Review Summary: Dave if you are reading this f*** off, you made me LISTEN again
When Super Collider came out everybody took a hit at it. A lot bought it as it broke to #6 in the American billboard 200 the first week it was released. Well, to be honest from the first spin I thought that Megadeth is reaching again for the charts. Some months later I realized that Super Collider is much more than that. Mustaine has given us a pure Megadeth record, with a lot of carefully constructed genuine ideas.
United abominations, Endgame and 13 did not click for me. Every time I listened to them I knew that the same people will say “wow Mustaine can play the riffs again” but that means nothing to me. I know what one my favorite bands can do and I still enjoy their albums. But when it comes down to a new album I expect them to surprise me, to make me look deeper into the album. Super Collider did exactly that and more: It made me feel that it is the first album in years missing the Metallica factor. The crazy idea that Dave must surpass everything that Metallica does. Yes, Super Collider is original. After all since the last Metallica album, Megadeth released 3 albums, so this score is settled for now. Until Ulrich and Co. hit the studio again, of course.
Record no. 14 is the epitome of post-Youthanasia Megadeth. The unique thing about Super Collider is the way that Mustaine takes his most recent offerings, puts them in the blender and with the addition of his new ideas and thoughts makes an ideal record that finally doesn’t seem dated. Let me explain myself. Hard rockin “Burn” could easily fit in The world needs a hero, but it is a better song than any found on that record. The experimental “The blackest crow” would find its place in Risk, but never before Megadeth used banjo in this major way. I even had The System had Failed flashbacks with “Dance in the Rain” and “Built for War”, except that here the formula is perfected. And if you have heard anything like the bluesy "Don’t turn your back.." from Megadeth in the past, well…you know them way better than I do!
The secret of Super Collider is that none of these songs is just a copy. Dave, the undisputed leader of Megadeth, allows Ellefson, Drover and Broderick to contribute bits and pieces to the writing of the songs giving the album new essence. Even if all the genuine ideas are coming from Mustaine himself it is obvious that finally he has a team that inspires him. It is, after all, the first album since Cryptic Writings not to feature a lineup change from the preceding album. I blame Ellefson for that, I always thought that he has a soothing brotherly effect on Mustaine.
I think that Super Collider is a great album, but for objectivity’s shake I must say that, hits are nowhere to be found. You could expect a straightforward- commercial album but nasty ol’ Dave doesn’t come that easy. You should give Super Collider some time to unlock its secrets. The overall mood of the album is dark especially after the first two opening singles. The only time you have some breathing space is when Megadeth rock out with a Thin Lizzy cover. Better than the original if you don’t mind me saying.
I always artistically respected Metallica more than Megadeth. They were the pioneers, they opened the doors for thousands metal bands and Dave just followed. Metallica is the best heavy metal band of all times. Having said that, I confess that Megadeth found their way to my sound system a gazillion times more than Metallica. Maybe something in Mustaine’s personal inner-war moved me. Sometimes it was his desperate cry for help or his rumblings about the past. Where Metallica strove to find new grounds to break, Megadeth preferred to speak through their albums to the listener, he made it personal.
Megadeth were out there every two or three years, i didn’t have to wait 5-6 years for the next album. I find this a sincere move of an artist to keep the connection with his fans alive and fresh. To constantly put his self out there for the judging. This is what heavy metal means to me, a special connection with the fans. By the fans, for the fans. And no matter how rich and mainstream Megadeth have become, they keep something deeply human in the way they act as band. And with Super Collider, they might have turned the tables and this time Metallica should be the ones to follow and surprise us with their new album.
