Review Summary: Now the end is near and he did it his way
The time has come to say goodbye to Dave Mustaine, and we will do so without tears or melodrama. Sugary farewells simply don’t suit the colossal metal edifice known as Megadeth. "Megadeth" is a fitting epilogue, worthy of the legacy of one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Could they have done better? Certainly.
From the latest Megadeth album, more than anything else, I wanted to feel once again that “X factor” that always made them stand out from the crowd, beyond their indisputable technical prowess and their ability to write blazing riffs. The band’s finest moments were those born from the battered psyche of the erratic Dave Mustaine, forged through intensely productive inner conflict. He hurt, he raged, he confessed and we felt it. That was the deal. Thankfully, the 41 minutes of the new album (minus the underwhelming 7 minutes long Ride the Lightning tribute) sound like pages torn straight from Dave’s diary.
"Tipping Point" picks up the thread exactly where the previous album The Sick, the Dying and the Dead! left off, creating a sense of both continuity and climax, as if we’re stepping into the final scene of our favorite movie. This is a stick of dynamite that stares down any track from the classic trilogy Endgame / Dystopia / The Sick. "I Don’t Care" yanks the steering wheel sharply in another direction, shattering our sense of safety and expectation. Three minutes are all it needs to raise a massive middle finger to our assumptions and explosively blend metal with punk rock, a small bomb that only Mustaine knows how to build.
We move swiftly on to "Hey God!", where I immediately realized how much I had missed the dystopian mid-tempo swagger of Countdown to Extinction. The rhythm here is driven by a playful rhythm section, at least until that so-familiar Megadeth bridge kicks in and transports you straight back to the ’90s. Subtle traps that worm their way into your heart before you even notice. In "Let There Be Shred", we’re treated to a self-dedication from Mustaine himself, a self-referential track that avoids the cringe trap precisely because it tells the truth. Megadeth conquered everything because they knew how to “tie their instruments into knots” at impossible speeds. There’s no shame in saying it out loud.
The melodic "Puppet Master" sounds like it was written during the Cryptic Writings era — and they’ve been hiding it from us! Naturally, those of us who adore it have every reason to smile, even if we reasonably wonder whether this is simply a sonic trip down Megadeth memory lane, or a genuinely great moment that will stand the test of time. I suggest we let our emotional attachment carry us away, because up to this point the new album does an excellent job of building fresh Megadeth moments atop their legacy… even if everything feels a little familiar.
Unfortunately, the second half of the album sags like a middle-aged gut after too many beers on a Saturday night, and its weaknesses become clearer. The mid-tempo, radio-friendly side of Megadeth’s golden era (Countdown / Youthanasia / Cryptic Writings), which they attempt to revisit here, demands powerful choruses, a commanding vocal delivery, addictive melodies, and hooks that lodge themselves instantly in your memory. Simply put, those elements aren’t all here. "Another Bad Day drags" along with a lifeless, repetitive chorus, while "Made to Kill" could easily be mistaken for any recent Megadeth track from the 2010s. The same lukewarm quality applies to "Obey the Call and I Am War", songs that might appeal to newer fans who didn’t live through the ’90s, but offer little to those who expected something more. Perhaps they rushed it. Perhaps the inspiration dried up. Or perhaps we’re the ones who changed along the way.
In contrast, "The Last Note" carries the album’s entire emotional weight on its shoulders, and once again we hear Dave speaking directly to the listener. We were waiting for this moment and he deserves the final word. Acoustic guitars build the farewell scene, like the end credits of a great Western movie. Times change, the heroes of our past bid us farewell, and life goes on.
Goodbye, Megadeth.
