1049. Megadeth / Dystopia. 2016. 3/5

I was mildly disappointed in Super Collider and I must admit that I had reservations about what was to come on Dystopia. After such a long and prolific career, did Megadeth and Dave Mustaine have anything left in the tank? The addition of new guitarist Kiko Loureiro and fill-in drummer Chris Adler from Lamb of God was a chance to revitalise the direction the band was heading after a slight downward trend in the past couple of albums. But the danger now was that age may be catching up.

Is it my imagination or do all of these songs seem to sound too similar? Most of the songs here seem to have a standard riff and tempo direction which sounds fine but makes for an album that technically has nothing new to offer.
“The Threat is Real” starts off on the right foot, motoring along and dragging you into the album in the right way. This is followed by the title track “Dystopia”, which in itself is a bit whiney in both music and vocals. There isn't a real drive from the music, and the vocals aren't showing either emotion or force that Mustaine generally infuses. “Fatal Illusion” is interesting enough, by which I mean it is a good song without sending me into a frenzy of love about it. "Death from Within", "Bullet to the Brain" and "Post American World" all rattle along interestingly enough.
“Poisonous Shadow” is one of those songs that seems completely out of place, with machine-gun double kick which Adler is renowned for in his main act band, but a simple tempo song and mournful lyrics from Mustaine don’t inspire much enthusiasm. It is just really uninteresting and 'yawnable'. “The Emperor” is another case in point. The layered vocals seem almost corny, and completely out of sync with the riffs going on underneath them. It’s a bit monotone as well which doesn’t fit at all. And then when Dave says “you’re so bloody perfect”, he really just speaks it, he doesn’t spit it out in anger. And there is the difference between a great Megadeth album and an average one. If there is still anger and emotion here, you wouldn’t know it. Is it old age? Or is it just because the effort in writing and performing is now a job rather than an outlet?. Fast forward to the next song, and the vocals on “Lying in State” vary from gruff attempted singing back to virtually just speaking the lyrics. Is Dave’s voice completely shot? On the other hand the instrumental “Conquer or Die” is a nice track to have on a Megadeth album again. Though the opening third of the song is quiet and barely seems necessary, once it busts open it works well and is one of the better tracks on the album. It all finishes with a rather lacklustre version of Fear's "Foreign Policy"
The album is a hybrid of what should be good and what didn’t work. There’s an attempt at various types of metals genres which rather than meshing together into that super hybrid instead sounds like a confusing mashing of said styles. While the guitars sound like they are trying to channel some relics from the band's thrash past it never really comes close to sounding like a real partnership. It's technically proficient but it doesn’t seem to gel together like Mustaine has with others in the past. Adler's drumming is good but it too doesn't feel like it fits here. Ellefson as always rumbles along.

There’s every chance I have never given this a fair hearing following my disappointment in Super Collider. The problem in the modern age is that because there is so much access to so much music, if an album doesn’t grab you early on then chances are it will be consigned to the racks. To my ears this album has no idea what it wants to be. It is filled with ideas and riffs and time changes that both sound familiar from the past and also have no place on an album like this. After a reasonable run with a couple of albums in the late 2000’s, this feels like a poor attempt to keep the old fans and grab the metalcore fans, and you can’t do both on the one disc.

Rating:  Back to the drawing board.  3/5

1048. Megadeth / Thirteen. 2011. 3.5/5

Following the excitement and joy of Endgame, Megadeth had found a way to climb back to the top of the tree of the old metal warhorses, and once again they had the metal world at their feet. They had recorded three successive albums that had along the way begun to rediscover the band’s true sound and engineering. Now all they had to do was to parlay that into their next release, which became the band’s 13th album entitled Th1rt3en.

Is this trying to be a knock off of Endgame? Because much of it sounds as though it wants to be, but at a different level. The return of Dave Ellefson to the fold also brought in new… well… old ideas, in the way that they took some older material that had never been fully realised. How well this worked on the album is open to opinion. While the idea of utilising the past to create a perfect future had its merit, for me it doesn’t really work here. ”Sudden Death” is the most recent of these recycled heroes, and it is a good start to the album, with a solo that sounds like pure Chris Poland. “New World Order” appeared on the Duke Nukem soundtrack and was re-recorded here in order to give it heavier sound, which I can take or leave. “Black Swan” came from the mid-2000’s and was unfinished before it was picked up for this album, while “Millennium of the Blind” was initially conceived back when Youthanasia was being recorded and has appeared on special editions of that album. While all these songs sound fine, the fact that they all came beyond the period of writing for Endgame does make it feel as though they are not of the same era.
As for the remainder of the songs it comes across as more of a clang than a bang. “Public Enemy No. 1” sounds a bit simple, as if the band are going for a ‘crowd’ song rather than a great Megadeth song. “Guns, Drugs and Money” is just so repetitive and quickly gets on your nerves rather than satisfy your love of the band. “We the People” gives off the same vibe. “Wrecker” and “Deadly Nightshade” are almost laughable in their definability, which makes it awkward when you just want a hard and heavy album without lyrical note taking being part of the problem.
Did the band rush in too quick? Is this an attempt to have a follow up to take an advantage of a good product that did well, as Endgame most certainly was? There had been an upward trend in recent albums, beginning from the bottom of the pile that was Risk and progressing since then. Each step along the way was an improvement, a return of some ideals and music veins from an earlier time. The return of Ellefson also pointed towards something good, but in the long run it misses the mark to a certain degree. While musically it sounds fine, with both Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick again proving the be excellent on their chosen instruments, I wonder if album producer Johnny K had too much influence on the writing and musical direction for someone who had not previously been involved with the band. Missing producer from recent albums Andy Sneap may also be a reason for the slight rectification of direction.

So this has a similar sound to Endgame but without whatever spark it had that really made it something special. Endgame was a massive surprise in the middle age of Megadeth. Th1rt3en is a good sounding album with similar-sounding songs, but without the uniqueness and real fire and power that came with it. The weaker songs bring this back to the pack. There is nothing inherently bad about the album, it’s just not as memorable as it could be.

Rating: “All your angels will ignore you, as your life flashes before you”. 3.5/5

1047. Megadeth / United Abominations. 2007. 4/5

There was a certain amount of anticipation leading up to the release of this album. Dave seemed re-energised, and was talking himself and his band up at every opportunity. He was saying all the right things – but could he back it up? I’m not sure what happened between the recording and touring of [system], but whatever it was, it probably should have happened some time ago. There are albums that can turn you off from the first song, sometimes even the first riff. And there are albums that just take off so suddenly because of the opening track that it is impossible not to like. Having been through a decade where Megadeth hadn’t quite fired on more than two cylinders, I was hooked from the very first moment of United Abominations.

“Sleepwalker” is the track, and I can’t nail down any particular moment from the song that takes me in so much, but it is the combination of all the factors – great double kick throughout, Mustaine’s vocals and lyrics, the dual guitars, the opening riff and drum kick, the solo’s and pleasingly the tempo. This isn’t one of the greatest songs ever written but as an opening track trying to bring you into the album and hopefully take you in, it works. Well, it worked on me.
Then you need to have back up, and continue the good work throughout. While I found a lot of the previous album enjoyable enough, it felt to me as though it was a bit of a drudge, caught in a rut and not uplifting or… fun! Here though the songs are at a better tempo, the drums are really driving each song and there’s a touch of Countdown to Extinction to the writing. Whether Mustaine deliberately went in that direction I don’t know but I’ve always felt there is some comparison in the sound between the two albums. It’s always dangerous trying to compare albums but in this instance I think it is worthwhile
“Washington Is Next!” careers along at that great pace, and with twin solo’s that help make the track a beauty. This jumps straight into the excellent “Never Walk Alone... A Call to Arms” which continues the fantastic start to this album. It’s truly the closest a Megadeth album had come to the great ones in over a decade. Other great songs here include “Gears of War”, “Play for Blood” and “Amerikhastan”, while the re-booted track “A Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)” from the Youthanasia album, now featuring Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil in a supporting vocal role, is one I also enjoy.
The new band (yes, an actual band this time) does its job with great purpose. The addition of the Drover brothers, Glen on guitar and Shawn on drums, has added a nice symmetry to the music, while James LoMenzo on bass is terrific, offering a different sound to that of long term cohabitant Dave Ellefson. Everyone does their job well, while Mustaine appears revitalised after recovering from his injured arm some years previously. The songs have their usual political bent but the music and singing is in an uplifting way that makes it not only more accessible but more enjoyable.

Comparing recent Megadeth albums to previous releases is always fraught with danger. Certainly this was their best album since Youthanasia. It was a heartening change I trend, one mirrored by Metallica at around the same time. After a lull of a decade in two of the biggest metal bands, both looked to have found a way through it back into the sunlight. This album is still easy to listen to a decade onwards, which is a sign of its strengths.

Rating: “Did I give you concrete shoes and throw you off of a bridge?”.  4/5

1046. Megadeth / The System Has Failed. 2004. 3/5

By the time this album came to be released there had been much reporting on the demise of Megadeth as a band. Depending on what you believed, Dave Mustaine was finished with music, be it from irreparably damaging his arm and/or disillusionment with the system, that Dave Ellefson was to be ‘gifted’ the name of the band in order to continue the tradition, that Mustaine was going to do a solo album, and that finally he decided to record under the Megadeth name and that Ellefson refused to play because he was being treated like a hired hand rather than a long-time band member. Thus, by the album’s arrival in late 2004 it could be said that as a fan I was almost over it all myself.

This should have been a solo album, much like the MD.45 album The Craving Dave did in 1996. However, much like that album became (when it was remastered Dave recorded his own vocals on the songs instead of Lee Ving’s), it was released as a Megadeth album even though only Mustaine remained and wrote all of the songs on his own, and that session musicians had been hired to flesh out the rest of the album. There’s no doubt the record company wanted it this way in order to try and sell it, but the lack of an actual band to promote its release means it lacks conviction. While Dave has always been the chief songwriter on this album he is the only contributor, which does feel as though it hinders the album overall without anyone else’s input. In fact, one of the selling points of the album was the ‘return’ of original Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland to play on the album. Of course, in the long run he just contributes some solos to many of the songs, while Dave does double duty on rhythm and lead.
Beyond these elements there is some good material here and also other songs that, although they do appear to have some flaws, are still catchy enough to keep you enjoying what you are hearing. Don’t know what I mean? Well, if I was to take the three best known and probably most popular songs on the album and break them down you would probably see. Because I do quite like “Die Dead Enough”, “Of Mice and Men” and “Back in the Day” as songs, but they still have these characteristics that nag me even as I sing along with them. “Die Dead Enough” tends to drone through the chorus rather than progress with an angry spitting of the lyrics which it really feels it needs. It feels like it needs more angry emotion than gets used. “Of Mice and Men” is like a whine during the vocals. I know Mustaine has his own unique vocal sound that does on occasions sound a bit whiney, but it really does come across in parts of this song. “Back in the Day” has a faster pace and with the right attributes to make it a fun song, but for some reason it just comes across as a bit rocky, like a song that’s trying too hard to be something it quite clearly is not. As I said, none of these things mentioned stops me from loving these songs as they are, it’s just that I don’t count them as great Megadeth songs overall because of what I see are their perceived flaws.
As to the rest of the album, it too has its moments but without taking the great leap required to being a classic. “Blackmail the Universe” starts the album off well, “Kick the Chair”, “The Scorpion” and “Tears in a Vial” all have the right attributes. The second half of the album probably doesn’t live up to the first half, but that doesn’t mean it is terrible. In fact it leaves much of the previous two albums in the dust. You can pick up where Chris Poland has introduced his solos and riffs, and yes it is hard to ignore the way it leads you to be reminded of Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! in those places – for instance the start of “Back in the Day”.

Is this a Megadeth album in anything but name only? Given how heavily Mustaine is involved in all facets of it you have to say it is. Perhaps it doesn’t have that centred feel that albums did when there was a core band in the building, but it has the elements. As a comeback album, a redemption album or a retaliatory album, it is good enough to help dispel the doubts that may have been around regarding Megadeth and Mustaine’s demise. I enjoy the album enough to put on and listen to all the way through, but still feels as though it was a filler rather than a killer.

Rating: “The air is thick, but the oxygen's thin”. 3/5

1045. Megadeth / Rude Awakening [Live]. 2002. 5/5

That it took so long for Megadeth to release an official live album is probably disappointing in the whole scheme of metal things. Of course in recent years, with box sets and re-releases and expended edition albums coming at us with a whole cavalcade of live material none of us knew existed, it proves that shows WERE being recorded, but just not released to the public. In choosing an era in which to then record and release a live album, sometimes bands and record companies have funny ideas. Case in point – Rude Awakening, which comes after three only average selling and poorly reviewed albums, and with half of the band that many would consider the best lineup having moved on in very recent times. None of it particularly sets this up to succeed. But then, what the hell did I know?

I saw Megadeth on this tour, and it was indeed just brilliant. As awesome as they had been on the Rust in Peace tour in 1991, then they had played for only 75 minutes. On this tour it was well over two hours and contained as set list that was just about as good as you could produce from material all through the band’s career. It was sweat drenching by the end, and I only wished I could experience it again. As it turned out I could, because this was released on both CD and DVD and I got both to relive it all time and time again (although unfortunately without “The Conjuring” which they played at our show).
There are 24 songs packed onto two discs, and it is a tour-de-force of what has made Megadeth one of the biggest metal bands of the pre-2000 era. There’s no time for a break, no stopping to catch your breath, and the songs slide seamlessly together.
Some of the songs are intensified and brought out in all of their glory in the live environment. Opening tracks “Dread and the Fugitive Mind” and “Kill the King” are two of my favourite here because they sound much better played live than I felt about them of their studio versions. It improved my love for them no end. So too the live version of “She Wolf”, which is extended live to include a longer solo section for the guitars as well as a spot for Jimmy DeGrasso to show off his wares on the drums. What before this I had considered an average song I now felt (and feel) is a ripper. “Angry Again”, “Almost Honest” and “Burning Bridges” also sound great here.
Playing “Mechanix” is a nice touch and remembrance of the old days, though I’d have preferred “Rattlehead” or “Looking Down the Cross”. Also the back-to-back playing of “Hangar 18” and “Return to Hangar” works well.
And then you have the greats, songs like “Wake Up Dead”, “In My Darkest Hour”, “Tornado of Souls”, “Peace Sells” and “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”. All of this mixed in with songs from almost every album the band has released makes for a brilliant live collective for every fan.
The band sounds fantastic, and the fact that both Jimmy DeGrasso and Al Pitrelli were moved on after this tour is a little disappointing because both sound great here. Pitrelli may not have been Dave Mustaine’s cup of tea (for whatever reason) but he could sure play guitar. It was also where he parted ways with Dave Ellefson for some time.

So as it turns out, in many ways, this was the perfect time to release a live album. It showcases everything brilliant about Megadeth, and covers a goodly proportion of their first two decades as a band. It probably marks the end of the great era of Megadeth, with what was to follow heading down a new path with new band members. As a mark of that time, this is an excellent landmark.

Rating: “Who’d have thought you’d be better at turning a screw than me”. 5/5

1044. Megadeth / The World Needs a Hero. 2001. 2.5/5

After the disaster that was Risk I wasn’t certain I was brave enough to expect much from the follow up. Even the news that Al Pitrelli had been brought on board to replace Marty Friedman filled me with great confidence despite his prowess. It’s a long way to come back from the depths the band fell to on the previous album, and to be able to recover that all in one hit would be some accomplishment.

Did it happen? The simple answer is no, it didn’t. But that’s not to say that an effort wasn’t made and that some of the ideas floated here aren’t good. It’s just that the album as a whole package has its flaws, and perhaps they are more noticeable because of the previous album. In many ways this album is just as difficult to listen to as its predecessor, simply because about half of the material recorded here is inferior to the Megadeth back catalogue. However, there is enough here to derive some hope from.
So I would say that half of the songs here are passable, and the other half quite average. What tends to drag down most of the songs – good and bad – is their length. If some of the songs recorded here had been tightened up, shortened and made just a bit punchier I think the album overall would have worked much better.
The leading candidate here is the closing track “When”. At over nine minutes in length it takes up a voluminous proportion of the album, and because of its slow and moody disposition it tends to bore you to death before you are a third of the way through the song. Having followed the much more direct and clout-filled “Return to Hangar” it feels completely out of place and doesn’t end the album with any justice. The opening track “Disconnect” is a reasonable track too but just seems to outstay its welcome, especially with the very Alice in Chains-like middle section which you think is closing out the song, but it then extends for another two minutes. Same deal with “1000 Times Goodbye”. “Promises” drags out for eternity, with the repeated lyrics not doing anything to endear itself to the listener, and the strings in the track are just not a great addition. “Losing My Senses” is just not very good.
Dave has moved back to himself and others talking in the middle of tracks, which continues to be distracting in songs. Both “The World Needs a Hero” and “1000 Times Goodbye” have this, almost narrating a story throughout the song. Just make it the song Dave, we don’t need these other pieces fleshing it out! Why a phone call in the middle of the song? Most of “Recipe for Hate… Warhorse” goes in this direction too, no doubt trying to remind us all of better Megadeth days, which it does at least achieve in the back half of the song with the traded solos.
Of the good songs, well they are sometimes given more credit than they deserve just for what surrounds them on the album. “Moto Psycho” has enough energy to keep its head above water. The aforementioned “Return to Hangar” is probably saved because it’s the most up-tempo track on the album and is pretty much a rehash of its sister track “Hangar 18”. “Burning Bridges” is on the better side of average. I was initially skeptical of “Dread and the Fugitive Mind”, but once it grew on me I have always felt it is the best track on the album.

In a ratings contest, this wins over the previous album hands down, but that’s about as close as it gets to other Megadeth albums. It’s a shame more didn’t come from it, as both Pitrelli and DeGrasso are great musicians who from all reports Mustaine just couldn’t take to. Both sound great here but that doesn’t keep you in a job. Though I saw the band on this tour – which was an absolute cracker – this album only partially brought me back to thinking they may actually eventually win me back. It was at least a step back in the right direction.

Rating: “If you shake my hand, better count your fingers”. 2.5/5

1043. Dio / Sacred Heart. 1985. 5/5

The upward climb of the popularity and greatness of Ronnie James Dio had moved from the 1970’s into the 1980’s, and through three bands Rainbow, Black Sabbath and then his own eponymous band Dio. That step, to leave one of the biggest acts in heavy metal after he had been so heavily involved in its revival in the early 1980’s, to form his own band was enormous. The band’s debut album “Holy Diver” had taken all before it, stormed the charts and ensured that this venture would not be as short lived as his other projects had been. The follow up album “The Last in Line” proved that it wasn’t a one-off hit, that this quartet of musicians had something that was powerful and strong. While Dio himself as the frontman commanded the stage as the focal point with his amazing voice, the band that had been built around that was just as important to the success the band had created. Drummer Vinnie Appice’s hard hitting, and uniquely timed drumming was a key aspect of the forcefulness that the songs portrayed to the listener, along with Jimmy Bain’s rumbling bass guitar. These two had been around the block before joining Dio, Vinny in Black Sabbath and Jimmy in Rainbow, and the combination worked well. And guitarist Vivian Campbell had broken out of his Irish boundaries to unleash his craft upon the world to ever increasing acclaim.
Band situations are rarely harmonious to a fault, and Dio was no exception. The first signs of trouble in paradise came with the sessions to create the band’s third studio album. The central core of the problem was, as often becomes the case, money – or at least the perceived fairness of cash distribution. When the band began, an agreement as such was apparently struck with the players in the band, that if they would accept a smaller than deserved reward for the first two albums the band produced, in essence to ensure that the bills for touring and recording and promotion would be commensurate with what they wanted to be in order to push the band, then come the third album their share would increase as a result. For Campbell, the youngest in the band and perhaps with the least knowledge of how the ‘business’ worked, that meant that this new album should mean he was going to receive closer to what he felt he deserved to be paid, and he began to ask questions about how and when this would occur. When he wasn’t getting the answers that he felt he deserved, he apparently became more insistent. All of this must have created a difficult situation for everyone involved. Along with this, Ronnie and his wife Wendy, who was also the band’s manager, were going through a split in their relationship at the time, which led to Ronnie’s mood being less enjoyable during the writing and recording of the album. Whereas for the first two albums the whole band would be in the studio, playing and socialising, for the third album there was less of this, with members coming in, recording their parts and heading home. Combined with this, Ronnie had begun composing songs with more keyboards in them, which not only shifted the sound that the band had created over the first two albums where it was a far more guitar focused band to one that perhaps began to mirror other genres, it was a decision that the other band members were not totally on board with.
With all of these changes happening within the mix of the band – most of it unknown to the fan base itself at that time – Dio came forth with their third studio album, one that still divides opinion to this very day, with the bag of mixed lollies titled “Sacred Heart”.

Looking and listening to this album from a critical point of view, “Sacred Heart” still has the same mix of songs that talk about the fantasy elements that Ronnie James Dio has centred around since his Rainbow days along with the songs that seem more pointed to things that were occurring around him at the time of writing. Whether the mix is in favour of the strengths of the band is another question.
The opening track is the faux live setting of “King of Rock and Roll”. This is fast Dio straight out of the blocks, opened by Vinny’s drum roll introduction and then the firing in of guitar and bass riff with Ronnie giving off his best impression of a lead singer on the stage. The question that s always posed is “does this song come across better because it sounds as though it is live, or could it have worked just as efficiently without it?” I’ve often pondered that question. Did the opening track of this album need to feel like a live song to get across a certain mood of the track to the listener? If I was listening to this with a critical ear, I would say that the injection of the crowd noise acts more as a distraction to the great work done on the song by Campbell, Appice and Bain. When it comes to actually listening to the album and the opening song, I rarely think about fakeness of the background audio. I’m more interested in Vivian’s guitaring. Still, surely somewhere tere exists a tape without the faux crowd. I’d like to hear it.
The epic title track comes next; a sprawling magical dragons and wizards track that Dio has spent most of his career singing about. Here is a song that has more of the keys and synths added to it than had been the case in the past, used in conjunction with the guitars rather than as a background. It is a style that does fit with what was beginning to occur in the extended genre of heavy metal at the time, and one that perhaps mutes the efficiency of the solid core of the band being a four-piece guitar driven entity. Vivian still gets his chance to shine in this song, but it does have it entwined with Claude Schnell’s keyboards throughout. Solo wise he is able to unleash both in the middle and towards the end without being vanquished.
“Another Lie” is a pointedly written track lyrically by Ronnie, and with the added aggression in the lyrics and vocals the guitars and drums reestablish their dominance. Ronnie and Wendy were going through their separation at the time, and it is hard not to equate that the basis of this song is to do with that, especially with a line like “She jumped at the moment, a chance to tell you, another lie”. Ronnie is passionate and aggressive with his vocal delivery through the song, especially the rise up an octave into the back half of the track, Vinny’s pounding drumbeat emphasises what he is singing, and the guitar and bass line dominate as they always did in the best Dio songs. While “Another Lie” is rarely mentioned when it comes to great Dio songs, for me it has always been one of the standout tracks on the album, perhaps because it is one that has the most similarity to the songs of the first two albums.
The two singles from the album close out the first side of the album and open the second side, and are often cited as points of difference between those that do not rate the album and those that adore it. “Rock and Roll Children” was the first single from the album, replete with video of two teenagers being lost in a magic shop and facing their worst fears, while Ronnie swirls his hands over a crystal ball throughout. It is telling, perhaps, that only Ronnie appears in the video for the song. There is a connection to the lyrics of many of the songs on this album, as usual the good and the evil, but also the theme of lying. Though taken out of context, it is possible to read into Ronnie and Wendy’s troubles again on this song, with the line “They were paper and fire, angel and liar, the devil of one another”. Is Ronnie referring to their relationship here? Perhaps subconsciously. The keys again maintain a greater influence through the song which ties it to this era, though their presence do create the atmosphere on the track that Dio was hoping for, again pushing the mystical and magical theme. It fades out to complete the first side of the album in wonderment.
Then the second single opens side two of the album. “Hungry for Heaven”, one where Ronnie’s lyrical bent plays catch up with each other, offering two sides to the story throughout; “You're a runner, but you're chasing yourself, feel a hot breath on your shoulder. Your emotion, running cold, running warm, but young just getting older”. “You’re hungry for heaven, but you need a little Hell”. Through his career Ronnie had moments where he wrote lyrics that didn’t always tell a story or make a lot of sense, just a jumbled series of lines that interact together. And on those occasions, it is best to just go with the flow. “Hungry for Heaven” is probably one of these occasions.
While both of the singles have a heavy keyboard element in them, no doubt looking to hook onto the rising tide of commerciality, that certainly isn’t the case with the heavy guitar focused tracks that followed them. “Like the Beat of a Heart” is a beauty, the Dio mid-tempo set by the rhythm section, Vinny’s drums stuck into their hard hitting groove, and Jimmy’s bass line setting the stomp of the track that reflects the title of the song. Vivian’s guitaring here again is just superb, not muted by any keys on this occasion. Ronnie lyrics that reference the coming of the werewolf are beautifully descriptive and delivered with passion, just typical Dio wonderfulness with “we can hide in the dark til the moon steals the light from the dying sun” and the brilliant “cos the tear that never dries can only make you blind”. Just perfect. It’s a great song, a heavy track that only sounded heavier when played live. This is followed by yet another severely underrated track from the Dio catalogue, “Just Another Day”. Bring forth Vivian Campbell to take all before him please! Another of the fast paced rippers that this band could produce, Viv takes centre stage, Ronnie comes along for the ride. Lines like “you don’t believe in someday, and the truth is what you prove” and “You laugh but you never smile” are just terrific, along with the sentiment “but it’s all right, well it’s all right, it’s just another day”, words to live your life by. The passion in Ronnies vocals through this song are just terrific, but it is Vivian Campbell on guitar that stars on this song. Again.
OH! And just for good measure, they are again on “Fallen Angels”. The opening riff into the track, the squeal of guitar that leads into Ronnie’s vocals, are fabulous. Ronnie is back here in an aggressive fashion, the power of his vocals dominating this track with their demanded presence. That opening burst: “Screaming out alone in the night, just a time and place but it's real alright. We are diamonds that shine without fire, we're climbing the stairs, going down and never higher” - that is just magnificent. And the burst of Viv brilliance through the song just tops it all off. Those three songs back to back really hype up the second side of the album.
The album concludes with “Shoot Shoot”, another song that I think has lyrics from Ronnie that reference how he was feeling about life at the time. Not that he wanted to kill himself, or anyone else, but that he felt under enormous pressure from the partnership in his life, and that he was trying to come to terms with it all. To me, the lines “Well, now it's a matter of mind, you know you can be free forever. So the next time someone points a gun at you, say ‘shoot, shoot’, I don't care” are more about him trying to say, ‘okay, I don’t have to go through this, I can free my mind and say to you ‘I don’t agree with you anymore, and I don’t have to put up with this anymore, I can walk away and start again’. And I think maybe this is what he was referring to, and his marriage. Of course, I could be completely mistaken.

Once again, before I begin my personal appraisal of this album, I would like to point out that if you are not listening to the podcast titled ‘And Volume for All’, hosted by the handsome and talented Quinn, then that should be your immediate port of call following this episode. Among many things he has done on that podcast is a wonderfully beautiful and informative look at the career of Ronnie James Dio, including this era of his music. It is a series that everyone should listen to, whether you are a fan of Dio or not. His insights and the work put into the podcast is outstanding. Go listen to him. I should also point out that we disagree on the validity of this album, which probably only proves, once again, that I am wrong.
When it comes to the year that most influenced my love of music, of the type of music that became what I loved more than any other, and in the discovery of artists and bands who became the most important in my music-loving life, 1986 is the year that wins hands down. In particular two such events could be appraised as perhaps the most important. The first was the discovery of the artist named Ronnie James Dio, his then-current band named Dio, and their third studio album which was titled “Sacred Heart”. Dio came to us in Year 11 of high school through an American exchange student called Steve, who brought the band’s first two albums with him. My heavy metal music dealer then purchased this particular album, and through the swapping of blank C90 cassettes I was able to gain all three albums released by the band to this time. And from this an obsession grew. And that’s what it was. I couldn’t stop listening to those albums, and through them not only did Ronnie James Dio become my singing hero, but Vivian Campbell also became a guitar god for me.
Though in retrospect it is obvious that there was tension between Dio and Campbell, all of which has been well documented in the years since, it didn’t stop the band putting together an album that had the best of everything that the era had to offer. Some listening to the album now some 30+ years after its release may feel it is dated, or at the very least tied to the era in which it was released due to some of its elements. There is probably some truth to this, but that doesn’t detract from just how good an album it is. Vinny Appice continues to pound the beat that allows the rest of the band to put their pieces together, and his big drum sound again works perfectly here. On bass Jimmy Bain again found a rhythm that laid the groundwork for each song, and his writing contribution again cannot be overlooked. Claude Schnell’s keyboards have more of an influence in places on this album, which given it is the mid-1980’s does fit in with the period. Vivian Campbell is again an out-and-out star here. His guitar riffs, licks and solos are as much the sound of Dio the band as the man whose name adorns the band. That he parted ways with the band after this album is a regret for all fans of the band. Dio had some good guitarists play in the band over the following twenty years, but none rivalled Vivian and what he produced on these first three albums. Ronnie as always is magnificent. His vocals soar, his lyrics tell stories and his passion reigns supreme.
I started by saying there were two events in 1986 that rounded my love of music. The second? Well, Dio toured Australia on this album in September 1986, and it was the first band I ever saw live. Regrettably there was no Vivian by that time, replaced by Craig Goldy, but it was a spectacle I have never forgotten. If you are interested in that story, you can find it in full detail on my Patreon page.
There are many who don’t enjoy this third instalment in the Dio lineage, and I really believe that most of those came onto this album after its heyday and judge it on how the music sounded then rather than how it sounded when it was released. That’s understandable and fair, but for those of us that grew up with this album, and had it burned into our psyche playing it over and over a thousand times, it will always be a great album. It may not be as dramatically awesome as “Holy Diver” or “The Last in Line”, and the saturation of Claude Schnell’s keyboards may date it well and truly to its time, but it still hits all the right places for me.
I have been listening to this album for the last two weeks now, at least once a day and often more than once. And it never gets old. What does interest me is how my feelings about the album and its songs has definitely changed. When I first got the album, it was the songs “King of Rock and Roll”, “Sacred Heart”, “Hungry for Heaven” and “Rock and Roll Children” that dominates my perspective. They were the great songs, the ones I sang with gusto and looked forward to every time I put the album on. These days, it is the tracks “Another Lie”, “Like the Beat of a Heart”, “Just Another Day” and “Fallen Angels” that I look forward to most. A change of the times? Me getting older? You be the judge.
With Vivian being sacked from the band halfway through the touring schedule for this album, Dio the band would never be the same. They still put out some very good, even excellent, albums, but this period of the band, when everything clicked with the four main players, was over. Perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps they had achieved everything as a foursome that they could have hoped for. No matter what, those three first Dio albums still stand the test of time, and “Sacred Heart” stand alongside them as one of the pillars of the heavy metal genre of the 1980’s.

1042. Megadeth / Risk. 1999. 1/5

By the time 1999 had rolled around, there was still a simmering of the rift between Metallica and Megadeth that had stretched back to the day in 1983 that Dave Mustaine had been fired from the band and was forced to go out and start his own brand. Despite the wonderful and brilliant albums Megadeth had released over the following 15 years, Mustaine still seemed to feel as though he was in his former band’s shadow. However, in the previous five years, Metallica had gone rogue and released “Load” and “Reload”, albums that had certainly divided fan opinion with their very obvious refining of their sound. On the other hand, Megadeth’s releases “Youthanasia” and “Cryptic Writings” had garnered cautious praise for their songwriting and absorbing of the musical changes around them without losing the essence of the band’s own sound.
The arrival of Jimmy DeGrasso as the band’s new drummer following the firing of Nick Menza on the tour to promote their previous album was the only change to the outfit leading into their eighth studio album. The band spent six weeks writing the songs before spending another four months in the studio to record it. The question of why it took this long has a different answer depending on which band member was questioned. Guitarist Marty Friedman was a major influence on the direction the new album was to take, as he wanted to create some point of difference in their music and pushed the envelope a little. The record company also wanted to see the band offer it more opportunities for exposure on commercial radio, something the single “Trust” had done from the previous album. DeGrasso himself was up for a heavy album, not surprising considering the stuff he would have been playing on tour. Bass guitarist Dave Ellefson was quoted in an interview as saying that the band’s manager wanted them to release something that would have all of the other band out their smack their foreheads and proclaim ‘why didn’t we think of that?!’
While Metallica’s decision making at that time was obviously still extremely popular and profitable, something Mustaine constantly seemed to aspire to, for much of the Megadeth fan base, the continuity that the band had been able to bring to their albums over the years gave them a sense of comfort, and when the new album was announced the feeling of excitement came from the fact that yet another Megadeth barnstorming album was about to hit the shelves with more awesome tracks and headbanging material.

Error.

This album took massive liberties with the Megadeth sound and direction and entitling it “Risk” pretty much covered all the bases. Because it was a definite risk to mess around with what had worked for the band for such a long time, in order to gain more radio airplay or more widespread recognition.
From the opening of the album, there is a highly critical difference in what is offered than what had come on their previous albums. It’s industrial alt-rock mixed with lifeless rock ballads, songs that sound like they are either stretching for commercialism or for the alt-rock credibility stakes, where sales are the driving force but the ‘hey man – this is awesome’ call from the general public.
Now, if you just want to listen to this album and not expect anything from it, there are moments that are tolerable. If you close your eyes, and see mishmash of Nickelback and Creed up there trying to create a heavier sound than they normally do, you could probably get something out of this album. Beyond that... it’s a difficult listen if you turned up for a Megadeth album.
The first half of the album is tolerable. “Insomnia” is a mish mash of strings and screams and patchy lyrics that doesn’t allow you to bang along in time or even sing along to the lyrics, such is its structure. “Prince of Darkness” is a moody, building song but again doesn’t bring any great love to the table and it isn’t a pure heavy metal song. It has its moments where it comes into its own. “Crush ‘Em” has a vibe that you can tap along to, probably because Mustaine wanted this to be an arena anthem and be played around the world. You can hear how he crafted it to be just that. So it’s okay without being any more than a chanting tune, one you could possibly get on board cheering your team into the arena by. Maybe. And “Breadline” has a very mainstream sound to it, mostly lyrically as Dave decides to try and sing in a much softer tone than he normally does which is a dead ringer for that commercial bent. The single did well on American charts, but it just doesn’t do anything as a metal song in the slightest. But at least it isn't a power ballad.
But as for the rest? It doesn’t improve with age. “The Doctor is Calling” has pretty much nothing going for it. Dave chants along while the drums roll slowly and patiently and the guitars play some semblance of a tune before an almost-solo breaks out towards the end, but without any real energy at all. “I’ll Be There” for all intents and purposes IS that wretched power ballad that destroys all heavy music. As average as most of the songs are on this album this is still the one that sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it, and not in a positive fashion. This is the kind of song that could have destroyed Megadeth if it had had any kind of success, because then perhaps the band would have felt the need to keep writing songs like it. No, this is terrible. It is the antithesis of the great Megadeth songs Dave wrote of his ex-girlfriends, the songs that are the greatest in the Megadeth discography.
I can’t even describe the reaction I get when “Wanderlust” comes on. Just what exactly is being thought of in this song is beyond me. This is followed by “Ecstacy” which is the exact incorrect emotion I get listening to this song. It again has gone for a basic musical premise in riff and rhythm, with no excitement or energy appearing in any form. Terrible. There is even less to be said about the remainder of the album. “Seven” is a mirror image of the previous two songs, while the double track at the conclusions of the album, “Time: The Beginning” and “Time: The End” simply don’t carry their weight. The majority of the first track is acoustic based and without any great drive, while the second track is more electric but in such a mournful way that it becomes depressing to even get to the end of the album.

When this album was released, I was driving taxis as my main source of income back home in Kiama after five years living in Sydney, and I spent a LOT of time listening to it while I waited for fares in the middle of the night. I still remember the excitement I felt when it came out and I bought it, and the number of times I listened to it was astronomical. Because, you know, it’s Megadeth, right? It HAS to be good! And I continued to listen to it over and over again. And, after a few weeks of doing this, I finally began to question... is this a good album? Is it enjoyable? And I finally came to the conclusion that... no, it really was not good. Indeed, it was on such a different plane from what I was enjoying at that time of my life that it was hard to believe that this wasn’t very good, and that I was still wasting my time listening to it! But, in those pre-streaming days, that’s what you did, because you could only afford to buy a certain number of albums each year, and when you did, you needed to get your money's worth out of them. The final straw was swapping it in my taxi for Gamma Ray’s “Powerplant” album one day, and the amazing difference in quality relegated “Risk” to the CD shelves for a very very long time.
Are there any redeeming features on this album? My opinion is that it really doesn’t seem like it. The first half of the album, up until the end of “Breadline”, was eventually as far as I would get if I ever put this album on. It was the finish for me, because everything after this point has got nothing that interests me whatsoever. That’s not to say the first half was much better, but I can at least muddle my way through if it becomes necessary. And the fact is that most of the people involved in that album feel much the same way about it now. The title “Risk” apparently came about from a quote by Lars Ulrich, either in a magazine article or a TV interview, where he claimed that Mustaine and Megadeth had to take more risks with their music if they wanted to achieve the kind of success that Metallica had. Well thanks very much for that Lars, way to fuck up TWO bands for the price of one. With the disastrous direction (in my own opinion) Metallica had taken on their last two studio albums “Load” and “Reload”, the announcement of a new Megadeth album had been a welcome relief. It was a great feeling to know that I could expect more of the same from this band, that no matter how bad things were getting, there was no way Megadeth could record an album as uninteresting and boring as “Reload”. Wrong.
Dave Mustaine was apparently quoted as saying “If anyone else’s name was on the cover of this album, it would have sold”. So on a couple of occasions I have put this album on, and just listened, not letting any judgement on the name of Megadeth enter what I’m listening to, just to see if I would enjoy the album as something someone had put on and asked me to listen to it and judge it without knowing who the band was. It did not improve. I have listened to this album a lot over the past month, because it is Megadeth and I needed to know if there could be any change to the way I feel about this album. There is not.
The fact that this was Marty Friedman’s final album with Megadeth was both sad and probably welcome. His own path was leading in a different direction and he needed to take that on his own. For Megadeth, the path that this album took was probably not repeated, but that didn’t mean that there were not albums beyond this that were not questionable when it came to their output.

1041. Megadeth / Youthanasia. 1994. 4/5

The journey and evolution of Megadeth the band had reached top speed with the recruitment of drummer Nick Menza and guitarist Marty Friedman, and then the release of the “Rust in Peace” album in 1990, the point at which the maturity of the thrash metal genre hit an all time high. This was then followed by “Countdown to Extinction”, a metal album released at the height of the grunge and alternative takeover of the world music scene. And it defied the general direction of the way music was going. While it was refined in the way that some of the thrash metal elements were being reeled back a bit, it was still a major success, in terms of sales still Megadeth’s most commercially successful album. The song writing team, led by band leader Dave Mustaine, had found the success it craved, and the band continued to draw sold out crowds to its concerts around the world.
When it came to thinking about the album that would hope to replicate the success over the past six years, the discussions within the band were the key to where they wanted to head. Mustaine had always had the control over what the band was going to do musically, and also was the majority shareholder in the writing of the albums. Here for their new album, he and the band looked to change things up. Mustaine has said in interviews that he let the band off the leash a little, and encouraged the band to contribute as a group to the writing sessions for the album. Just how this would have worked is of course open to question, but giving the band the opportunity to contribute more than just writing a solo or adding in a line of lyric was a big move forward for Mustaine, and the fact that all of the songs on this album are credited to all four members of the band is an interesting development.
One of the things that would have been taken into consideration was how they wanted their music to develop. By the time this album was released, the grunge movement was quickly stepping backwards, while the alternative movement was beginning to wind up to full steam ahead. The thrash bands that Megadeth had come up with were either changing their boots or taking a break. There was a slight void in the universe for Megadeth’s brand of heavy metal, and the band had the opportunity to have their say in what way the future would look in that regard. Their answer to this was the album “Youthanasia”.

“Youthanasia” is, once you have digested it, the logical next step in the direction Megadeth had travelled over the previous two albums. “Rust in Peace” was the amazingly perfect progression from the out and out thrash metal of the debut albums to the maturing yet aggressive nature that that album took on. “Countdown to Extinction” had, for want of a better word, matured even more, still stinging and heavy but with a slightly lesser focus on the thrash genre than the band had utilised before. And then came “Youthanasia”, an album that almost settles into its own tempo early on and doesn’t move away from that too much, and with heavy riffs that are now closely devoid of what one might consider to be thrash or speed metal, where the roots of this band exist. It’s not a case of the band selling out their sound for the era but is just part of the next step in their evolution.
So, rather than a thrash album, instead here we have a collection of songs that can certainly inspire some hearty singalongs and table banging along the way, in a way that may not satisfy the earliest fans of the band but is worthy of checking out. The opening trio of tracks all fit together nicely and create a working path into the middle of the album. The riff and drum thumping opening of “Reckoning Day” is a winner with hard edged lyrics and a great chorus. It’s a rumbling track that sets the focus of the album from the beginning. This segues into “Train of Consequences” nicely, a song which still gives the impression of that train rollin’ down the tracks. This then moves into the slightly slower and stop start motion of “Addicted to Chaos” which again mightn’t be the faster thrashier track some are looking for but nonetheless is great on this album. All three of these songs have set in motion the Megadeth sound of 1994 – it's a mid-fast tempo throughout, certainly not the kind of material that will have you thrashing in the aisles, but still retains the great riffs that the band is renown for.
“A Tout le Monde” is as close to a power ballad that Dave Mustaine is ever likely to produce, but has a perfect riposte throughout, with that guttural heavy riff through the verse and bridge that lifts it above the mundane. It is a track that has always seemed to put fans at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Many love it and believe it is one of the band’s best tracks, while others find it somewhat of a sellout. It was eventually remade with guest vocalist Christina Scabbia for the “United Abominations” album, where the controversy rose its head once again.
The middle of the album is beset by a song list that does become a bit samey in regard to the rhythm and the tempo, and again doe cause a rift in opinion. “Elysian Fields”, “The Killing Road”, “Blood of Heroes” do plod along a bit in a character that is out of sorts for a Megadeth album. Nick Menza on drums is not being asked to do much that is very difficult apart from keeping time in places, and the lack of energy can be a detriment to the songs. Lyrically they are as hard hitting as always, and the solo blocks are still where Marty shines. These are songs that are enjoyable but offer the nagging feeling that they are a little on the weaker side. It is something that can cruel first impressions of the album
“Family Tree” has a great bass line from Dave Ellefson throughout which is the precursor to lifting the song into the chorus and the solo blitz in the middle, and finally highlighted by Mustaine’s vocal melody. The title track dials things back, backed into that slow halting tempo apart from the rushed solos in the middle of the song, something that is repeated in the penultimate song “Black Curtains”, which does use a heavier guitar and harsher vocal to improve the track. The previous track “I Thought I Knew It All” is one of the best songs on the album, most likely because Dave’s vocals sound terrific and he sings with emotion, and the final track “Victory”, with Dave using a trick that had been done by other bands before him of incorporating previous albums song titles in the lyrics to give the listener a touch of nostalgia, is another great track, the fastest and most energised track on the album, and is a great way to bring the album to a close.

My most vivid memory of this album is when I first purchased it, which was very close to its date of release. I brought it home, listened to it twice in the house we were renting in West Ryde at the time, and then placed it in my CD collection, assuming I would never listen to it again. For the life of me I cannot recall why I had such strong feelings against it. I guess my initial reactions were of the change of direction this album had taken – not massive changes, but enough to perhaps make me think this was a write-off. I really have no idea, but I remember that it was 12 months before I took it out again to listen to it. It probably didn’t help that the scourge of 1995 was almost upon me and sent me off the rails for awhile, and fortunately in the time that had passed whatever the blockage had been that had stopped me from enjoying it had disappeared, because what I found upon its resurrection was just how good “Youthanasia” really was.
Megadeth had been an evolving giant throughout the course of the previous eight years, and here we have a less frenzied song structure throughout than was prevalent on “Countdown to Extinction”. It is also true that the songs have slowed down and settled themselves generally into an even tempo throughout. Thrash lovers and old school fans were reticent, and I can’t say I blame them completely because I had my initial reactions as related above. However, compare this album to Metallica’s “Load” for instance, and this comes across sounding like pure genius!
So while I can understand why many fans were turned off by this album, I actually came to love it – and more than I would ever have expected to. Yep, all of our favourite bands were changing their mark, but at least Megadeth here still stuck their guns lyrically and with power. The tempo of the rhythm of Nick Menza’s drums and Dave Ellefson’s bass may have begun to wear out a groove rather than surprise us with anything fancy, and the riffing of Mustaine and Marty Friedman may not have been the mix of furious bottom end rhythm and amazingly intricate and blazing solos. You can’t reproduce “Rust in Peace” and the band here had no inclination to do so.
For this episode I have had this playing again for the last three weeks, and have had my critical review cap on rather than just my music fan loving cap. And some of that can be heard in what I have said here. If someone was to ask me ‘what do you think of Megadeth’s “Youthanasia”?’ I would likely just say, “I love that album!” To closely study the album, there are some places where I may see a flaw, but that would only be in comparison to the albums that preceded this one. I’ve still loved revisiting it for the past few weeks.
Having experienced from both sides of the argument, I still think this is a great Megadeth album. The speed and thrash elements have been stripped away here and what we have is a more general heavy metal production than those other elements of the genre. It doesn’t showcase the individuals in the band as well as previous albums have done, though there are still moments where they all get to shine. If you can look beyond the changes to the historical music that Megadeth has produced, you will find an enjoyable album that is an excellent addition to the band’s discography.

1040. Megadeth / So Far, So Good... So What! 1988. 4.5/5

I had moved on to university by the time this album was released, and was all the more excited because of it. To this point in time I had only had Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! (as finding anywhere that imported Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? in those days was ridiculous) and I couldn’t wait to have new Megadeth material to feast my ears upon. The differences between the first two albums and this are noticeable, and some find it is too much to bear. On the other hand, there are songs here that are incomparable and still stand the test of time thirty years on.

The opening of So Far, So Good... So What! is once again once of the big strengths of the album, setting the tone from the outset. The instrumental “Into the Lungs of Hell” is a beauty, showcasing the renewed vigour of replacement guitarist Jeff Young into the fold along with drummer Chuck Behler. In the days where the one-upmanship between Megadeth and Metallica was at its height, it’s hard to say whether or not Dave Mustaine felt the need to create his own instrumental in order to counter what Metallica had done with “The Call of Ktulu” and “Orion” on their recent albums. Whatever the reason it is a great way to open up here. This segues wonderfully into the thrashing rites of “Set the World Afire” which starts out hard and ends in a flurry of Mustaine’s vocals spitting out fire and flame. I’ve always loved these opening two tracks and they are as good now as they were back when this was released.
The closing tracks to Side One of the album have not held the same love affair for me. The cover of Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.”, with the U.S.A. substituted in conveniently when necessary in the lyrics, is okay, but it doesn’t really have any of the fire and spirit you would expect from a band trying to add their own personality to it. It is the third cover song in successive albums from Megadeth and this is probably the lamest version of the three. This is followed by “Mary Jane”, and for the most part I find that the whining and warbling of the lyrics tends to harm the output of the song. It’s not a bad track by any stretch of the imagination, but it just isn’t up to the high standard you (or at least I) would expect.
“502” kick-starts the second half of the album off in style with a better rendition of what you expect from the Megadeth sound, though the middle section with transfer of the song to a car’s stereo does sometimes get in the way. I love the riff progression and spitting lyrics which starts off “Liar”, in many ways it is the favourite part of the album. I also enjoy the way it ends abruptly, because charging straight into the finale of “Hook in Mouth”. Mustaine loves a rant, and these two songs are ranting at their best.
The star attraction of the album is “In My Darkest Hour”, which along with the previous album’s “Wake Up Dead” are the two best songs from the 1980’s Megadeth releases. “In My Darkest Hour” has the most mature sound from the band to this point, with clear and distorted guitars combined with both mournful vocals and harsh anger, and combines the raw heavy metal with a distilled thrash sound towards the end that makes this a unique song for the band and the genre to this point.
There’s a lot going on here and the album has divided fans opinion ever since its release. Some feel this was a weak album with the band throwing aside most of its thrash tendencies in an effort to find more credibility and commercial bent. Others believe it is a landmark, a crossing of the divide from the first two albums to what would eventually become their masterpiece, Rust in Peace. Once Mustaine fired both Young and Behler he was critical of their contribution and of the album itself which probably didn’t help to win it any fans or any favour.

Clearly the majority of those people who are young and looking back at this album having not grown up with it are seeing flaws in the songs and the production, and that is not necessarily an incorrect view from that perspective. Judging this against an album such as Endgame one could see many differences that would colour their perspective. On the other hand, I grew up with this album from the age of 18, and I played this to death when I first bought it on vinyl, and I loved every square inch of it. I spat lyrics at the mirror imitating Mustaine and perhaps overlooked a couple of things that could have been ‘less strong’. But even taking those into consideration, this album deserves the respect it has earned, and I for one still love putting this on and singing along at high screeching volume.

Rating:  “No survivors, set the world afire!”  4.5/5

1039. Anthrax / Kings Among Scotland [Live]. 2018. 4/5

For a band that has been around for four decades, it is unusual that Anthrax has never really had a definitive live album. Iron Maiden, Slayer, Ozzy Osbourne… they all have live albums that are legendary and are caught as moments in time of the era they were recorded. Anthrax has the afterthought of their Island Records contract when it released Live: The Island Years, and then the John Bush-headed recording of Music of Mass Destruction, before the reunion with Joey Belladonna release of Alive 2 (2005). All three are good solid live albums, and Music of Mass Destructionespecially at least stands as a monument to the Bush-era songs, but for a quintessential live recording of the band there has been somewhat of a gap.

Does that make this release the live album we have been waiting for from this band? Well, to be fair to the band that moment when they could have released a live album that would stand the test of time has probably passed. Music of Mass Destruction is probably the closest they will come. And the songs have had to be naturally altered with some tuning and a slower pace in order to accommodate the changes in the techniques of the individuals in the band. Yes, tuning down in order to allow Joey to come close to singing some of the older songs that they have in this set list. For me a live recording on the Persistence of Time tour would have been the ultimate goal, but seeing as this was when I first saw them perhaps I am blinded by that.
So does this have a chance to be that definitive live album? It does have a chance, for two reasons. Disc One is a mix of the old and the new. Amongst songs taken from the album on which the band is touring, For All Kings we have a mix of classic Anthrax tunes. The new songs all sound good in this live environment, and given they had been toured for a while before this gig was recorded it shows. “Evil Twin”, “Blood Eagle Wings” and “Breathing Lightning” showcase the best of the latest studio album, and new crowd favourite “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t” from the Worship Music album still comes across well. Liberally splashing with the crowd pleasers such as “A.I.R.”, “Madhouse”, “Medusa” and “Be All End All”, there is something for everyone.
What will elevate this live album into a more accessible category is the second disc, which was the second act of the evening during the tour. It involves the playing live of the entire Among the Living album which is revered and generally accepted as Anthrax’s finest moment. It is not played here in correct running order, but that doesn’t matter in the slightest. Each of these nine amazing songs are played in full and with reverence. The crowd know all the words, and especially in the backing vocals of Scott Ian and Frankie Bello you can hear the crowd at full volume joining in. The album and gig then ends with a rousing rendition of “Antisocial”.
The band are older, and perhaps wiser. Joey Belladonna may not be quite the vocalist he was, but no one is at his age. He still does a great job throughout, and even where he has to make changes to accommodate it comes across well enough to keep the doubters at bay. Jon Donais on lead guitar does a sterling job, while Ian and Bello are as enthusiastic as always. Charlie Benante still amazes on the drums, and again while it may not be his heyday his drum sound is still one of the best in the business.

I’ll admit that after the first two or three times I listened to this I was wondering if this was just another album I would buy and within a couple of weeks would return to the collection to be hidden forever. That may still happen, given I am less likely to drag out a live album to listen to that a studio album. But I have softened my hard resolve against the tiny things I held against this release, and now I can happily continue to listen to it despite the fact I wish it had been released in 1988 and not 2018.

Rating:  “Evil witch casts her spell”.  4/5.

1038. Michael Schenker Fest / Resurrection. 2018. 4/5

Michael Schenker has been shredding his guitar for half a century now, and for much of it he has been doing it superbly. He has been in different bands with different musicians and band mates, and at times his work has been astounding. But how do you keep producing material that your fans are interested in without having it sound like the same stuff over and over again? Or is that exactly what you try and do?

With the formation of Michael Schenker Fest, what is being presented to us is a collection of songs that under any other circumstances may be seen as a fair result, though without the kind of excitement or intensity that would make it stand out from the crowd. Perhaps that is what it is anyway. But what does inspire here is the band that centres on Schenker himself also has Ted McKenna (drums) and Chris Glen (bass) from the original incarnation of the Michael Schenker Group from the early 1980’s, and they all bring that old feeling back to this album. It’s feels like a comfortable pair of shoes, you can slip into this album and feel like you are in your comfort zone.
As if that isn’t enough, just to sweeten the pot even more, we have not one, not two, not three but FOUR former vocalists who have collaborated and recorded with Schenker through the years, all here to not only perform on individual songs but to even come together and do some of the songs together. And THAT is more than enough to give this album a listen.
OK, so you have to know coming in that you are just not going to get those most memorable and brilliant guitar riffs and fireworks that you got from Schenker in his days with UFO and Scorpions and those early days of MSG. Don’t even try and kid yourself that that is going to happen. But if you come in with an open mind and you just allow the music to wash over you, I think you’ll find this is actually better than you first imagine. Because I came in wanting this to be a shred-fest and it isn’t, and it coloured my initial judgement. Once I got away from that and just listened to the album for the fun of it, I found it was terrifically enjoyable, and that Schenker’s guitar work may be toned down from his glory days but it is still excellent nonetheless. As a counterpoint, take the instrumental “Salvation” which comes at the rear of the album. THIS will straight away take you back to those MSG days, of the magic of “Into the Arena” and “Captain Nemo”. This is a great song and showcases Schenker’s best. Once you have heard this and enjoyed it, you can then focus on the rest of the album. Because there are some good moments here, and at times it sounds similar to some of those best songs we know from the band back in the 1980’s.
It’s interesting that the songs which Graham Bonnet sings on have a somewhat slower and stilted feel to them, more in the style that some of his other solo material has headed than his best MSG material. I was most looking forward to the songs he participated in. “Night Moods” fits this perfectly. “Everest” segues in from the previous song and is immediately a better fit for Bonnet’s vocals. Gary Barden has at times had problems in a live environment, but in the studio he still has the pipes to do the job. In many ways he is still the quintessential MSG vocalist and he still sounds that way in his songs here, and they sound most like the old MSG songs. “Messin’ Around” and “Livin’ a Life Worth Livin’” are his contributions here and they do exactly that. Robin McAuley may not have the same singing style as he did thirty years ago, but he still has the energy and drive in his vocals that lend themselves to the songs in a great way. His two songs are probably my favourite on the album, probably because they are the fastest and only songs with a double kick throughout. He has the opening track “Heart and Soul” which also features Metallica’s Kirk Hammett on guitar which adds to the great guitar sound it exudes, and Robin’s other track is “Time Knows When It’s Time” which also sounds great and utilises his vocal range to its utmost. In amongst all of this, current Temple of Rock vocalist Doogie White does his work well. Having worked with Schenker on that project in recent years he is obviously comfortable in his setting, and his songs, “Take Me to the Church”, “The Girl with the Stars in Her Eyes” and “Anchors Away” still have that touch of his previous band’s work in them. Then you have the complete collaboration songs, where all four vocalists combine to add their vocal chords to the same progression. The second song “Warrior” and the closing track “The Last Supper” both feature the entire ensemble, and it’s great to hear everyone together and enjoying themselves so much.

As is usually the case with some who is as revered as Schenker is in the metal music community, and who continues to record music beyond what could be considered his ‘golden years’, opinion on this album will come down to how much you allow sentiment to alter your perception. If you love Schenker’s music and also enjoy the vocalists who are on show here, then you will really enjoy what this album has to offer. As long as you aren’t expecting to hear anything ground-breaking and are happy to accept that, you will find this collaboration is worthy of your time, and an enjoyable experience.

Rating:  “We are all the same, no one is to blame, and we live on to tomorrow”  4/5

1037. Slayer / Seasons in the Abyss. 1990. 5/5

I can totally understand why Slayer fans who came into the band all the way back at the beginning in 1983 have problems reconciling what is offered on Seasons in the Abyss. Where you have been raised on a diet of pure thrash and speed metal that the band delivered on their early albums, coming into this album must have been a slightly off-putting experience. On the other hand, for those that found Slayer at about the time this was released, it could be seen as being a liberating event. This is where I met Slayer.

That it took me so long to get around to listening to Slayer is not only a bit surprising it is also disappointing. I should have been listening to Slayer a lot earlier than this, but as none of my friend group with whom I shared all of our album purchases with had found their way into the band either, none of us had a reference point. Don’t get me wrong, I had heard snatches of songs at record stores and on metal programmes along the way, but had never actually made the connection to go out and buy their albums. As a result, it wasn’t until a few months before this album came along that I finally started divulging in the band, and it was this album that was the first of theirs I bought and obsessed over.
This is where the two sides of the fan debate will part, and maybe I feel a little fortunate that I was able to take in and love this album without the past albums intruding to colour my judgement, because if I had I too may have felt that this album changed everything that Slayer had produced before. Yes, I’m talking about the speed and ferociousness of the songs in general. It’s not the case for the whole album but there are certainly moments where the groove and riff sets in rather than the pure speed or high level thrash that dominated the band’s earlier albums. “Dead Skin Mask” and “Seasons in the Abyss” are the two high profile songs on this album that do this. They are both terrific songs in their own right, but they are not like anything that came from their early days. Perhaps the best example on the album is perhaps my favourite song, “Skeletons of Society”. It’s a simple groove and riff, it tends to plod along, but I love the song and the lyrics. It mirrors “Expendable Youth” though the soloing goes off on its own track as well.
Still if you want thrash you’ve still got it here. Album opener “War Ensemble” is a killer track, set off on the back of the remarkable drumming of Dave Lombardo who ignites the song at a fever pitch but is challenged by the riffing of Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King as Tom Araya somehow plays the bass at this speed while spitting out the lyrics in the same speed. “Blood Red” and “Spirit in Black” continue in a similar vein, as do “Hallowed Point” and “Born of Fire”. Another favourite is “Temptation” with dual vocals tracks that Araya had recorded separately (one the way he wanted to sing it, the other the way writer King thought it should be sung) that were then put together on the song when it was thought it worked. And it does!

In a year where so many fantastic but ever-changing heavy metal albums were released, you can’t deny that this one is still at the top of its game. All four band members are on fire here, Hanneman and King’s amazing guitars brought to the fore with Araya’s bass and vocals pushing the limits and Lombardo’s drumming smashing the silence and at times the sound barrier. While we will always have the raw majesty of Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits, and while Reign in Blood will always stand as a pinnacle, and while South of Heaven still ranks alongside these other albums, this album shows that thrash metal can show a maturity without overly compromising its principles. As I said initially, I can understand where those early fans are coming from with their criticism of this album, and find I am thankful in this instance for the fact that I was able to fall in love with this album for the right reasons and not just be angry about any perceived changes in the make-up of the songs from their earlier vintage. This still ranks as one of the greats.

Rating:  “The final swing is not a drill, it's how many people I can kill!”.  5/5

1036. Dokken / Return to the East Live [Live]. 2018. 2.5/5

The heyday of bands can stretch for any length of time, but once that heyday has been reached and passed there is no returning to it. Nostalgia can often carry a band to further heights at a later stage, and classic line up reunions can do the same. Dokken appears to have gone for most of those things combined with this live album release, and while there will be fans of the band out there who will lick this up, many others will rightly ask whether or not this release was necessary in any shape or form apart from being a money spinner.

The classic run for Dokken of Tooth and Nail, Under Lock and Key and Back for the Attack was completed by the release of the live album Beast From the East, which tied up the ends nicely before they disbanded for other projects apart from each other. Despite other albums coming and the band members changing once a reformation of sorts was accomplished seven years later, nothing has approached those four albums in the Dokken discography.
Once again though, the ‘classic’ line up reformed a couple of years ago, did a run of shows with their greatest hits through Japan again (where surely their main audience still resides), recorded a new tune and put this album together along with a live video of the shows and titled it Return to the East Live (2016). No doubt looking for the nostalgia buffs.
If you truly loved Dokken in the day, or discovered them later on, then there is no real need to invest in this package. To be honest, it is somewhat of an injustice to the memory of just how good this band was in the 1980’s where their greatest material was written and recorded. One of the first problems you run into on this recording is that there just doesn’t feel like there is any energy coming through. Dokken always thrived on stage, and on their studio albums you felt that energy pumping out of the speakers. Here however it is almost like they have produced an easy-listening version of their songs, and that they are playing in front of a crowd of grannies at an old folk’s home. It’s a soft comeback, and while I’m happy to attribute some of that to the advancing age of the participants on the stage, and perhaps even that this still wasn’t the happiest of reunions apart from being a grab for cash, it still doesn’t excuse the lounge act kind of atmosphere that most of this album seems to sound like.
One of the inescapable facts of the album is that Don’s voice just cannot do the things that it used to do in those more enlightened times. Every song has been tuned down and altered vocally so that Don can at least give a semblance of a performance of the lyrics, which is interesting because for the most part Jeff Pilson’s supporting vocals still sound the same as they ever did. So I guess for much of the time I spend listening to this album I keep hearing how the vocals SHOULD sound and in trying to marry that up with the way that Don HAS to sing them now, and it just doesn’t come together very well.

Is it a bad album? No it’s not, but it is different. This was all done better on the 1988 live album when the band was at its peak, and this is just a reunion show playing much the same material but 30 years later. The new single recorded for the release, “It’s Another Day”, does sound fine, mostly because it is recorded with the band’s current requirements being taken into account. There are also two acoustic track, “Heaven Sent” and “Will the Sun Rise”, which I can take or leave without too much trouble.
If you don’t know Dokken and want to see what they are all about, then the four albums listed above will give you the best chance to grow to love them. Unless you are a completely obsessive fan who is a die-hard lover of the band, you don’t need to hear this.

Rating:  Only for the mega-fan.  2.5/5

1035. Stryper / God Damn Evil. 2018. 3.5/5

Before I sat down to write this review of Stryper’s new album God Damn Evil, I took a look back at what I have said about their last four or five albums. Not to steal from them, but more to confirm that in essence how I feel about this album is exactly how I have felt about those albums. I didn’t want to head into writing what I guessed was essentially the same old feelings without knowing that was what I was going to do.

So yes, that’s pretty much what I’m going to do. Because here is yet another excellent sounding album by a band that rediscovered its mojo with their 2009 release Murder by Pride and has maintained that level of excellence since. And I can’t really say anything different this time around because all of the same things stand true here as they have on the previous three albums. Those being:

1. This is a Christian band, and these are Christian-themed lyrics in each song. If you are in to that kind of thing then you are in the right ballpark. If you aren’t, then you should ignore what might be being proclaimed in the lyrics and just enjoy the songs, because they still sound great.
2. The musicianship and production is fantastic. Robert Sweet’s drumming is still terrific, and drives each song perfectly. He has always seemed to get a great sound from his equipment on Stryper albums, which is not always the case on studio recordings. New bass guitarist Perry Richardson does his job admirably in support of the rhythm section.
3. The guitars of Oz Fox and Michael Sweet are just incredible. Not only the sound they get, but the brilliant riffs and soloing from the two of them has always been one of the major themes that draws me to this band. Whatever you might think of their themes, the actual guitaring is always magnificent and more than worth coming back to hear time and time again.
4. The vocal chords of Michael Sweet. I’m not sure if he has ever gotten due praise for his voice. It is one of the best in the business, in any genre of music. In harmony with Oz Fox, these two just nail every song and still hit notes that are surely impossible to sing.

I don’t always find particular songs to rave about on Stryper albums now, but I can put on this album and listen all the way through and then have a repeat dose. There are some things mixed in on this edition, the chorus high pitched screaming of “TAKE IT TO THE CROSS!” on the opening track of the same name is a change in habit, and then the drop back in intensity in “Sorry”. The hard core riff and beat of “God Damn Evil” is followed by the smooth and rumbling “You Don’t Even Know Me”. The closing track “The Devil Doesn’t Live Here” is another favourite.

In the long run, if you have enjoyed Stryper in the past you will enjoy this album as well, even though it probably isn’t quite as heavy or creative as the previous couple of albums. The groove is well maintained here, and the best parts of the band are highlighted and maintained. If you are not a fan of the band then you won’t find anything here to change your mind.

Rating:  “You better change your reflection and start a new crusade”.  3.5/5