1051. Megadeth / Live Trax [EP]. 1997. 5/5

At the time I found this at my favourite record store (Utopia Records in Sydney for those who are interested) Megadeth had no official live album on the market. In the years since of course there are several, as well as old concerts released on deluxe editions of past album re-released, not to mentioned bootlegged gigs. But in 1997 when I found this there was nothing, and I can honestly say I was excited to find it.

The live EP contains seven songs within six tracks, with the opening salvo of “Reckoning Day” and “Peace Sells” combined into the first track. It was recorded over two locations, at Phoenix, Arizona (to which Dave announces is now “Megadeth, Arizona!”) and California. Being an EP it is necessarily short, but the songs selection was always going to be a concern.
The opening track “Reckoning Day” sounds fantastic, and segues perfectly into “Peace Sells” through the ending kick drum from the first song into the bass opening of the second track. Perfect symmetry. I like the introduction of “Angry Again” form the Last Action hero soundtrack, it’s a great song that could easily have been written off because it didn’t end up on a Megadeth album. The live version here is terrific. So too the live version of “Use the Man” from the Cryptic Writings album, on which the band was touring on at the time. Then comes the power and joy of “Tornado of Souls” which sounds fantastic live, as does “A Tout Le Monde” which follows it. Perhaps the star attraction for me here is “She-Wolf”. Before I got this EP I was undecided how much I enjoyed the song. Once I heard it live, I was hooked and sold.

I loved this from the outset. It’s a short sharp jab that whets your appetite before finishing all too abruptly, especially when the last thing you hear is “Now here’s one you’ll remember…” before fading out.
At the time of its released, this looked as though it was going to be the only live recorded material from the Mustaine/Ellefson/Friedman/Menza line up. Future re-releases of past albums have included live gigs with these four which is exactly as it should have been. Still, as a moment in time, this is still a great listen.

Rating: “Mother of all that is evil”. 5/5