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Megadeth
It's rare a musician gets bounced from a major group like Metallica for drug abuse and being difficult (the former usually causes the latter) and starts another successful group. In most cases, you soon read the musician's obit or hear that he's entered rehab. Megadeth's prime mover guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine went the rehab route but that was later.
Launched in '83 (after Mustaine's stint with Metallica), Megadeth's debut "Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good" hit less than two years later. Next, the group released the lesser "Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?" At this point, guitarist Jeff Young and drummer Chuck Behler joined Mustaine and bassist Dave Ellefson. "So Far, So Good… So What" followed with "Mary Jane" and covers of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and the Sex Pistol's "Anarchy In The UK." It was after that album Mustaine checked into rehab and it appeared to take hold.
It turned out, Young and Behler were not long-term players. Guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza replaced them. This line-up produced Megadeth's pinnacle "Rust In Peace" ('90). "Countdown To Extinction," with "Sweating Bullets" was released two years later with the group's most accessible and popular album "Youthanasia" hitting stores in '94. In '97 Megadeth scored again with "Cryptic Writings." Megadeth took a bit of a break before coming out with "The World Needs A Hero." And that might have been the end of it. In '02 Mustaine suffered a debilitating arm injury. The group's future looked to be in serious jeopardy. But Mustaine was never the type to just fade away. After a three year lay-off Megadeth returned with "System Has Failed," the group's 10th album. It re-teamed Mustaine with guitarist Chris Poland and added two new members; bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. In its first week, it cracked the Top 20 on the Billboard Album Chart.
'05's highlight was the arrival of the 18 track, "Greatest Hits: Back To The Start."
A career retrospective can be liberating or an anchor. It often implies the group is done. That impression may inspire a band to prove there is something left in the tank. Others see it as the end of an era and time to make a clean break. For Megadeth, it was the latter. Mustaine dismissed the band and started from scratch picking up Canadian Thrash Metal vets Glen and Shawn Drover. The brothers played guitar and drums, respectively. Also added was James Lomenzo (JLo), former bassist for Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society. In keeping with the "new" motif, Megadeth signed with Roadrunner Records for the release of "United Abominations."
The group returned to 'the basics'. "When you break it down, Megadeth is guitar, bass, drums and guitar solos," explained Mustaine. "When it starts going in directions where there's a little bit too much stuff going on that can't be done onstage, it loses heaviness because that stuff probably shouldn't be there anyway." Good call. Initial sales were better for "United Abominations" than for any other Megadeth effort in the previous decade.
To his credit Mustaine congratulated Metallica when they were inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame in '09. Invited to attend the ceremony, Megadeth had European tour commitments (with Judas Priest) that nixed his participation.
With the tour finished, Megadeth went into the studio in September, '08, with English producer Andy Sneap. But Sneap's visa difficulties delayed the project. Still, "Endgame's" recording ended in late spring with the 12-track album arriving that September (a year after it was begun).
"This has been a long, grueling, enduring process but it's been so worth it, and I'm so excited," said Mustaine. "I'm more excited about this record then I've been in any record since back in the '80s." Mustaine's enthusiasm was warranted. "Endgame" made its debut at #9 on the Billboard album chart. "Head Crusher" was the lead single.
The video for "The Right To Go Insane" had a few tense moments. Based on a true story of an Army vet who snapped and stole a tank, the Bill Fishman directed clip featured Mustaine sneaking onto a military facility, stealing a M68a tank and crashing into things. It was filmed in South El Monte, CA, where the original '95 incident took place. But no one had thought to inform the authorities about the tank so panic ensued with concerns about possible terrorist/criminal activity. Police stormed the set to investigate. "The cops are here - it can get pretty hairy with this video shoot," said Mustaine reporting live to a local radio station. A month later, the video premiered without incident.
Prior to "The Right To Go Insane" shoot but just in time for Megadeth's 20th Anniversary Rust In Peace tour, Mustaine announced that Ellefson was returning to the fold after an eight year absence. "This shows the power of brotherly love and forgiveness," wrote Mustaine in a statement. Ellefson had a widely publicized feud with Mustaine over royalties and rights to the Megadeth name.
The group's "TH1RT3EN" dropped in '11. "This record is the culmination of my work over the 13 records I recorded," said Mustaine. "There are moments on "TH1RT3EN" that capture my every emotion, and other moments where I am releasing feelings I never knew existed!"
Albums:
1985 Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!
1986 Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
1988 So Far, So Good... So What!
1990 Rust In Peace
1992 Countdown To Extinction
1994 Youthanasia
1997 Cryptic Writings
1999 Risk
2001 The World Needs A Hero
2004 The System Has Failed
2007 United Abominations
2009 Endgame
2011 TH1RT3EN
Megadeth's "The World Needs A Hero" was released in '01. About that album Ellefson said, "When we were writing the material, we figured if it sounds like older Megadeth it was a keeper, and if it sounds like anything recent throw it out." That's also good advice for Megadeth albums.
"Youthanasia" is Megadeth's most popular CD but the intense "Rust In Peace" is better. The power driven "Cryptic Writings" and "Countdown To Extinction" are next. "So Far, So Good… So What" is the other great Megadeth offering. "Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good" and "Peace Sells… But Who's Buying" both have their moments but the group hasn't found its footing. "Killing" is the better of the two.
Easily, the best song on "System Has Failed" is the melodic Rocker "Die Dead Enough." If you're looking for the old Megadeth, it's there too in the coincidentally titled "Back In The Day." Don't miss the down and dirty "Something I'm Not." The album also features un-Metal strings and keyboards in places. In the end, "System Has Failed" is a welcome return but not top drawer Megadeth.
New band, new sound for "United Abominations?" Well, no. But there's a more immediate issue. Politics in Rock is just fine, so long as the politics don't get in the way. Getting preachy may work in church and on cable talk shows but it's sheer death in Rock. With the exception, ironically, of the title track, the politically charged "United Abominations" Rocks first. From the opener "Sleepwalker" to closer "Burnt Ice" the album has the usual quota of ripping, savage guitar. There's even a stab at a pop hit with the revival of "A Tout Le Monde" (originally from "Youthanasia") that features Lacuna Coil's Christina Scabbia. It starts acoustic with just Mustaine but obviously doesn't stay that way becoming a big Rock ballad.
Bottom line: New line-up and politics aside, Megadeth is still Megadeth. That's good.
"Endgame's" title track, "Head Crusher" and "1,320" (the length of a quarter mile), a high octane ode to drag racing, have an immediate impact but don't overlook "Dialectic Chaos," "This Day We Fight" and "How The Story Ends."
Mustaine has every reason to be proud of "TH1RT3EN" but not so much for any personal statements. The guitar interplay between Mustaine and Chris Broderick is immediately evident on the stellar opening track "Sudden Death.
Mustaine doesn't so much sing the lyrics as shout them coming close on "Public Enemy No. 1" to nailing Alice Cooper's vintage sneer. "Millennium Of The Blind" starts with Mustaine sounding like some demented horror movie uncle before the guitars mercifully take over. Here, and throughout the album, the riffs and power chords are what really count.