Megadeth are a fairly “new” band to me, if you get my meaning. Formed in 1983 by former
Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine, they are, in relation to me, as old as the hills; but does that matter? Some of the best music comes from way back when. So let’s just say it doesn’t matter, Lets just say that age doesn’t matter, where does that leave us? I’ll be coming back to this question later one. but for all intensive purposes, lets fast forward to 1986, the year that “Peace Sells…But who’s Buying?” was released. I could go on and on, but let’s skip the preamble now, and dive right in.
Funnily enough, at first, with the intro track “Wake up Dead” I mistook it for an old rock track, it mislead me. But with the solo kicking in not even a quarter of the way through the song like some tap-dancing ant on each string of the guitar, you can tell that this is metal, through and through. One of the first things that someone who isn’t a true metal fan will notice is the rather cool solos, being more into the alt rock, pop punk and indie-pop side of things, my jaw just dropped at some of these solos. The “Devils Island” intro is a great example of this. Although a couple of months ago I’d have blasted such a thing as showing off for the sake of it, now, after listening to bands like
Fall of Troy, (not metal, I know) I’ve seen how solos and technical guitar playing can make what would be an average song, a great one.
I do have some small problems with this album though, bass player David Ellefson can’t be heard in most of the tracks. I’m not sure if this is a recurring theme in metal, but if it is, it’s a worrying one. a lack of audible bass is something I’ve never liked, thankfully, he makes himself heard with a rather cool little bass riff in “Bad Omen” and another in “My Last Words”, so I suppose that everything evens itself out in the end, but it’s still a minor problem which, granted, doesn’t take away from the experience to much, but you get the feeling that Ellefson could have done a bit better
Gar Samuelson however, in comparison to his rhythm section counterpart, manages to make himself heard throughout the entire album; which normally, is ok, but on this occasion, brilliant. The drumming is a true highlight on the album, in fact, if the consistency and quality of the solos wasn’t as great as it is, would be
the high point of the album. it’s beauty can probably be attributed to the fact that it’s not overshadowed by the guitar, which, again, given the solos, is rather amazing.
I’m going to say something people will laugh at now, Dave has a good voice. Yes, it’s a bit growly, but polished vocals aren’t what’s needed here, Mustaine’s voice fits in with the other aspects of the songs, and doesn’t sound out or place. “I ain’t Superstitious” is a good example of this. Granted, it’s not a “metal” song, but considering the way it’s played, Dave’s vocals fit in with the rest of the song amazingly well.
Anyway, let’s cut to the chase, shall we? What do I think of this album? Well, considering that I’m not a huge metal fan, I think this is a great album, the lack of bass in some tracks can be irritating sometimes, but who wants perfection? Perfection is boring. As I’ve said, I love the solos, the songs would be really boring if they’d been really basic; so showing off has went up a few points in my book. Another thing however, is my personal thank you to Cathedral. Thankfully, that stupid ass has done something right and gave me a footing in metal, thanks Cath.
Rating: 4.5/5
