Ready for consumer consumption is this curious concoction. Manowar mic mauler Eric Adams teams up with outdoor enthusiast (hunter) Chester Moore for a strange two hour extravaganza of wildlife slaughtering. Someone really messed up the math where this genius combination was cooked up. Heavy metal + outdoor life adventure = PURE GOLD! DVD $ales galore!! Errr...or not.
There's no music really, other than background ambience. Its all about stalking animals and how to kill them using arrows, shotguns and whatever other tools of death are on hand that fit the prey and situation. You get an intimate view of tree stands too as they stalk such vicious, dangerous examples of the animal kingdom as the mighty emu and the ferocious king salmon. In all fairness, they go after the big game too like as wild boar, but eh. Who cares? I guess Ted Nugent could dig it, but I don't see Manowar fans as the hunting types either, but who knows.
"Wild Life and Wild Times" in all fairness is an unusual oddity. The two hours of material covers alot of ground, hopping across the country in search of new and exciting targets. The bowfishing was entertaining just for its uniqueness and Discovery channel-ish weirdness. Using a bow and arrow outfitted with a line and reel is something I had never seen before, even though I have lived around hunters and fisherman all my life. This portion was especially neat and informative. Unfortunately, measuring it as a wildlife video it fails, and the Eric Adams gimmick is just ludicrious. Sure, its clear as a bell that Adams has a deep love for nature and killing living things but that doesn't really lend itself to great entertainment in front of the camera. His musical contributions are film score instrumental snoozefests far from the wild metal of Manowar and in no way will increase sales of this DVD. Only the most diehard fan would shell out hard earned cash to witness this, even though they are quite dead serious about the whole outing.
Adams and Moore do give you a nice look at the wilds of America, but as a documentary alone, it is bland and amateur. For a metal maniac, the metal portion is nonexistant. As a teaching video? Not alot is taught here, you could pick up a few tips but other DVDs do that so much better, with the nitty gritty details outlined that it is not even a good purchase in that context. They do chow down on all creatures great and small and the fishing is catch and release, so anyone worried about the ethical standpoints can be relieved on that front.
If this kooky combo intrigues, then this DVD is right for you. No interest sparked? Then move it along because this is one of the stranger collaborations in recent memory and holds no commercial appeal for the casual consumer. It would have been better marketed to the outdoorsman demographic but Eric Adams is likely not a name in that circle. No one is going to see this in the store and exclaim with wild glee,
"Eric and hunting!!! My dreamy fantasies have come true!" Not like the wildman Nuge anyway. He's so outspoken its hard not to think of him without a dead animal in one hand and a guitar in the other. Approach with caution and an informed head that knows what you are in for: Whispery dialogue and the hunting of various US critters. This was sheer marketing genius (sarcasm). Hooray! Entertaining for a single go round to satisfy curiousity's sake, but the replay value is nonexistant.
Ah and Ted DID offer up a nice catchy quote for it:
"Chester Moore and Eric Adams have created a dynamic sonic journey into and out of the precious wildness and wildgrounds of real conservationists everywhere. Wild Life and Wild Times puts you in the belly of the beast and the Good Mother Earth in harmony." - Rock 'n' roller and renowned outdoorsman Ted Nugent
So there you go.
Rating: 777/10Written by
Alanna Friday, October 13, 2006
