbed -- through background scenes of the hubbub of modern life. The video comes complete with a making-of sequence, which is good for at least one viewing to interested parties.

On the whole, this DVD comes as an incredible disappointment from the band who put out one of the best live DVDs on the market today. Failing to mix the concert audio footage properly wrecks the essence of what the DVD is supposed to be -- a performance set. The bonus features do offset this loss to a certain degree, but the very word bonus connotes the fact that these are supposed to be in addition to something else. Instead, this is a well-made DVD that falls far short on the basics. Even fans will want to skip it, because they'll find the main feature to be so grating.