Review Summary: The snarl farewell
Most metal journeys start with Metallica and follow either one of two paths. Either Metallica remains the iconic golden child ideal of the craft, or you start looking for something more. And if you start looking for more, you start where it makes sense: Megadeth, the band formed by the guy kicked out of Metallica.
It's a common journey for the metal scene, if not most of the music industry. Start a band, leave a band, start another band. But I guess when that band is Metallica, there's a particular sting that fuels an entire career... even if Dave Mustaine has claimed multiple times to be past his '80s exile and the golden goose using many of his riffs to rise to prominence. With a cover of "Ride the Lightning" underscoring your revenge band's final outing and talk about Metallica and "completing the circle" all over your media appearances...
Dave was never over it. For better or worse.
Revenge is a great motivator. Seventeen albums and perseverance through lineup change after lineup change have made that readily apparent. While Metallica had stability and success, Megadeth had hunger and drive. Mustaine has always said that his goal with
Killing Is My Business... was to outplay Metallica - better, faster, harder. And while Megadeth will never hit the atmospheric popularity of Metallica, Dave's adherence to that philosophy has resulted in a catalog I'll take all day any day.
That revenge edge combined with Mustaine's gritty, snarly voice made something a little more aggressive. A little meaner, a little heavier. Even a little more punk. That hunger made a catalog more than twice the size of Metallica's. That drive brought in better musicians and spurred experimentation that led to classics. Metallica's great, but they'll never see the kind of inspired music that musicians like Chris Poland and Marty Friedman have contributed to Megadeth. For any "Enter Sandman," Metallica will never have a "Holy Wars."
And that's okay. Megadeth is just the edgier, more punk, more prog of the two bands. So it's fitting that
Megadeth dials up that core punk influence on their final outing, once again pushing their borders in a solid finale to a resume that, for a few lumps, is one of the best in metal. The drumming is tight and uptempo throughout and song structures are short and punchy. The guitars are loud, crunchy and aggressive, but with that sort of early amp-driven grit more than any oversaturated fuzz you'll find in more modern metal. The solos are fast, furious, and tasty, with newcomer Teemu Mantysaari seamlessly blending in and complementing Dave's signature approach.
And Mustaine's voice... well, it holds up well for this kind of delivery. The snarl is there. The grit is there. And while his range is lower and more limited than on releases past, the combination of complementary arrangements and studio time make it hard to see any sign of strain or struggle. One of the big differences between Metallica and Megadeth has always been Dave's growling, snarling singing versus James' more conventional approach. As age sets root, it's a boon to Mustaine that his style faces no sign of forced compromise, even if his range has taken a hit.
The end result feels oddly appropriate, starting with a bevvy of bangers in "Let There Be Shred," "I Don't Care," "Tipping Point," and "Made To Kill" - all of which hit hard and fast and take no prisoners. These all easily fit into the 'deth catalog and are just easy to thrash and headbang to. It's a shot to the arm and an alarming wakeup call that Dave and company can still dish it out like no one else.
And the rest is pretty great too - falling in the same pool with some added caveats. "Puppet Parade" has a little too much
The World Needs A Hero, "Obey The Call" and "I Am War" have a little too much
Countdown to Extinction (although both have some excellent solos and "Obey" ends with a pleasant uptick in speed). "Another Bad Day" strikes me like a clone of "Angry Again" that's not bad, but not quite as good.
Unfortunately, there's also the last few... "The Last Note" is a faux farewell from Mustaine that sounds like "She-Wolf" and rings hollow in the face of two recordings of "A Tout Le Monde" and statements that he will continue to make music after the final Megadeth album. And "Hey God?!" is just bad. A few good solos can't save the "Please respect my Christian Minecraft server" tone of the whole thing. Just forget it exists. And while you're at it do the same with the cover of "Ride the Lightning." It was unnecessary when it was announced and it's just as unnecessary on the album, with Dave's vocal approach just not meshing right with the song. But on the whole, these tracks are nothing overly compromising.
Megadeth feels like a solid closing chapter for the band. Out on a high note with the same aggression they were born in with, tinged with a little Metallica envy. Dave Mustaine can hold his head high in retirement. Were there a few missteps? Sure. But the path to greatness is paved with those who can't overcome anywhere near the level of adversity Megadeth has faced and overcome in its time. And so,
Megadeth provides a nice capstone to a storied career and a blank page for Mustaine's next chapter. It's probably something less than the note of finality Dave was aiming for, but as Megadeth was always Mustaine's project and his alone, whatever he does next will still have a Megadeth feel to it. It's something he can't escape.
So if anything, it's less of a "so long" and more of a "so, what's next?" as even more opportunity to experiment presents itself under a new banner.
Megadeth makes it clear, it'll be worth continuing to paying attention.
