Topic: Megadeth albums

[metaldams]

I know how it feels to sleep on your arm and hurt it, I didn't know the pain could last that long though. By this point they were probably trying to do crowd pleasers, so I wonder if their albums after will be similar.

Crowd pleasers for the most part - but a few curveballs are thrown in.

[HomokHarcos]

I feel like this was Megadeth's best album in over a decade, it was pretty good. "Sleepwalker", the opening track, might be one of my favorite Megadeth songs from any period. Excellent chorus, very catchy. "Washington is Next!" was a very good follow up. "United Abominations" was the melodic track on the album, and it did a good job at succeeding. I'm not quite sure what the lyrics of "Amerikhastan" are supposed to be about, is he waning about a Muslim takeover of the US, or is he making fun of people who think that way? I don't know, but the music is is good enough for me. There was also a new version of "A Tout le Monde", it was kind of strange to hear it on here and I wonder what the reason for making a new version was. I prefer the original.

Overall, a very good album in my opinion, their best since Youthanasia. Going back to what I said last album of Mustaine's vocals, I felt they were much better here. I also feel like I should give a mention to the album cover, an awesome drawing.

[metaldams]

      United Abominations is an album I did not get into at the time of release.  When I hear it these days, I do enjoy it and feel it is an album I need to explore more.  I was in my late twenties and I think there were maybe two or three new albums over a few year period I got into at the time.  It is true, once you hit your mid twenties, it’s harder to absorb new music and that really sucks.  Not impossible though, I really got deep into Dystopia and am looking forward to the upcoming new album.  The albums in between this and Dystopia I have a more casual acquaintance with.

      One other thing, besides age, that may have turned me off at the time is that I remember the main marketing of this album revolved around the “A Tout Le Monte” remake.  The reasoning?  If I had to guess, it was an opportunity for Mustaine to duet with Cristina Scabbia, the singer of Lacuna Coil.  She was pretty popular at the time.  My main problem, other than it feels unnecessary for me, is that “A Tout Le Monde” is a mournful suicide note.  Not the type of thing you sing with something else.  It’s a lonely song, it calls for one voice.

      Musically, having just listened to this a few minutes ago, this is the most balls out metal Megadeth has been in a while, so it is a very entertaining listen.  Guitar all over the place and lyrically, I am noticing Mustaine is really starting to get into world issues, more so than the past.  To put this album in context, this is 2007.  W. Bush was president and the whole war on terror was huge in the news at the time.  I remember it well, sadly.

      I payed special attention to the lyrics to “Amerikhastan” since you brought it up.  My interpretation?  The spoken verses seem to speak of different factions in the conflict, a songwriting device similar to Iron Maiden in “Run to the Hills.”  The first spoken verse  speaks of the extremist faction of the East - The Jihadist side.  The second spoken word verse speaks of the extremist faction in the West - the NeoConservative/NeoLiberal New World Order folks who want to mold the world into America’s image and use military force to do it.  The line about America being a subsidiary of Halliburton is particularly biting.  I think the idea is if these sides of extremism get their way, the unique cultures will exist no more.  That’s my interpretation anyway, Dave Mustaine may or may not agree.

      But yeah, a pretty enjoyable listen, I really need to explore this one more, both musically and lyrically.

[HomokHarcos]

A pretty good follow-up to United Abominations. Yes, it's similar in style, but it's definitely more enjoyable than their late 1990s and early 2000s work. The opening tracks "Dialectic Chaos" and "This Day We Fight" is a very strong opening combo. I'm not sure where I heard these songs before, but they certainly sound familiar. Most of the songs are good heavy tracks: ""Head Crusher", "The Right to Go Insane" and "Endgame" were highlights. The exception in this album is "The Hardest Part of Letting Go... Sealed with a Kiss", which is a more slow song that provided a good break from the heavier elements,

Another good album that is accessible to older Megadeth fans.

[metaldams]

Possibly the best album Megadeth have made in the 2000’s.  From the opening track, “Dialectic Chaos,” Megadeth show the intent they are going to be playing guitar driven thrash metal on this one.  By 2009, the old school thrash bands, for the most part, seemed to playing thrash again with no apologies after the experiments of the 90’s.  Megadeth were no exception, but would it last?  We shall have to wait and see.

My two favorite tracks on here are “44 Minutes” which is an extremely catchy and driving metal song, and “Head Crusher” a song I can’t help band thy head too.  The lyrics to the excellent title track are quite chilling.  Funny story about “The Hardest Part of Letting Go….Sealed with a Kiss.”  Mustaine’s wife hates the song.  At first she thought Dave was finally writing a love song about her until the song took a decidedly darker turn!

Another album I should have gotten more into when it was released.  I remember only listening to it a few times when it was new, one memorable time in headphones taking a walk around my neighborhood.  In the subsequent years I have listened to it a good handful of times, including today.  It’s nice knowing there are Megadeth albums I don’t know like the back of my hand, though, as it allows for discovery.  This album is certainly stronger than the two that came after.

I remember around this time Megadeth did some BIG FOUR shows with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax.  They filmed the show in Bulgaria and I saw it at a movie theater the day of the concert.  A memorable experience.  I remember thinking that day Jeff Hanneman of Slayer didn’t look healthy and sure enough, he was dead a few years later.  I also have since bought the show on DVD.  The only song they played off this album that day was “Head Crusher.”  No other songs were after CRYPTIC WRITINGS.  While still making good new music, in concert Megadeth, like so many bands with bigger catalogs, stick mostly with the old songs.

[HomokHarcos]

Possibly the best album Megadeth have made in the 2000’s.  From the opening track, “Dialectic Chaos,” Megadeth show the intent they are going to be playing guitar driven thrash metal on this one.  By 2009, the old school thrash bands, for the most part, seemed to playing thrash again with no apologies after the experiments of the 90’s.  Megadeth were no exception, but would it last?  We shall have to wait and see.

My two favorite tracks on here are “44 Minutes” which is an extremely catchy and driving metal song, and “Head Crusher” a song I can’t help band thy head too.  The lyrics to the excellent title track are quite chilling.  Funny story about “The Hardest Part of Letting Go….Sealed with a Kiss.”  Mustaine’s wife hates the song.  At first she thought Dave was finally writing a love song about her until the song took a decidedly darker turn!

Another album I should have gotten more into when it was released.  I remember only listening to it a few times when it was new, one memorable time in headphones taking a walk around my neighborhood.  In the subsequent years I have listened to it a good handful of times, including today.  It’s nice knowing there are Megadeth albums I don’t know like the back of my hand, though, as it allows for discovery.  This album is certainly stronger than the two that came after.

I remember around this time Megadeth did some BIG FOUR shows with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax.  They filmed the show in Bulgaria and I saw it at a movie theater the day of the concert.  A memorable experience.  I remember thinking that day Jeff Hanneman of Slayer didn’t look healthy and sure enough, he was dead a few years later.  I also have since bought the show on DVD.  The only song they played off this album that day was “Head Crusher.”  No other songs were after CRYPTIC WRITINGS.  While still making good new music, in concert Megadeth, like so many bands with bigger catalogs, stick mostly with the old songs.

I remember Death Magnetic also coming out around that same time. For people my age there was a huge fad interest in hard rock and metal due to Guitar Hero, so I remember the hype when that album (and also AC/DC’s) came out. Megadeth getting with the big four was pretty cool. For the next post I might go back in time. I haven’t listened to Hidden Treasures yet.

[metaldams]

I remember Death Magnetic also coming out around that same time. For people my age there was a huge fad interest in hard rock and metal due to Guitar Hero, so I remember the hype when that album (and also AC/DC’s) came out. Megadeth getting with the big four was pretty cool. For the next post I might go back in time. I haven’t listened to Hidden Treasures yet.

Guitar Hero, I remember it well.  I have younger cousins who are about your age (born in 1996 and 1998) and they had Guitar Hero when it was popular.  I played it visiting them one Christmas.  There was this idea that if you can play the video game well you should be able to do the real thing.  They weren’t even close.  Some real guitar players couldn’t play the game and people who played the game well learned the real thing is totally different.  It was a complete fad.

One good thing that came out of that is isolated tracks were used for those games and have become available on YouTube.  Boggles my mind hearing isolated Cliff Burton bass tracks and realizing those “official” transcription books were wrong.

Yeah, I’m cool talking Hidden Treasures.  Good compilation.

[HomokHarcos]

I think this was actually better than their late 1990s albums. I liked the covers, but the issue is I'm always going to be comparing them to the originals. It's actually been a long time since I've heard the original version of "No More Mr. Nice Guy". I liked "Breakpoint" and am surprised it was for Super Mario Bros. I can't even imagine Mario being associated with a song like that. "Go to Hell" was another good song that sounds like their early 1990s work. "Angry Again" was definitely sounded familiar to me, so I searched it up and it was used in Last Action Hero. That's a movie I've seen a few times, so that was probably why. "Angry Again" sounds similar to the Cryptic Writings period.

[metaldams]

Not too much to say about this one other than it rocks.  I bought it back in the day and still have the CD.  Really just an assembly of various soundtrack songs compiled in one compilation.  Pretty useful for the Megadeth completist in those days before downloading when one wanted to have all those songs in one place and not buy all the separate soundtracks.  THE LAST ACTION HERO might be one of the rare cases where the soundtrack sold more than the film.  I definitely remember hearing “Go to Hell” in BILL AND TED’S BOGUS JOURNEY, a film I saw in the theater when it was released.  Really enjoy every song here and “99 Ways to Die” and “Angry Again” are legit classics that had MTV videos attached to them and everything,

As a Black Sabbath fan, I would have liked a more adventurous cover than “Paranoid,” but I had that NATIVITY IN BLACK tribute CD at the time and I guess some band had to do it.  There was a sequel that came out after the release of HIDDEN TREASURES and Megadeth covered “Never Say Die.”  Much less predictable.  But hey, that bit at the end of “Paranoid” where Nick Menza plays drums for too long and gets yelled at by Dave?  Nick’s, “Fuck me running” response became a staple saying with me and my friends in our teen years.  Also a big Alice Cooper fan.  Like the Megadeth cover and it’s snotty attitude, but dig the Cooper original better.

[HomokHarcos]

Another worthy follow up to the previous album. "Public Enemy No. 1" was the song I knew from this album, and it was probably the only one I've heard before. "Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)"is probably my favorite song on the album. Slower songs I like on the album are "Millennium of the Blind" and "13". I've noticed there are definite political lyrics here. "We the People" and "Millennium of the Blind" being most prominent. I don't entirely knew his political views, but my family talked about him like he's a right wing conspiracy theorist. Musically the album delivers.

[metaldams]

I’ve never heard Dave label himself anything politically.  I myself am a libertarian and agree with a lot of what he says in lyrics and interviews, maybe 80 - 90 percent.  So use that as a barometer.  I get labeled a right wing conspiracy theorist too by a lot of people, though incidentally, I was labeled left wing twenty years ago for basically the same beliefs.  It is what it is.  Wait until we get to the DYSTOPIA album.

Anyway, this is a pretty cool album.  Not one I know as much as I should, maybe have heard it eight or nine times over the years, where those earlier albums it’s countless times.  “Public Enemy No. 1” has always made a huge impression on me, I really love that song.  “Wrecker” I hate to say it, reminds me of an ex, so that song has made an impression on me too. 

This album gets criticized because two of these songs, “New World Order” and “Millennium of the Blind” were leftovers from the YOUTHANASIA sessions.  Like Dave ran out of inspiration or something.  I think they’re both really good songs, especially the latter.  The lyrics of the latter really hit me this current listen for the review.

The closing title track is really an excellent song, seems almost autobiographical in parts.  Lots of great guitar soloing throughout the album and long time bassist David Ellefson returned to the band for this release and would remain until his social media mishap a few months back.  Cool album overall, again, one I need to revisit more.

Really interested in your thoughts on the next album.

[metaldams]

…..and we have two albums left.  If you wanna do another band after this, let me know.  I gotta catch up on The Beatles thread soon.

[HomokHarcos]

…..and we have two albums left.  If you wanna do another band after this, let me know.  I gotta catch up on The Beatles thread soon.

I’m considering listening through Black Sabbath’s albums after we finish The Beatles and Megadeth.

[metaldams]

I’m considering listening through Black Sabbath’s albums after we finish The Beatles and Megadeth.

I can definitely do that!

[HomokHarcos]

It seems like to me Megadeth were going for a catchy record here. It's a bunch of accessible rock tunes, but not any songs that I would call excellent. The songs almost feel like they're trying to be anthems. My favorite songs on the album were probably "Kingmaker", "Super Collider", "The Blackest Crow" and "Don't Turn Your Back". I've noticed Dave Mustaine's vocals are getting lower, he doesn't do as much range as he used to. Speaking of vocals on "Dance in the Rain" I thought to myself "wow, he really reminds me of David Draiman of Disturbed here", it wasn't until after I searched it up did I learn it actually was him. Disturbed were one of the popular bands when I was growing up. Although none of the songs would rank as my favorite in Megadeth's discography, I did think it was a decent album.

[metaldams]

      SUPER COLLIDER is the Megadeth album I have the least relationship with.  I remember when it came out, I gave it a few listens.  I had no idea what Dave was aiming for - commercial acceptability, I guess?  Maybe he just wanted to do more mid tempo songs?  Only Dave knows for sure.  I just didn’t get it and it is my least favorite Megadeth record.  Since those few times 2013, I listened to the album once in 2020 when I decided to listen to all the albums of the big four thrash bands from the teens (only seven albums overall and Megadeth has three of them).  I then listened to it just now so I can comment on it with fresh ears.

      There’s nothing offensively bad on here, just a few good tracks with a bunch of mediocre songs.  You know, even with RISK, I may hate “Crush ‘Em,” but at least the weirdness there and in a few other parts gives the album and interesting character.  Here?  Just radio rock with good guitar solos, good rhythm section work, and Dave’s unique vocals.  Speaking of which, I agree they’re getting lower.  He’s in his fifties here, so that’s normal.  As a point of comparison, I’m a big Thin Lizzy fan, so I know the original version of “Cold Sweat” very well.  That was in Lizzy’s last album and Phil Lynott, in his early thirties had a lower voice too because of drugs.  He’d be dead at age 36.  Mustaine, while twenty years older, sounds even lower than Lynott did towards the end.  A classic Lizzy song and not a bad version from Megadeth.  Fairly faithful to the original.

      As for the rest?  “Kingmaker” is a good opener.  Tracks four through six catch a bit of fire.  “Built For War,” “Off the Edge” and “Dance in the Rain” lyrically and musically held my attention the most.  The rest of the album was just meh.  Competently played, professional rock with some Megadeth stamps on it.  Nothing Earth shattering, nothing classic, just OK.  In one ear and out the other.  If I give this more listens, maybe some of this will grow on me more just like RISK did.  Hey, tracks four through six were a revelation this present listen.

[HomokHarcos]

Megadeth seemed to frequently be chasing trends in the rock/metal industry.

[HomokHarcos]

This album far exceeded my expectations. In fact, I think it is a match for their earlier albums. Almost every song was great on this album.

The album starts off on the right track, with "The Threat is Real" and "Dystopia". Megadeth usually excels with their opening songs. "Bullet to the Brain" and "Post American World" have softer, guitar sections that I am a big fan of. "The Emperor" has a very catchy guitar chord in the chorus, probably one of my favorite in a Megadeth song. "Foreign Policy", on the other hand has a great chorus (I've never heard the original version).

Very good album, one I would probably give a re-listen. I certainly was not going into this album thinking it would be one of my favorites by them, especially after Super Collider. I've read criticism of the lyrics online, but to be honest I've never been one to really rate music based on the lyrics.

[metaldams]

[metaldams]

I remember DYSTOPIA came out where all of the big four thrash bands released albums within twelve months of each other.  A long time since that’s happened and they’re all pretty good.  Six years later, Megadeth is about to become the first of any of those bands to release their next album.

Best Megadeth album since YOUTHANASIA.  Only ENDGAME comes close.  No radio rock here like on SUPER COLLIDER, this is Mustaine and the boys playing angry at the world thrash metal.  Dave’s lyrics are very political here and the music matches that fire.  There is some new blood in the band with Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro who does a fine job.  Previous guitarist Chris Broderick gave an initial boost to the band as well.  I just hope Kiko’s carries over to the next album, but both talented guys.

As far as songs?  The classics are “The Threat is Real,” “Dystopia,” “Fatal Illusion,” “Lying in State” (great title) and perhaps my favorite, “Post American World,” which Kiko co-wrote.  The title track’s instrumental section towards the end is killer and has some syncopated rhythms that remind me of “Hangar 18.”  I think the album slightly sags the last couple of tracks.  Nothing terrible, just not as good as what comes before, but my only complaint of an otherwise fine album.

This is it for Megadeth, though I will revive this thread when the new album comes out later this year.  A pretty kick ass catalog overall.  Now onto Black Sabbath!  We’ll start a new thread for that one.  You can start it or I can, whoever is ready to talk the first album first.

[HomokHarcos]

I'm glad we got all caught up before their new album came out. I think I'll listen to Black Sabbath's first album after Let it Be.