Megadeth

[Sth2112]

Dave’s paycheck for guesting on a Ice-T tune

 

[KidInTheDark666]

New tune is pretty shit. The music is cool, and super thrashy, but lyrics and vocal melodies are terrible. And seriously, why is Ice-T even here? Dumb.

Really? I thought it was awesome, better than the first single.

 

[Jer]

Ex-MEGADETH Members ELLEFSON, YOUNG And POLAND To Perform Entire 'Killing Is My Business' And 'So Far, So Good' Albums

Former MEGADETH members David Ellefson (bass) and Jeff Young (guitar) have announced the first four shows of the KINGS OF THRASH "The MEGA Years" tour. They will be joined at the dates by another former MEGADETH member, Chris Poland (guitar). KINGS OF THRASH, which also includes drummer Fred...

blabbermouth.net

I’d totally go see this. Too bad the dates are only in the U.S. southwest…

 

[The_7th_one]

Dave Mustaine presents ‘the ultimate lawsuit’

 

[Diesel 11]

New tune is pretty shit. The music is cool, and super thrashy, but lyrics and vocal melodies are terrible. And seriously, why is Ice-T even here? Dumb.

Yeah I disagree, I think it’s a pretty cool extended thrash song. The lyrics are very action-oriented and the music is pummeling. I think Ice-T’s spoken word bit is great for how it’s handled. It’s not high art or anything — Dave’s military obsession is still questionable — but it’s a good song.

 

[Jer]

DAVID ELLEFSON And JEFF SCOTT SOTO Share Teaser Video For 'Vacation In The Underworld' Album

David Ellefson's collaboration with Jeff Scott Soto will release a full-length album, "Vacation In The Underworld", in September via Rat Pak Records. A teaser video for the effort is available below. To officially launch the project, Ellefson and Soto will play two exclusive concerts in Italy...

blabbermouth.net

Sounds like the Ellefson/Soto record drops in September, and we should have some live footage of Soto singing Megadeth songs around mid-September…

 

[KidInTheDark666]

The new single "Soldier On!" is out at midnight everywhere. This one is an instant earworm!

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

And finally, my retrospective brief on 80s 'Deth...

So Far, So Good...So What!
Thank Dio for In My Darkest Hour, because most of this album sucks. It's aggressively childish and sloppy. The production is abysmal and the remaster does almost nothing to improve it. It's got the worst drummer and the worst lead guitarist to ever be "members" of the band. I don't have much good to say about this except that In My Darkest Hour is a top Megadeth tune. Hook In Mouth is solid enough, Set the World Afire is fine, and Mary Jane is ok, I suppose. Otherwise, bleghhhhh.
Rating - 5.5/10
Worst Songs - Anarchy in the UK, 502
Best Song - In My Darkest Hour

Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?
An absolute classic. I don't know why, but I frequently forget how truly great this album is. The first five songs are absolutely perfect in their ferocity, songwriting, and performance. Just pure classic thrash metal with Dave in top form. My Last Words also rules. There's really nothing bad to say about this one except that Bad Omen is pretty meh and the cover is not good (though better than most of their early covers). An absolute classic.
Rating - 8.6/10
Worst Song - I Ain't Superstitious
Best Songs - most of them

Killing Is My Business...and Business is Good!
This one is a little too raw for me, but the pieces are there. Some of the songwriting shows the brilliance of the later stuff Mustaine would do, but he certainly hasn't learned restraint yet. Most of the time that's not an issue, as this record just brims with energy and frenetic riffing. It will certainly never be my favorite, but there's something to admire about the ferocity of it. The main riff of the title track is still one Mustaine's best, Skull Beneath the Skin is incredibly well composed for early thrash, and Chosen Ones is super catchy. Unfortunately, These Boots is a horrible decision and I loathe Dave's version of The Mechanix, and both of these severely drag this album down.
Rating - 5.7/10
Worst Songs - The Mechanix, These Boots
Best Song - Looking Down the Cross

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Behold! My blasphemous Megadeth rankings!

1. RUST IN PEACE - 9.0
2. COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION - 8.7
3. PEACE SELLS - 8.6
4. YOUTHANASIA - 7.5
5. THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED - 7.3
6. RISK - 7.2
7. CRYPTIC WRITINGS - 7.0
8. DYSTOPIA - 6.8
9. ENDGAME - 6.8
10. UNITED ABOMINATIONS - 6.3
11. KILLING IS MY BUSINESS - 5.7
12. SO FAR, SO GOOD…SO WHAT! - 5.5
13. THE WORLD NEEDS A HERO - 4.8
14. TH1RT3EN - 4.4
15. SUPER COLLIDER - 4.3

 

[Jer]

Behold! My blasphemous Megadeth rankings!

1. RUST IN PEACE - 9.0
2. COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION - 8.7
3. PEACE SELLS - 8.6
4. YOUTHANASIA - 7.5
5. THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED - 7.3
6. RISK - 7.2
7. CRYPTIC WRITINGS - 7.0
8. DYSTOPIA - 6.8
9. ENDGAME - 6.8
10. UNITED ABOMINATIONS - 6.3
11. KILLING IS MY BUSINESS - 5.7
12. SO FAR, SO GOOD…SO WHAT! - 5.5
13. THE WORLD NEEDS A HERO - 4.8
14. TH1RT3EN - 4.4
15. SUPER COLLIDER - 4.3

Risk and Cryptic Writings are too high, SFSGSW is too low, but the rest are totally within reason!

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Risk and Cryptic Writings are too high, SFSGSW is too low, but the rest are totally within reason!

I have a soft spot for 90s Megadeth as that was the era I grew up, but I also firmly believe that Dave's singing was at its peak then and that those albums are far more interesting than the modern era in terms of trying new things.

 

[KidInTheDark666]

I rate 10/15 of their albums above 8.0. But I'm a superfan after all.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

I rate 10/15 of their albums above 8.0. But I'm a superfan after all.

Maybe it's cause I'm cranky and old, but I have a hard time giving high scores to a lot of stuff nowadays. There's probably only five records by any of my favorite bands that I'd consider perfect 10/10's. Megadeth certainly doesn't have any, despite how close RIP and CTE get.

That said, if I wasn't giving actual number rankings and just rating everything as "overall goodness", I'd probably consider RIP perfect.

 

[KidInTheDark666]

Maybe it's cause I'm cranky and old, but I have a hard time giving high scores to a lot of stuff nowadays. There's probably only five records by any of my favorite bands that I'd consider perfect 10/10's. Megadeth certainly doesn't have any, despite how close RIP and CTE get.

That said, if I wasn't giving actual number rankings and just rating everything as "overall goodness", I'd probably consider RIP perfect.

Yeah, I've given only 7 or so albums a score of 9.5 which basically is a ten. The range of 8-9 however is pretty stacked in my books.

 

[Jer]

I have a soft spot for 90s Megadeth as that was the era I grew up, but I also firmly believe that Dave's singing was at its peak then and that those albums are far more interesting than the modern era in terms of trying new things.

Dave's singing seemed pretty consistent throughout the 90s for me. And you're right that they tried lots of new things on Cryptic Writings and Risk, but those albums both felt woefully undercooked to me, and trying too hard to swing for mainstream success while forgetting what makes Megadeth interesting in the first place.

On Cryptic Writings, "Trust", "A Secret Place", and "Vortex" work. "Almost Honest" goes a little too far off the pop deep end. "The Disintegrators" and "She-Wolf" sound like Dave's trying to channel the past and not quite succeeding, and the rest of the songs are completely forgettable.

On Risk, "Insomnia" and "Wanderlust" work pretty well. "Crush 'Em" and "Breadline" are pretty good, but once again go off the pop deep end a bit; and the rest of the songs are again, completely forgettable, but even moreso than the leftovers on Cryptic Writings, IMO.

While trying something new and failing is usually better than trying to recapture past glories and failing (I'm looking at you, The World Needs A Hero!), it's still a failure in the end. When I revisit late-90's Megadeth it's pretty much only to listen to a few specific songs.

But, different strokes for different folks, etc.

 

[Jer]

First Ellefson-Soto single. The lyrics are a pretty unsubtle trashing of Dave Mustaine, but the song is better than I expected. Also, props for throwing in the Yngwie-esque guitar intro…

 

[The_7th_one]

First Ellefson-Soto single. The lyrics are a pretty unsubtle trashing of Dave Mustaine, but the song is better than I expected. Also, props for throwing in the Yngwie-esque guitar intro…

I liked it. The double bass drums are anoying to me but the song in general is very cool. I hope he got luck with this project because the previous one sucked.

 

[The_7th_one]

They have a song called ‘Writing on the Wall’ in the album

 

[KidInTheDark666]

Hopefully it's better than the Maiden song.

 

[Diesel 11]

The intro was cool but the song sounds too amateurish for people of this status.