1050. Megadeth / Rust in Peace. 1990. 5/5

Dave Mustaine always seemed as though he felt that he was in a competition with his former band Metallica, something that was probably real in his own head but surely in the minds of the fans of his band Megadeth was not an issue. And yet despite three excellent albums of his own under the Megadeth banner, Mustaine still acted as though he felt he was always living in their shadow. The praise, and perhaps the increasing and enduring love that was being shown by the critics for Metallica’s albums, up to and including 1988’s “...And Justice for All”, seemed to be weighing him down. Megadeth’s debut album “Killing is My Business... and Business is Good!” was an excellent riposte to Metallica’s own debut album, but the fact that it came two years after that release, and that Metallica already had their sophomore album out, “Ride the Lightning” (which, just for the kicker, still had songs that Mustaine had contributed parts to), it must have felt as though Megadeth was lagging. Megadeth’s own sophomore album “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” was a brilliant response to showcase the maturity in thrash that the band had made... that unfortunately then came up against Metallica’s “Master of Puppets”. Tough crowd! And then their third album “So Far, So Good... So What!” measured up against the aforementioned “... And Justice for All”... and... well... you know... it’s a tough marketplace when you are trying to compete in your own mind against four of the greatest thrash metal albums of the 1980’s... even when you have produced a couple of them yourself!
How much all of this was taken into account when it came to writing and recording Megadeth’s fourth studio album is unknown, but you could make a couple of good guesses. It was the coming together of a new quartet that helped to change the narrative slightly, and was perhaps the final piece of the puzzle in bringing out the very best that Megadeth the band could produce. By 1990 there came two wonderful ingredients that made their influence felt from the get-go. Mustaine had already fired guitarist Jeff Young and drummer Chuck Behler while on tour promoting the previous album, which caused that tour to cease immediately. Mustaine had promoted yet another drum tech into the position of number one stick twirler in Nick Menza. Previous drummers had done a good job and performed well but various problems always meant that the revolving door in the band kept swinging. In Nick Menza the band now had a drummer that understood the pace, precision and intensity that the drums needed to be in order to dominate and drive the songs that were being written. Initially Mustaine had asked Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott to join the band, though Dimebag’s one requirement – that his brother Vinnie Paul be allowed to join the band as drummer – was something that could not be acceded after the hiring of Menza, and so the Abbott brothers remained in their band, about to make their own breakthrough. Jeff Waters from Annihilator, whose debut album “Alice in Hell” had caught the attention in 1989 was another who was considered, and former guitarist Chris Poland actually returned and provided some guide tracks on demos for the album. Years later in an interview on the Blabbermouth website, Poland said: “Dave kept asking me to join Megadeth again. I actually was 99 percent going to join Megadeth, and then Janie Hoffman, who was managing me, for two days, she told me, 'If you join that band, you're going to die.' I'm totally sober at that point, and I'm not 100 percent sure that they are. She said, 'If they're not sober, and you join the band, you're not going to make it.'”. Instead, a guitarist late in the piece sent Mustaine a copy of an album he had played on called “Dragon’s Kiss”. After he had listened to it, Mustaine brought the guitarist in to audition, and soon offered him the guitarist slot in the band. In Marty Friedman they had a technically brilliant guitarist who not only added expertise to the band but drove Mustaine himself to greater heights in order to ensure he wasn’t being ‘shown up’ and to keep everything on the same brilliant level. With the players now in place, alongside Mustaine and his long time bass player Dave Ellefson, the stars aligned in what became the glittering jewel in the band’s catalogue with the release of the album “Rust in Peace”.

Here again we can best judge a great album on not only the strength of the best known songs and their influence on the fans and other bands around the world, but on the songs that fill the other slots on the album. Because this album has some of the best songs in the entire Megadeth catalogue, and yet in many ways it is the songs that were not publicised as heavily, the songs that if you don’t listen to albums and only listen to singles and best of compilations you wouldn’t know at all, that make this such a fabulous album.
“Take No Prisoners” is a ripping track, crashing in after the opening assault of the opening two songs, with spitting lyrics and with great byplay vocals that trade off against each other in the right places, all complemented by a furious soundtrack throughout with those great solo’s from Mustaine and Friedman that make it a classic. There is a stinging anger coming through in Mustaine’s lyrics here again, bringing the wrath of war and its consequences, and sewing it all together into a brilliant thrash metal classic.
This is followed by “Five Magics” with more of the same. Dave is back with his black magic craft and obsession – at least until his rediscovery of God – and he brings out all the stops here lyrically. The lyrics are actually a lot of fun if you are happy to take them that way, speaking of witchcraft, of sorcery and alchemy and wizardry. And my goodness, the music of this track, so amazingly crafted in itself. The quick pace opening of drums and guitars falls back into the slower pace of Ellefson’s bass guitar rumbling along with the guitars less intensely over the top, before the crash into the song proper at the halfway mark, with speed and hard core riffing and thrashing as Mustaine commands centre stage vocally and Friedman solos with abandon. This is one of the heights of the maturing thrash the band brings to this album. It is outrageously good, covering every facet of the genre and utilising ideas that most bands would be hesitant to consider in case it should turn away the fan base. Megadeth just turn it up further and punch harder. Outstanding.
“Poison Was the Cure” is one of the most underrated songs in the Megadeth catalogue, flaying along at an amazing speed, highlighted by the precision timing of Menza’s drums and the picking of the three guitarists who don’t have time to take a break throughout the whole song. Once again Ellefson is given the chance to lead the opening of the track which proves to be a real focal point. I’ve often wondered, given the well documented fact of there being inaudible bass guitar on Metallica’s album released prior to this, whether Mustaine thought “well, how about we HIGHLIGHT the bass guitar on this album, just to prove a point?” If he did, then kudos Dave, that is a genius move. The speed of the track once it kicks into gear once again is just amazing, and all four are incredible, but that guitaring from Mustaine and Friedman... far out, it is truly amazing. And then we have the cackling to start off “Lucretia”, which culls the outrageous speed back to slightly over the regular speed limit and sets off a song with a brilliant groove throughout, and offset by the solos towards the end. It is just another awesome track, and everything about this album is cooking.
After the fire and turbulence of “Tornado of Souls”, “Dawn Patrol” sets itself perfectly in place, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath before delving further. Based completely around Ellefson’s bass guitar and Menza’s drums, this is beautifully composed and performed, the dire warning of nuclear holocaust that acts as the segue into the closing track, a short foreboding that identifies as a song itself but as the lead into the finale, wonderfully vocalised by Mustaine again. That following final track then is “Rust in Peace… Polaris” which ends in the same fury and fire that the album began with. The drumming here is a leading light. Nick Menza is quite amazing throughout this album, but it is the little things on this song that really stand out, the cymbal and hi-hat triplets and tom rolls and snare crashing that stands out on this song. As a closer, it acts as the perfect bookend to what has come before it, the increase in speed and aggression to the very end is perfect.
Those songs as described here are why this album is so magnificent, because if it was just them, this album would still be legendary and still be spoken of in the highest terms. But outside of these wonderful songs, there are three others that we haven’t covered yet.
It’s an easy task to categorise the heavy hitters on the album, with the opening hostile attack of “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” smashing the album off on the right foot. It is difficult to express just how amazing this song was when you first bought the album back in 1990, and first heard this coming out of the speakers at you. In essence, it is the same experience as hearing “Painkiller” for the first time. This crushes out of the speakers at you immediately, the first time hearing both Nick Menza on drums and Marty Friedman on guitar – wondering just what their contribution to Megadeth would be like. And then you hear “Holy Wars” for the first time, and stare at your stereo with gaping mouth. The guitars and drums to start with, and then Dave’s lyrics – and then the breakdown that leads into “The Punishment Due”. I mean... who writes a song like this?! The cut back to the groove of the middle of the song, the wailing and methodical guitar solo pieces, the unmitigated anger and aggression of the lyrics, until the break back to the obscenely fast conclusion that just piles on the speed and brilliance of the guitars, and Dave doubling down vocally to complete one of their greatest compilations. And then just for fun it is followed by the brilliance of “Hangar 18”. The mainstay of “Hangar 18” is not the fun filled lyrics of space aliens being contained in secret hangars, but of the fantastic trading solos that make up the entire second half of the song. As Ellefson and Menza hold everything together in the background, Mustaine and Friedman tear it apart, reaching a crescendo at the end of the song where the rhythm is also cranked up to reach a brilliant conclusion. It seems such a simple song in structure and lyrics, but those duelling guitars are absolutely magnificent. The third of the triumvirate is the thrash central core of “Tornado of Souls”. Crashing out of the blocks once again, Menza’s drumming is superb, leading the song out and creating the flair that brings this song all together. The duel solo section of the middle of the track is again superb, but it the build to the conclusion of the song that really brings it all together, with lyrics that spit ire as the music reaches its crescendo: “And now I fill your brain, I spin you 'round again, My poison fills your head, As I tuck you into bed, You'll feel my fingertips, You won't forget my lips, You'll feel my cold breath, It's the kiss of death”. Just superb. And this is not to categorise these three songs as the only ‘great’ songs on the album, it’s just the ones most metalheads know well. As I believe I have made perfectly clear, I rate every track on this album as a great song, and the album as a whole is so magnificent because the lesser known songs to those that aren’t out-and-out Megadeth fans, are absolutely enthralling.

Spring 1990 in the southern hemisphere. I am already drowning in new release albums from my favourite bands, and the majority of those albums are the equal if not better than any album they have previously released. It's a plethora, a smorgasbord of music, and it truly is a great time to be alive. I already adore Anthrax’s “Persistence of Time”, I am enthralled with Judas Priest’s “Painkiller”. And there are still albums to come that I will put alongside those two albums – when this album is released. The album cover was enough to create excitement for all of us awaiting its release. It just looked... cool. And inviting. The album was released on a Monday, which is surely the most inconvenient day to ever release albums, though for a time this was the norm.
So I buy the album. And I take it home. And I put it on, in my downstairs bedroom on my own stereo. And for the next 40 minutes, my mind gets blown in a way that has rarely happened before or since. My first reaction when I get together with my friend group to discuss matters is “where the hell did this come from?!” Because this was not on the same pathway that the band’s three previous albums had taken. Indeed, this album appears to be a culmination, a morphing and merging of the best parts of each of the first three albums, throw into a blender, processed by the solid two members of the group and the incoming two new members with fresh ideas and thoughts from the outside – and then turned it into one of the greatest thrash metal albums of all time.
How did this occur? Is it just the maturing of the writing and playing aspects of the band? There is certainly some of that here. Mustaine has moved from angry man at being kicked out of his previous band to angry man at people in his own band, to angry man at the world around him and the global events occurring at that time. That brought a different focus to his lyrics and his music. There is no doubt that, despite him not really being around for the writing process, that Marty Friedman was a defining influence on the music on the album. His incredible guitaring skills allowed Mustaine to push harder than he could have with his earlier bandmates. And this is also true of Nick Menza on drums. His technical prowess here is a step up as well. So their entry to the band has had a significant impact here.
All I can vouch for here is that this album had a major and significant impact on my life at this time. In recent episodes, and in coming episodes as well, I have and will talk about the albums released in this period which can be classed as top shelf. “Rust in Peace” is more than that. “Rust in Peace” is a singularly brilliant album on every level. And it dominated my music listening for months after its release, leading up to the FUCKING FINALLY first tour of Australia by the band in February 1991, where I saw them on both of their sold out nights at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, playing much of this album and just blowing the audience away.
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that I have had this album out on my stereo again for the last two weeks. It might even be longer than that. At last count it was 22 times I’ve listened to this album again on this round to prepare myself for this podcast episode. And know even as I speak that I will not have done this album justice. It is one of those landmark albums in my life, one that defies explaining how much I love it and what it has meant to me over the 35 years since its release.
True thrash metal was reaching its use by date once 1991 rolled around, and this album is one of the last great hurrahs of the 1980’s exposition of the genre. But it is a different form, because the musicianship here is astounding and outstanding. Listen to those guitars of Mustaine and Friedman. They are simply outstanding. The bass work from Dave Ellefson is also just brilliant, and so essential to the sound of the album, and not buried in the mix such that occurred on another famous band’s album that was released just before this album. And on top of this Nick Menza’s drumming is superb. What makes this album so good and so listenable even all these years later is that each member is given their moment to shine, to make a part of a song their own, and it is so much more enjoyable because of this. And it is metal of the highest order, something that made it almost impossible to replicate down the track.
Put this album up against any other metal album ever recorded, and it holds its own against it. It is furious and unrelenting, it is heavy yet accessible, and it is as brilliant and fantastic today as it was on the day it was released, which was the day when I first bought it and listened to it. In a year of amazing metal album releases, this one towered over the lot. Indeed, it towers over almost every other album ever recorded.

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.