Band:
Dave Mustaine – lead vocals, guitars
Chris Broderick – guitars, backup vocals
Dave Ellefson – bass guitar, backup vocals
Shawn Drover – drums, percussion & backup vocals
Discography:
Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985)
Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (1986)
So Far, So Good... So What! (1988)
Rust in Peace (1990)
Countdown to Extinction (1992)
Youthanasia (1994)
Cryptic Writings (1997)
Risk (1999)
The World Needs a Hero (2001)
The System Has Failed (2004)
United Abominations (2007)
Endgame (2009)
Guests:
Chris Rodriguez – backup vocals
Info
Produced by Johnny K and Dave Mustaine
Recorded, engineered & mixed by Johnny K
Additional engineering by Dave Mustaine, Zachary Coleman, Ken Eisennagel and Andy Sneap
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Matt Dougherty – Digital editing and mix assistant
Released 1/11-2011
Reviewed 2/11-2011
Links:
megadeth.com
myspace
youtube
roadrunner
I think anyone already familiar with Megadeth will know how this sound, it sticks to the established roots of the band which should guarantee that the fans will like it. The sound is maybe just a little more melodic than they usually are, there are some touches of the melodic rock of the eighties and the are quite some guitar masturbations going on there and there in songs as soon as Mustaine is not sining. The overall sound is raw like the eighties thrash but still with a foot in the modern so the sound is majestic, heavy and clean as well as quite modern. Dave Mustaine’s vocals are just as gnarly as they always have been and that is a guarantee for the band to sound decently fresh despite the fact that they hardly can be accused of being innovative in any way. Otherwise the number thirteen is quite present in this album, the title, there are thirteen tracks on the same album where the final one is called just 13. And as if that wasn’t enough, the total playing time of the album is 4.423 times 13, so you see they are using that number thirteen quite a bit in this album.
But is this album anything to have? Well, it depends on what you are going to use it for, as floor tiles it is not very good as it is quite fragile and doesn’t take much load before it breaks, and it is a bit expensive as well. Neither does it work as art for the wall as the cover art is quite ugly, and to use it as a remote control is hopeless, and don’t even think of eating it. But if you are going to pop the CD in a CD-player and play the music or if you have bought it on digital files and are going to play it, then you will have your money’s worth that’s for sure. It is a great album even if Dave Mustaine’s voice is as bad as a dying swan’s, but for the dirty sounding music on the album it fits like a hand in the correctly sized glove. All the tracks are good and the album is energetic and raw which is just what Megadeth is all about, they do it really well on this album which might be the best they have done but I am not that friendly with the band so I might be in error.
Public Enemy No. 1 is probably the top class of the album with a great, heavy, powerful and energetic song that you just can’t dislike. I also think Who’s Line is it Anyway? is great, hey, wait a minute, wait just a minute, that is not right. It should be Who’s Life (is it Anyway?) I was confusing it with the clever television show. Still that is a great show, I mean song that seems to focus on this thing where other people complain about how Dave lives his life, I think it is anyway. Then we have the penultimate song called Deadly Nightshade which I also like very much, but all the songs are really good on the album so it is time well spent to listen to it as it is a good listening experience.
I think that if you like Megadeth or just raw heavy metal then this album is the one you really want as it has all you can desire: songs, music, Dave Mustaine, the number 13 and so on and so forth. Not even the number 13 can really deflect from the greatness of this album. I can clearly recommend it, but maybe not if you are superstitious.
HHHHHHH
