ALBUM REVIEW: Megadeth – Megadeth
Endings are a funny thing. So rarely do we get to choose them, but so often they are how we are remembered. To be able to finish something on your own terms is a real opportunity to make a definitive statement and leave nothing unsaid. While MEGADETH have had a couple of false finishes before, this feels like the real deal. With their seventeenth studio album, band leader Dave Mustaine has promised us that this is the end. So, what are Mustaine’s last words?
Joining Mustaine is not who you might have expected to grace a final MEGADETH record, mind. With no other founders or classic members in sight, the band boasts a dominating rhythm section in bassist James LoMenzo and drummer Dirk Verbeuren, both making sophomoric appearances on a MEGADETH album. Rounding out the line-up is WINTERSUN guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, putting his first and what we can only assume is last stamp on a MEGADETH record. While Mustaine is clearly in the driver’s seat throughout their latest, the rest of the band certainly leave their mark in songwriting and performance – particularly newcomer Mäntysaari whose ferocious playing is a true highlight.
With the cast assembled, how do you even approach a final album? Draw on past highs, nod to previous eras, indulge in introspection or just keep pushing forward? MEGADETH effectively try to do all of the above to varying degrees of success.
It’s a strong start with opener Tipping Point cementing the band’s legacy as thrash titans through lethal riffs, arresting leads and a surprisingly simple-but-memorable chorus. Throw in a menacing stomp of a breakdown and you have one of the best MEGADETH tracks of the 21st century. Things immediately take an unexpected turn straight after with I Don’t Care. The song mixes punk inspirations like FEAR with Mustaine’s own off-kilter grooves (think MD.45 or Dread And The Fugitive Mind) to create something musically compelling. It’s a shame then that the lyrics are mostly embarrassing. The snarled mouth that once gave us the incensed invective of Peace Sells sounds utterly de-fanged on lyrics as asinine as “I don’t care, you can kiss my ass”. Thank God for some stellar guitar work to take the edge off.
Speaking of whom, Hey God?! is the first real sense of Dave looking inwards as he grapples with his own insecurity and isolation. Stylistically, Hey, God?! wouldn’t feel out of place between Countdown and Youthanasia with its mid-paced march and hooky chorus ensuring it’ll rattle in your head long after finishing. Next, MEGADETH try to turn the clock back further with the speed-infused Let There Be Shred. Despite some properly excellent fretboard gymnastics, especially from Mäntysaari, the song is pulled down by its cringe-inducing lyrics as it attempts to chronicle Mustaine’s metal journey (territory much better covered on past cut Of Mice And Men).
Tapping the vein of ’90s MEGADETH once again is Puppet Parade, its guitar parts swaying and spiralling behind Mustaine’s rasped lyrics. Affecting a more spoken word approach, it’s one of Dave’s best vocal performances on the album as he spits with his trademark grit and venom. Similar can be said of later track Obey The Call, though its metallic trudging is more in line with inessential cuts like Black Curtains and Blessed Are The Dead rather than a standout.
Far less redeemable is the uninspired Another Bad Day, a track so phoned-in that it wouldn’t even fit amongst the litany of reused songs on Th1rt3en. More reminiscent of MEGADETH’s last two albums is Made To Kill, an aggressive depiction of war-torn violence that remains mostly forgettable despite some strong riffs. I Am War is the album’s real nadir however, its self-buoying rallying crying feeling listless at best.
Thankfully, the album course corrects with the dramatically titled The Last Note. With some real dynamism courtesy of deft tempo changes and stylistic shifts, there is something quite hauntingly urgent about the whole affair. It’s also a lyrical highlight, with Mustaine showing some real self-awareness as he both opines about his internal struggles (“each show became a battle”) and triumphantly declares his mark on the genre; “I came, I ruled, now I disappear.” It’s a little cheesy, but Dave’s sign off is genuinely poignant.
That poignancy is almost immediately completely undermined by the real closing number, a rendition of METALLICA’s Ride The Lightning. Presented as a “bonus” track on every version of the record, it’s meant as a nod to his former band. But you can’t help but feel like Mustaine is desperately trying to wrestle some final ownership over METALLICA by covering it. Though technically well delivered, MEGADETH’s version feels vibeless compared to the 1986 original.
Ultimately, closing the book on MEGADETH’s discography is momentous, truly signifying the end of an era. It also puts a lot of weight and baggage on that final album, with a level of expectation that would be impossible to live up to. Overall, Megadeth as a record succeeds most when it feels authentic, its best numbers being organic and personal. Still, while not a bad album, it also often feels like the band are going through the motions. A speedy riff here, a snarl there – it’s not the most inspiring set of last words. Perhaps after forty years of being a progenitor of the genre, there just isn’t that much more left to say.
Rating: 6/10
Megadeth is set for release January 23rd via BLKIIBLK Records.
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