Topic: Megadeth albums

[HomokHarcos]

I think I’m going to try something, each week I will listen to a Megadeth album and give my thoughts. I rarely ever listen through an artists library (I mainly listen to a song or two at a time instead of an album).

[metaldams]

I think I’m going to try something, each week I will listen to a Megadeth album and give my thoughts. I rarely ever listen through an artists library (I mainly listen to a song or two at a time instead of an album).

Every Megadeth album up to and including RISK was remixed in 2004 and in case of the debut, remixed a second time a few years ago.  I’m actually old enough to own the original mixes on cassette.   

I think it’s a catalog with its ups and down, but more good than bad.  YOUTHANASIA is highly underrated and their latest one (until the new one comes out), DYSTOPIA, is pretty strong.  In between is where I think it gets inconsistent, some good, some bad, some mediocre.

Curious to hear your take.

[HomokHarcos]

Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!

Thrash metal has for a long time been one of my favorite metal genres, so I've decided to listen through Megadeth's albums. This album is hard-hitting and has the exact sound when I think of 1980s metal.

If there is a complaint, it's that the songs kind of blend together, making it kind of hard for me to pick a standout track. I was pretty surprised to hear a These Boots cover on the album, and rather than doing a straight cover they put out a thrash metal one. I listened to this on Spotify so I'm not sure what mix that is, or how it differs from the original release. I wish I could share more of my thoughts for this album, hopefully I will have more to say next week.

[metaldams]

If you heard KIMB on Spotify and the version of “These Boots” had actual vocals instead of bleeps, you heard the 2018 mix.  You can hear the original mix on YouTube.

I think “Looking Down the Cross” stands out for being moodier and “Mechanix” definitely stands out for Metallica fans if you know the history of that song.  I do enjoy every track on that album.  The next album is better.

[metaldams]

….and read the lyrics to “Chosen Ones” - total Monthy Python.

[HomokHarcos]

If you heard KIMB on Spotify and the version of “These Boots” had actual vocals instead of bleeps, you heard the 2018 mix.  You can hear the original mix on YouTube.

I think “Looking Down the Cross” stands out for being moodier and “Mechanix” definitely stands out for Metallica fans if you know the history of that song.  I do enjoy every track on that album.  The next album is better.

There were no bleeps, so it must have been the 2018 mix. These Boots was the last track on Spotify, but when I looked up the track list online it is earlier in the album, so they must have changed the song order.

[Umbrella Sam]

I think I’m going to try something, each week I will listen to a Megadeth album and give my thoughts. I rarely ever listen through an artists library (I mainly listen to a song or two at a time instead of an album).

It’s funny; I’ve considered doing something like this for Elton John (especially now that I have Regimental Sgt. Zippo in my collection), but I feel like people would get tired of that pretty quickly (there are a lot of Elton John albums). Then again, I do know there are quite a few heavy metal fans on here, so you’ll probably have better luck.

I feel like the Beatles might be a good forum-wide one to do, considering a lot of us seem to agree on liking that catalog.

[metaldams]

There were no bleeps, so it must have been the 2018 mix. These Boots was the last track on Spotify, but when I looked up the track list online it is earlier in the album, so they must have changed the song order.

1985 Original Version of “These Boots”

Grab a cup of coffee, sit down, this gets complicated.

The band started on a small label.  They were given $8,000 to do the record.  Half the budget went to their drug habit.

When the album was re-released in 2002, Mustaine wanted to fix the sound so he had the album remixed.  The cover of “These Boots” had altered lyrics on the original and yes, was track four, or the end of side one for us old fogies.  Songwriter Lee Hazlewood allowed this in 1985 but in 2002 changed his mind - he would not allow the altered lyrics to be released.  Mustaine decided to release the song with the altered lyrics beeped.  Due to the altered state, “These Boots” was put last as kind of a bonus track instead of fourth like it originally was on the album.

Mustaine then decided to remix the album again in 2018.  Lee Hazlewood still wouldn’t allow the original Megadeth version, so now Mustaine re-recorded the vocals with the original Lee Hazlewood lyrics in 2018.  Due to being 33 years older, Mustaine’s voice is noticeably lower on this version.

I heard the album for the first time around 1993 or so, original mix.

[metaldams]

It’s funny; I’ve considered doing something like this for Elton John (especially now that I have Regimental Sgt. Zippo in my collection), but I feel like people would get tired of that pretty quickly (there are a lot of Elton John albums). Then again, I do know there are quite a few heavy metal fans on here, so you’ll probably have better luck.

I feel like the Beatles might be a good forum-wide one to do, considering a lot of us seem to agree on liking that catalog.

I can definitely do The Beatles.  Give me time to figure this out, I know you and Dr. Mabuse would probably participate.

Heck, for Shemp Diesel, I can do Led Zeppelin as well.

[HomokHarcos]

1985 Original Version of “These Boots”

Grab a cup of coffee, sit down, this gets complicated.

The band started on a small label.  They were given $8,000 to do the record.  Half the budget went to their drug habit.

When the album was re-released in 2002, Mustaine wanted to fix the sound so he had the album remixed.  The cover of “These Boots” had altered lyrics on the original and yes, was track four, or the end of side one for us old fogies.  Songwriter Lee Hazlewood allowed this in 1985 but in 2002 changed his mind - he would not allow the altered lyrics to be released.  Mustaine decided to release the song with the altered lyrics beeped.  Due to the altered state, “These Boots” was put last as kind of a bonus track instead of fourth like it originally was on the album.

Mustaine then decided to remix the album again in 2018.  Lee Hazlewood still wouldn’t allow the original Megadeth version, so now Mustaine re-recorded the vocals with the original Lee Hazlewood lyrics in 2018.  Due to being 33 years older, Mustaine’s voice is noticeably lower on this version.

I heard the album for the first time around 1993 or so, original mix.

Those bleeps are awful, it’s unfortunate that they couldn’t re-release the original version. Wow, $8000 already sounds like a low budget, and the fact they only ended up spending half of that on actual production they really didn’t have much to work with.

[metaldams]

Here’s more detailed thought from me.

Hell of a debut album.  Yeah, the recording could have been better technically, but the charm of a lot of these early, pre major label thrash albums is the rawness and KIMB is no exception.  The musicianship still shines through - all four of these guys play phenomenally and Dave Mustaine has a very unique riffing style that’s all his own.  He developed this while in Metallica (look at the writing credits of their first two albums) and it continued to blossom here.  I want to give props to the late Gar Samuelson, whose drumming definitely brought a bit of a crazed jazz fusion feel to the proceedings.

Dave was uber pissed at Metallica at this point and wanted to make fast and technical music that eclipses his old band.  Released a little late in the game, June 1985, compared to their thrash peers, the already mentioned uniqueness of Dave Mustaine’s guitar style makes his band stand out anyway, no doubt due to natural talent and a desire to beat his old band.  Another thing Mustaine had that most of his peers did not is a Beatles and Cat Stevens influence.  The guy was influenced by songwriters in addition to the metal titans, so this also made his music stand out.

I already mentioned “Looking Down the Cross” for standing out for its moodiness.  I also love “Skull Beneath the Skin.”  That intro is killer with those open chords and tribal drum beat before the main riffs and guitar solo kicks in.  Pure adrenalin.  Really though, I like every song here.  Rattle your God damn heads and listen to this one….and things get even better soon.

[HomokHarcos]

Here’s more detailed thought from me.

Hell of a debut album.  Yeah, the recording could have been better technically, but the charm of a lot of these early, pre major label thrash albums is the rawness and KIMB is no exception.  The musicianship still shines through - all four of these guys play phenomenally and Dave Mustaine has a very unique riffing style that’s all his own.  He developed this while in Metallica (look at the writing credits of their first two albums) and it continued to blossom here.  I want to give props to the late Gar Samuelson, whose drumming definitely brought a bit of a crazed jazz fusion feel to the proceedings.

Dave was uber pissed at Metallica at this point and wanted to make fast and technical music that eclipses his old band.  Released a little late in the game, June 1985, compared to their thrash peers, the already mentioned uniqueness of Dave Mustaine’s guitar style makes his band stand out anyway, no doubt due to natural talent and a desire to beat his old band.  Another thing Mustaine had that most of his peers did not is a Beatles and Cat Stevens influence.  The guy was influenced by songwriters in addition to the metal titans, so this also made his music stand out.

I already mentioned “Looking Down the Cross” for standing out for its moodiness.  I also love “Skull Beneath the Skin.”  That intro is killer with those open chords and tribal drum beat before the main riffs and guitar solo kicks in.  Pure adrenalin.  Really though, I like every song here.  Rattle your God damn heads and listen to this one….and things get even better soon.

Thanks for the background! I admit I’m not as knowledgeable about music history or musicians as I am for classic cinema or pro wrestling so I will be learning as we go along. Maybe you should take charge of this thread?

Dave Mustaine seemed pretty bitter about being fired from Metallica, so this seemed like a big FU to them. I looked at the track list for their next album, I can see my mom’s favorite Megadeth song is on there.

[metaldams]

Mustaine was very bitter and sometimes still seems like he is, though less the older he gets.  Megadeth has had a ton of success in their own right, though.  I hope he’s content with it, but only he knows.  I read his auto biography, dude had a rough childhood, his Mom always seemed to be on the run from his Dad.

As far as knowledge on this stuff, I’ve been a fan for almost thirty years.  Never outgrew it either.  Peace Sells has about two or three songs that would be on my top 10 Megadeth.  I could start next week if you want me to, but I’d be cool if you did too.  Whoever is inspired to write first.

[metaldams]

From Sea of Tranquility, easily my favorite YouTube channel.

[HomokHarcos]

From Sea of Tranquility, easily my favorite YouTube channel.

I watched his video ranking Steely Dan's favorite albums. I'll definitely watch this video (and The Beatles one) after I finish listening through them.

[HomokHarcos]

A definite improvement over the first album, this release, all the songs are strong. The album starts off with "Wake Up Dead", which is notable to me because it is my mom's favorite Megadeth song because she really likes the lyrics. Peace Sells is the famous track, and it is really catchy at that. Devil's Island sounds like it would be a theme song for a cheesy 1980s movie. My favorite songs on the album are "Good Morning/Black Friday" and "My Last Words". I love the guitar song at the beginning of each song.

Great album, it's funny how listening to these get me into an 1980s mood. What I've noticed listening to this album is that there are a lot of instrumental sections, which is great.

[metaldams]

      Interesting that “Wake Up Dead” is your Mom’s favorite Megadeth lyric as the song is mostly instrumental.  What lyrics there are are pretty good, though.  It’s about Dave sneaking into bed late with his girl Diana sleeping.  If he wakes her and she knows he was out, he’ll wake up dead.

      Stone cold classic of an album here.  They signed with Capitol Records just before this was released, making them the third thrash band to release a record on a major label (after Metallica and Anthrax).  Commercially they were building momentum but bigger days were to come.  Artistically, this album is top notch.

      Continuing the tradition of thrashing up a non thrash song like they did with “These Boots,” this time we get a pretty cool cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Ain’t Superstitious.”  I think they were more inspired by the Jeff Beck version, though (with a young Rod Stewart on vocals).  Lots of cool bluesy fills from Chris Poland in this one.  The other seven tracks are thrash classics.

      “Wake Up Dead,” like stated, is mostly instrumental and has some killer riffs and grooves - a fantastic way to open the album. 

      “The Conjuring” is one of my two favorites off this album.  Love the moody riff that opens it and the way the rhythm section slowly builds up.  Lots of musical changes and very progressive.  Lyrically very occult and there were times in later years Mustaine refused to play the song after becoming a Christian.

      “Peace Sells” is a classic a lot of non Megadeth fans even know.  Iconic opening bass lick that I always practice to test my chops on any given day.  Lyrically pretty political and sign of things to come.

      “My Last Words” is probably my favorite song on the album and one of my favorite songs ever.  Lyrically about a game of Russian roulette, I love the moody intro with the guitar melodies and the bass doing little counterpoint fills before that fast, heavy, thrash riff comes.  Love the chord progressions in the verse with that funky Ellefson bass riff in the background.  The part leading into the guitar solos and solo sections themselves make the hairs on my arm stand. 

      Every song here rules.  As fantastic as the line up with Chris Poland and Gar Samuelson was, too many drugs going around and they imploded after the tour for this album.  A zillion future line up changes in the band until this day.  I hear this line up was pretty inconsistent live because of the drug abuse (heroin amongst them), and yes, Gar Samuelson died in 1999 at age 41 from alcohol related issues.  Yikes, says the 42 year old me.

More good music to come.

[HomokHarcos]

      Interesting that “Wake Up Dead” is your Mom’s favorite Megadeth lyric as the song is mostly instrumental.  What lyrics there are are pretty good, though.  It’s about Dave sneaking into bed late with his girl Diana sleeping.  If he wakes her and she knows he was out, he’ll wake up dead.

      Stone cold classic of an album here.  They signed with Capitol Records just before this was released, making them the third thrash band to release a record on a major label (after Metallica and Anthrax).  Commercially they were building momentum but bigger days were to come.  Artistically, this album is top notch.

      Continuing the tradition of thrashing up a non thrash song like they did with “These Boots,” this time we get a pretty cool cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Ain’t Superstitious.”  I think they were more inspired by the Jeff Beck version, though (with a young Rod Stewart on vocals).  Lots of cool bluesy fills from Chris Poland in this one.  The other seven tracks are thrash classics.

      “Wake Up Dead,” like stated, is mostly instrumental and has some killer riffs and grooves - a fantastic way to open the album. 

      “The Conjuring” is one of my two favorites off this album.  Love the moody riff that opens it and the way the rhythm section slowly builds up.  Lots of musical changes and very progressive.  Lyrically very occult and there were times in later years Mustaine refused to play the song after becoming a Christian.

      “Peace Sells” is a classic a lot of non Megadeth fans even know.  Iconic opening bass lick that I always practice to test my chops on any given day.  Lyrically pretty political and sign of things to come.

      “My Last Words” is probably my favorite song on the album and one of my favorite songs ever.  Lyrically about a game of Russian roulette, I love the moody intro with the guitar melodies and the bass doing little counterpoint fills before that fast, heavy, thrash riff comes.  Love the chord progressions in the verse with that funky Ellefson bass riff in the background.  The part leading into the guitar solos and solo sections themselves make the hairs on my arm stand. 

      Every song here rules.  As fantastic as the line up with Chris Poland and Gar Samuelson was, too many drugs going around and they imploded after the tour for this album.  A zillion future line up changes in the band until this day.  I hear this line up was pretty inconsistent live because of the drug abuse (heroin amongst them), and yes, Gar Samuelson died in 1999 at age 41 from alcohol related issues.  Yikes, says the 42 year old me.

More good music to come.

My brother was telling me that 1986 was a very important year for metal because this album, Reign in Blood and Master of Puppets all came out. I was thinking the same thing when I heard "Wake Up Dead", she told me it's her favorite song because of the lyrics, but it's mostly instrumental. I'll probably give the original (and maybe the Jeff Beck version) of "I Ain't Superstitious" a listen. Just like The Beatles I want to listen to the original versions to see how they changed the song. It's tragic what drugs will do people, how many are in every album?

[metaldams]

My brother was telling me that 1986 was a very important year for metal because this album, Reign in Blood and Master of Puppets all came out. I was thinking the same thing when I heard "Wake Up Dead", she told me it's her favorite song because of the lyrics, but it's mostly instrumental. I'll probably give the original (and maybe the Jeff Beck version) of "I Ain't Superstitious" a listen. Just like The Beatles I want to listen to the original versions to see how they changed the song. It's tragic what drugs will do people, how many are in every album?

86 for sure was important for Metal - really the thrash bands artistically taking over the old guard.  Iron Maiden’s “Somewhere In Time” rules, though.  Throw in Anthrax’s “Among the Living,” which came out very early 1987.

[metaldams]

You’ll get a kick out of this, Homok.  Here’s Pete Pardo discussing his favorite deep tracks from Steely Dan.  His special guest?  Jeff Young, the guy who plays guitar on SO FAR, SO GOOD… SO WHAT!

[HomokHarcos]

You’ll get a kick out of this, Homok.  Here’s Pete Pardo discussing his favorite deep tracks from Steely Dan.  His special guest?  Jeff Young, the guy who plays guitar on SO FAR, SO GOOD… SO WHAT!

Thanks for sharing this. I'm glad Pete mentioned "King of the World" and "Parker's Band", the first songs I would have picked.

[HomokHarcos]

The album starts off with a cool instrumental. It has always been my opinion that the instruments are what make music and that lyrics aren't necessarily required.    "Set the World Afire" changes between fast and slow, and I've noticed with this album that the work is becoming more melodic. It's been a long time since I've heard the original "Anarchy in the UK", and I suspect he changed the lyrics because of all the references to the USA in this version.    "In My Darkest Hour" is my favorite song on the album, I really love the way the guitar sounds the beginning and it turns into a six minute long epic. "Liar", in my opinion, is the catchiest song here.

Interesting album for me, as I don't think I listened to any of these songs before.

[metaldams]

      SO FAR, SO GOOD…SO WHAT! is another strong golden era Megadeth album, though one that has the distinction of being caught between two masterpieces and having a transitional line up.  Exit lead guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson and enter in their place Jeff Young and Chuck Behler, respectively.  Both men would last one album and tour.  They do a good job and you pretty much have to be a good musician to be in this band, but due to their short stay, they didn’t leave a mark like the men they replaced and the men who replaced them.

      Since Mustaine George Lucased the early catalog in 2004, huge differences between the long out of print original and the now available remix.  The original had tons of reverb while the current mix sounds dryer and in your face.  The remix had a horn part in “Into the Lungs of Hell” added that wasn’t heard in the mix of the original.  The lead guitar, starting at the two minute mark, is way more consistent in the remix than the original.  In the original the lead guitar would fade in and out, as if they couldn’t get the levels right.  What bugs me about the remix, as a bass guy, is that there are some bass fills mixed out of the intro of “In My Darkest Hour.”  Worth hearing both mixes, worlds of difference.

      “Into the Lungs of Hell” is a killer and dramatic instrumental opener that goes into the awesome “Set the World Afire.”  The latter was actually the very first song Mustaine wrote after he was kicked out of Metallica. 

      “Anarchy in the U.K.” is just OK. I like the original Sex Pistols version more, Hell, I like the Motley Crue version more.  I’m a much bigger Megadeth fan than I am those bands.  The first two albums had covers of different styles that were made in Megadeth’s image, very cool.  Here?  A thrash band doing punk, it’s been done before.

      “Mary Jane” is a strong melodic metal track (agree with what you said about melody, Homok) about marijuana.  “502” and “Liar” are musically cool speed metal tracks that has a young and pissed off Mustaine saying fuck you to the world.  A song like “Liar” could never be made today with those lyrics!  The 80’s were different times for sure.

      In addition to the great one two punch to open the album, “In My Darkest Hour” and “Hook in Mouth” are the masterpieces.  The former on some days of the week is my favorite Megadeth song.  Musically and lyrically and songwriting all very strong - an emotional tour de force that was written by Mustaine after hearing of the death of Cliff Burton, even though the lyrics are about a doomed relationship.  A true Megadeth classic.  “Hook in Mouth” has a killer chorus and build up and is lyrically about the PMRC witch hunts going on at the time.  A highly underrated song in my opinion.

      So yeah, we get another good album here and commercially, their fortunes keep rising.  This album cracked the top 30.  They’d get higher in the coming years and next album, things get really intense!  Can’t wait to talk that one.

[HomokHarcos]

      SO FAR, SO GOOD…SO WHAT! is another strong golden era Megadeth album, though one that has the distinction of being caught between two masterpieces and having a transitional line up.  Exit lead guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson and enter in their place Jeff Young and Chuck Behler, respectively.  Both men would last one album and tour.  They do a good job and you pretty much have to be a good musician to be in this band, but due to their short stay, they didn’t leave a mark like the men they replaced and the men who replaced them.

      Since Mustaine George Lucased the early catalog in 2004, huge differences between the long out of print original and the now available remix.  The original had tons of reverb while the current mix sounds dryer and in your face.  The remix had a horn part in “Into the Lungs of Hell” added that wasn’t heard in the mix of the original.  The lead guitar, starting at the two minute mark, is way more consistent in the remix than the original.  In the original the lead guitar would fade in and out, as if they couldn’t get the levels right.  What bugs me about the remix, as a bass guy, is that there are some bass fills mixed out of the intro of “In My Darkest Hour.”  Worth hearing both mixes, worlds of difference.

      “Into the Lungs of Hell” is a killer and dramatic instrumental opener that goes into the awesome “Set the World Afire.”  The latter was actually the very first song Mustaine wrote after he was kicked out of Metallica. 

      “Anarchy in the U.K.” is just OK. I like the original Sex Pistols version more, Hell, I like the Motley Crue version more.  I’m a much bigger Megadeth fan than I am those bands.  The first two albums had covers of different styles that were made in Megadeth’s image, very cool.  Here?  A thrash band doing punk, it’s been done before.

      “Mary Jane” is a strong melodic metal track (agree with what you said about melody, Homok) about marijuana.  “502” and “Liar” are musically cool speed metal tracks that has a young and pissed off Mustaine saying fuck you to the world.  A song like “Liar” could never be made today with those lyrics!  The 80’s were different times for sure.

      In addition to the great one two punch to open the album, “In My Darkest Hour” and “Hook in Mouth” are the masterpieces.  The former on some days of the week is my favorite Megadeth song.  Musically and lyrically and songwriting all very strong - an emotional tour de force that was written by Mustaine after hearing of the death of Cliff Burton, even though the lyrics are about a doomed relationship.  A true Megadeth classic.  “Hook in Mouth” has a killer chorus and build up and is lyrically about the PMRC witch hunts going on at the time.  A highly underrated song in my opinion.

      So yeah, we get another good album here and commercially, their fortunes keep rising.  This album cracked the top 30.  They’d get higher in the coming years and next album, things get really intense!  Can’t wait to talk that one.

I'm now making it a point to listen to the original mixes of the albums. I might also listen to the remixes if they are worth it. Dave Mustaine must have been young and angry here, and from what I've read he seems to regret doing the Anarchy in the UK cover. I didn't know about the PMRC until you mentioned them. Looks like music was brought into senate hearings, which is the same thing that happened to movies, comic book, television and video games at different times.

[HomokHarcos]

I feel like this is their "thrashiest" album yet. "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" is definitely the song I'm most familiar with, and it might be one of the greatest opening tracks in history. Split into two parts, it begins fast and heavy, then moves at a slower pace. I actually prefer the second half and it might be my favorite Megadeth moment so far. My brother was telling me that the lyrics were about the Northern Ireland troubles and The Punisher. "Hangar 18" has a punk rock feeling to it, though I must admit that I'm beginning to notice the punk influence in thrash metal as a whole. "Lucretia" is my pick for the catchiest song on the album. "Dawn Patrol" has a cool bass line, but I don't know why that croaky voice was used.

Another great album, there really hasn't been one let down up to this point.