Review Summary: Dave Mustaine's side project, which is quite enjoyable, albeit repetitive
A few months back I was bored in social class and decided to Wikipedia Dave Mustaine. As I read about his numerous times in rehab for doing more drugs than the entire province of Alberta, I noticed something. What’s this band called MD.45 he played in? So as I read into it a bit more I found out that Md.45 was actually a side project of his recorded in 1996. On the original version Mustaine played guitar, Lee Ving has vocal duties and Kelly LeMeiux and Jimmy Degrasso fill out the rhythm positions. But Dave decided to re-release this album, but this time with himself on vocals. This is the version I have.
The first thing you notice about MD.45, is well, with Dave on vocals, is basically Megadeth, especially when Dave is on vocals (I’ve you tubed the songs with Lee on vocals it makes a huge difference). Hell. You could have just put Megadeth on the album cover, and it would have fit in right between Cryptic Writings and Risk.
The vocal work is actually quite well done, as Dave’s voice fits the music being played. On songs like “hearts will bleed “and “the creed” showing that the man can actually` sing! Although His voice does sound strained at times like in the chorus of “voices” when he tries to reach those higher notes.
The guitar work is along with the drumming the highlight of the album. Dave pulls of some nice riffs, keeping it heavy but tasteful. The best example of this would be on “the creed”. Although at times the guitar work can be a tad bland as in “the day that music died” it’s just boring and repetitive. The solos on the other hand, are a hit and miss affair. With some being total shred fests “roadman” , while others are just bland, such as in “ nothing is something “ where its just the same note played over and over at a fast pace.
The rhythm section of MD.45 realy stands out. The bass is always audible and has some really unique and interesting fills thrown in. the bass really stood out on “designer behavior” where it play a weird, unusual bass line, that really makes the song. The drumming is definitely the star of the album. Whether it be the dancing on the toms on “hells motel” or to the Brilliant double bass work on “my town”, Jimmy Degrasso Really shines. Every song has interesting beats and fills thrown in.
The Major flaw on this record is that, the song structures are basically exactly the same in every song, into, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, modified chorus. It’s the same story every song. This is a shame really because the songwriting is not bad at all. In fact Hells motel contains the best line Mr.Mustaine has ever written “the old man cuts his face / not because the razors dull / it’s from his hands are shaking / from the lack of what he’s taking” (from hells motel). Witch he then ruins by writing the worst line of his career. (Witch I am not going to repeat just for the sake of his family).
So in conclusion, if you’re a fan of Megadeth, Fantastic drumming or like punky metal, you might enjoy this album. Even if the song structure is the same on every song, and the guitar work is a times bland, this is still a great and fun album to listen too, one which should not be ignored.
Pros
+ Fantastic drumming
+ Tasteful yet heavy riffs
+ When Dave CAN sing
Cons
- When Dave CAN’T sing
- song structure is the same
- Lyric of horror in hells motel
Rating 3.5
