Megadeth
The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!


3.0
good

Review

by Fernando Alves STAFF
September 1st, 2022 | 327 replies


Release Date: 2022 | Tracklist

Review Summary: The good, the average... and the bad.

To say Dave Mustaine is a rock icon is an understatement - the man stands as one of the most influential heavy metal musicians of the past forty years; an institution in his own right, responsible for some of the genre's defining chapters (musical and otherwise). Insufferable enfant terrible to some, charismatic idol to others, MegaDave has never left anyone indifferent throughout his troubled path. Be it classics such as Peace Sells... But Who's Buying and Rust in Peace, personal favorites like So Far, So Good... So What!, or products of a new cycle - Countdown to Extinction or Youthanasia, Mustaine's work is carved in stone for posterity. It is the privilege of those who are in the right place at the right time. And whatever industry you're in, this means everything.

Although Megadeth's music has ceased to be artistically relevant since Youthanasia, there seems to be a nostalgic element that keeps pushing the brand forward, like a steady, continuous stream too strong to be restrained. The System Has Failed and Endgame are accomplished examples that infused some excitement into an already well-known template. Even 2016's Dystopia, without being brilliant, revealed a solid artistic direction with a handful of good songs. I stopped craving some sort of Rust in Peace 2.0 for some time now, just gimme Dave's raspy vocals and a couple of tasty riffs and I'm good. It's a bit like Steven Spielberg's movies which, despite not having the magic of yesteryear, always deliver something more, if only small glimpses of a glorious past. We must keep our feet on the ground and understand what to expect (or not) from our heroes, otherwise we will always be disappointed with life. And a sixty-year-old Dave Mustaine, coming off a throat cancer battle, is no longer the rebel he once was, either as a man or a musician.

That being said, Dave knows what he signed on for. Megadeth is not a jazz or blues band that can drag on for eternity without losing its following. Even in a woke era, where appearances speak louder than talent, he must keep the fire alive with honesty and respect for the past, to avoid falling into the doldrums of an insipid majority who have only recently found "god" with all his moral virtues. He’s probably already stuck in the loop, yet the music must keep bridges with the past, if only to ensure the solidity and longevity of his megabrand. The singles 'We'll Be Back' and 'Night Stalker' (which features Ice T), consciously or not, keep this channel open by mimicking the band's early sound. Despite its lack of creative relevance, this cloning injects some irreverence into an overly institutionalized formula. The interesting Rust in Peace-ish bridge of 'Soldier On!' or the constant Friedman-esque solos by the talented Kiko Loureiro also mirror this collage with fragments of the past. While self-plagiarism is understandable, especially at this late stage of the band's career, the music takes on another color when Dave mixes things up, as in the hybrid end section of 'Dogs of Chernobyl' that fuses Peace Sells(ish) guitar and tempo with narration a la Countdown to Extinction. This clash of eras, working in parallel, should have been explored more often, rather than appearing separately, as in the verse and chorus of 'We'll Be Back'. Though its somewhat goofy wrapping, 'Mission to Mars' also offers some fresh fun by diving into catchy waters without resorting to generic mainstream formulas like 'Junkie' and 'Killing Time' that border on mediocrity. A top producer would surely help Dave evade this dissociative creative disorder by shortening spaces, thus pushing the songwriting into more focused and coherent grounds. The late Martin Birch could probably also persuade Mustaine to put more effort into the vocals on a track like 'Sacrifice' that calls for a more technically refined approach, or to remove unnecessary filler segments that add no value to the songs, such as the abrupt midway break in 'Night Stalker'. These ups and downs, while unsurprising in (modern) Megadeth, take some of the shine off a record with the potential to be substantially better.

MegaDave and his trusty war buddy, Vic Rattlehead, are back with a mixed bag that gathers the good, the average, and the bad. A melange of familiar echoes which, while not a symphony of destruction, still do enough damage to keep the brand alive and kicking. And that, my fellow metalheads, is reason enough for all of us to rejoice.



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user ratings (336)
3.1
good


Comments:Add a Comment 
Source
September 1st 2022


19917 Comments


an ice t feature eh

Dmax28
September 1st 2022


1335 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Killing Time rules

TheSpirit
Emeritus
September 1st 2022


30304 Comments


"Even in a woke era, where appearances speak louder than talent, he must keep the fire alive with honesty and respect for the past, to avoid falling into the doldrums of an insipid majority who have only recently found "god" with all his moral virtues."

what does this even mean

InFlamesWeThrash666
September 1st 2022


10584 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Yikes

alamo
September 1st 2022


5783 Comments


sickening, no?

ArteNovecento
September 1st 2022


245 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

I read the line as an interpretation of Dave's perspective.



That being said, never cared for this band at all but this review, along with the fact that I saw them live recently, means I should probably check this out for good measure.

Kusangii
September 1st 2022


7113 Comments


Not expecting much but I'll probably give this a go

Lichtbringer
September 1st 2022


1225 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

the re-hashing of riffs and leads is a real shame. "mission to mars" is garbage. otherwise i was very pleasantly surprised by this album. to me, easily their best since "youthanasia".

WatchItExplode
September 1st 2022


10517 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

I also interpreted it that way but I still feel use of the term "woke era" is a ban-worthy offense frfr



I find something to enjoy in almost all of megadeth's releases, I'm sure this will be no different

TheSpirit
Emeritus
September 1st 2022


30304 Comments


Thanks for the interpretation Willie!

Notrap - I actually don’t think that’s a bad point to bring up and examine but I (clearly) had some trouble understanding what you meant in its current wording. It also seems like something that could warrant expounding on, but I am assuming you refrained to focus on the music.

All that being said, using woke like that is pretty cringe.

DoofDoof
September 1st 2022


15946 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Woke Up Dead

ThyCrossAwaits
September 1st 2022


4053 Comments


I listened to the singles earlier this afternoon and I gotta say this:

Rhyming lyrics are fucking stupid. They force people to dumb down their words to fit extremely simple rhyme schemes that do nothing for no one, and I have no idea why everyone thinks they’re a necessary part of writing music.

ThyCrossAwaits
September 1st 2022


4053 Comments


I listened to the singles earlier this afternoon and I gotta say this:

Rhyming lyrics are fucking stupid. They force people to dumb down their words to fit extremely simple rhyme schemes that do nothing for no one, and I have no idea why everyone thinks they’re a necessary part of writing music.

FreakMachine
September 1st 2022


1913 Comments


Album slaps as fuck m/

Meridiu5
September 1st 2022


4180 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

the ice t vox are dope

Pikazilla
September 1st 2022


31214 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

better than dystopia, super collider, and thirteen

Muzz79
September 1st 2022


3103 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

New ‘deth!

Flugmorph
September 1st 2022


34922 Comments


dad is getting even more annoying with age

Muzz79
September 1st 2022


3103 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

dad is getting even more metal with age

WhiteNoise
September 2nd 2022


3903 Comments


I just don’t understand why metal albums aren’t produced well these days?

The drums on this don’t even sound human.



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