Ole Dave Mustaine, there’s never a dull moment when he’s around. In the world of Megadeth something always happens and it’s not only about the music. Just like in too many veteran bands it’s been more about the band soap opera in Megadeth than actual music lately. This time it was bassist Dave Ellefson who hit shit creek. Ellefson was caught doing the nasty online with a fan half his age and Mustaine gave him the boot right off the bat. Another Reverend busted, huh. That meant a delay for the release of Megadeth’s new album as Mustaine had all of Ellefson’s bass work deleted and current Testament bassist Steve DiGiorgio redoing those parts. James Lomenzo (White Lion, Pride & Glory, Sweet & Lynch) is now back in the band as a full member.
At least for me, Megadeth is an interesting band again after a few years when they released good but not great albums. Their last record Dystopia came out eight years ago, back in 2016 and it was a record that showed the band back in good health with the classic Megadeth swagger all over the album, something that began with the previous records Thirteen (2011) and Super Collider (2013), both solid affairs. With a stable line-up – apart for Ellefson’s demise – that’s been around since 2015 with lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren, Megadeth now feels more like band than they have in many, many years and the new record sure comes with some great expectations.
An ominous intro of a voice that yells “bring out your dead” over a tolling bell opens the album’s title-track and third single. With a riff that reminds me of a “Hells Bells” (AC/DC) on steroids the tune riffs away heavy, hard and aggressive with classic melody-structure. It’s a fast track albeit not super-fast and it’s gloomy and it sure doesn’t take any prisoners. The track hit pay-dirt with me right from go. Classic Megadeth at its best. “Life In Hell”, single #4, is a thrashy riff-fest. It’s a blazing, fast and furious metal-belter that hits right in your solar plexus. The slower spoken-word bridge gives the tune some dynamic contrasts but it’s the rowdy parts that drives the song. Good stuff.
Second outing “Night Stalkers” is old-school MegaThrash – fast, gritty, raw and brutal. It’s a pedal-to-the-metal and hard-edged belter that does its best to go for the KO – and it sure does. It also features rapper Ice-T on a spoken-word section and a symphonic/acoustic interlude which also creates some dynamics. The chorus is spot-on and really goes for the throat. Good one. “Dogs Of Chernobyl” starts out on a more fragile note with acoustic guitars and keyboards before it takes on a heavy and dark direction in a slower tempo. The song brings forth melodic harmonies and it holds a direct and catchy chorus too but close to the end the song speeds up and throws out edgy rhythms and knife-sharp riffing. Great stuff.
“Sacrifice” has a lot of early, classic Megadeth but also a more modern touch. It’s a heavy, rowdy and muscular piece with razor-sharp shredding, beefy riffage and bouncy rhythms but also with prominent melodies and a stellar chorus-hook that makes the song catch on fast. I dig this a lot. The straight forward and hard-hitting metal-blaster “Junkie” is also a powerful headbanger. It’s an edgy and gritty blend of Thrash and Speed Metal with an underlying darkness and self explanatory lyrics. Lots of attitude and anger and a big live-friendly outlook gives the song more edge and the chorus really hits home. Very good.
The spoken-word interlude “Psychopathy” is not a real song as such but written as an introduction and with its tribal drumming and screeching guitars as a ground it leads us into “Killing Time”, the latest single, is an aggressive yet melodic numbers that throws in both Thrash, Heavy Metal and Hard Rock. It’s a rhythmic piece of work with distinct and striking melodies all over and the chorus brings on vibes from “Hangar 18” without Mustaine stealing from himself. It’s a damn catchy tune, everything from riffs to vocal melodies sticks and I can easily see this one go down brilliantly live. A real killer.
“Soldier On!”, well, soldiers on actually (pun intended) raw and ferocious on galloping rhythms and firey riffing. It’s a mid-paced, meaty headbang fest with vigour and attitude. It’s hard and punchy yet with an uplifting and peptalking, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger outlook. It’s a kick-ass tune with a damn glueing refrain. “Célebutante” is a raging, fast, fist-in-the-face metal-belter with razor-sharp guitars and ballsy rhythms about all the Insta C-lebreties and influencers seeking attention. The song holds a slower section as well as some proggy undertones. It’s an aggressive tune but it also feels somewhat acrimonious. Good one.
“Mission To Mars” starts out slow and kinda laid-back with drums and bass before the the crunchy guitars comes in riffing away. It’s a mid-paced number that goes more into a melodic Metal style than actual Thrash with easily embraced vocal-melodies and a catchy refrain that harkens back to the Countdown To Extinction or Youthanasia days. The ending where guitars and drums going havoc bringing on the Thrash is splendid. A terrific tune. The album closes with the lead-off single “We’ll Be Back”, a fast, violent and ferocious Thrash Metal belter, aggressive and hard yet still not without melody. It’s classic Megadeth for sure and it’s a damn good track. However, it feels really weird as a single.
While I think the sacking of Ellefson was a bit harsh and unnecessary, Megadeth is Dave Mustaine’s band and he’s the boss and what Mustaine and his cohorts has given us here is a classic sounding Megadeth record with not one bad song in sight. It’s a heavy and aggressive record but the melodies are still prominent and even on the songs that are hooky and catchy it never gets cheesy or sugary. Two bonus songs are featured on some versions too. The live version of “The Conjuring” I can live without but the cover of Sammy Hagar’s “This Planet’s On Fire (Burn In Hell)” which features Hagar duetting with Dave, is awesome, so I’d definitely check that version out. All in all, a solid affair from this veteran Thrash band.
8/10
More Megadeth reviews:
Thirteen
Super Collider
Dystopia
Tracklist:
1. The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!
2. Life In Hell
3. Night Stalkers
4. Dogs Of Chernobyl
5. Sacrifice
6. Junkie
7. Psychopathy
8. Killing Time
9. Soldier On!
10. Célebutante
11. Mission To Mars
12. We’ll Be Back
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