Megadeth

[The Realm]

I absolutely loved Countdown on the day of release. It definitely felt like Megadeth's equivalent to the Black Album at the time but it was awesome and I thought it was better than the Black Album. To this day, Ashes in Your Mouth is still one of my favourite Megadeth songs. I think RiP, SFSGSW and PS are better albums but at the time Countdown just felt like a natural progression to me and this Megadeth line up were firing on all cylinders.

[Zantera]

Youthanasia (1994)

Maybe I sounded lukewarm or negative about Countdown, but that wasn't intentional. It was a great album maybe just cursed with following a masterpiece and the level set by Rust in Peace. Countdown was still very good and set the band on a new path. Youthanasia carries on and in my opinion kinda perfects the type of sound they had started going towards. I actually heard this album once maybe 15 years ago, why I did not check it out more at the time or why it fell by the way side is unclear. But listening to it the first time now again, I was really blown away by just how much of it I could recall, like pulling good old memories from deep within my brain. It was like one of those "Oh this hits the spot" moments, like when you see a movie again you saw as a kid and it lives up to your hopes and expectations.

For me the first side of this album is as close to perfect as I could imagine a Megadeth album in this style to be. Reckoning Day starts off with that great riff, Train of Consequences has a great memorable chorus, and Addicted to Chaos just has a nice atmosphere to it. A Tout Le Monde was one of maybe 2-3 songs I could vaguely recall overall from Megadeth going into this and while him doing the french chorus could potentially be viewed as cheesy, I think as a ballad it's actually a pretty great song. Elysian Fields gets the momentum back up and The Killing Road has become an early favorite of mine from this band. That chorus is just stuck in my head and the guitar solo rules pretty hard too. These 6 songs in a row for me have such a consistent level of quality that at this point I was thinking this could end up battling with the best albums they have.

But the second half does lose me just a bit. Don't get me wrong, it's not a "falls off a cliff" scenario where the last 6 songs are just mediocre or bad, there's still quality there. But maybe it's the fact the first 6 songs have clicked with me so strong that once I sort of leave the tracks it's hard to come back again. This is possibly an issue that could be solved by listening to the album more times and I will find those standouts in the second half as well. I think also sometimes, with all bands, you go into an album focused but as you get halfway through the album you zone out a bit and it's usually harder for me to get into the second half of an album than the first. So my thoughts on Youthanasia as a whole after 5 listens is a fantastic first half and a good second half that could potentially rise into something more. But so far I think I would actually put this as #3 behind RiP at #1 and Peace Sells at #2. Why this over Countdown? For now I just appreciate the catchiness of some of these songs and Countdown might require more listens to gel with me more. I would still put Countdown as my #4 though.

Next week is Cryptic Writings and I believe Trust is considered one of their more known songs but aside from that it seems like you guys and many others consider it to be their weakest album at this point in their career. So we shall see, I'm still curious to hear it and maybe it will surprise me positively. I think sometimes getting into a discography late can be beneficial because you're not burdened with the expectations of that time. Many times I've ended up liking albums that maybe weren't received well when they came out - because people then had waited X amount of years and had certain hopes, and for me it's just jumping between albums from week to week.

[DoctorAction]

Quick thought dump.

Megadeth aren't a huge band for me but Peace Sells was a key record for me as a teen. Wake Up Dead is a cracker straight out of the gates - slamming chugging and wild solos. It's the MD song I'll just stick on loud and have a quick 4 minute blast of. 

My Last Words is also a top tune. That bass under the verses is beaut.

I read in Mustaine's biography that the backing band were all jazz musicians that he hired, and they were all heroin addicts at this point (fully in the the jazz tradition there). So much so that he described writing, recording and touring it as almost a secondary activity to their lives as heroin addicts.

[TAC]

Youthanasia was the last Megadeth album I bought for years. I did not like the direction the band was going in. I thought Countdown was a huge step down and this was worse. It had a better sound than Countdown though, but as far as being Megadeth....gone was the speed, gone was the heavy thrash. This was more groovy, slow, and well, it wasn't what I wanted from Megadeth. They were evolving into just another band.

This was also the last tour I saw from them.

I did go to Gigantour but left after DT.

I didn't buy another Megadeth album until I downloaded The System Has Failed off Kazaa.



Now, all that said, when I revisited Youthanasia years ago, I loved it. That riff in Black Curtains is just a monster. It has really aged well.

My Last Words is also a top tune. 

My #2 all time Megadeth tune.

[Zantera]

Youthanasia was the last Megadeth album I bought for years. I did not like the direction the band was going in. I thought Countdown was a huge step down and this was worse. It had a better sound than Countdown though, but as far as being Megadeth....gone was the speed, gone was the heavy thrash. This was more groovy, slow, and well, it wasn't what I wanted from Megadeth. They were evolving into just another band.

This actually brings up a point I wanted to address in my post but forgot about. A band changing direction can definitely be something that alienates some fans as well as bring in others. Just for me personally, I've liked Thrash-Megadeth a lot, both Peace Sells and especially Rust in Peace are top tier albums in the genre for me. But I also like slower Heavy Metal so I don't particularly mind their change that much. But it's the same with Metallica for me, I love their classic albums but there's great stuff on Black Album and Load/Reload for me as well.

Was Countdown/Youthanasia really Mustaine being obsessed with Metallica and trying to match them? I know the band started out as his obsession to make a band that played faster and more technical than Metallica and you could agree with Rust in Peace they had achieved that, but with the success Metallica found with Black Album on a commercial level it just makes you wonder if this was really Mustaine trying to prove he could write commercially successful songs too. It feels a bit like if there was no Nothing Else Matters/The Unforgiven there would be no A Tout le Monde.

[Dream Team]

He was DEFINITELY chasing Metallica.

[Grappler]

Youthanasia is one of my favorite records from them.  It took me a while after I got the record, but I really began to love Youthanasia/I Thought I Knew it All and Black Curtains.  And Victory is a fucking killer song, faster than the others and with some fun lyrics as well. 

Dave sings his ass off on that album.

[Zantera]

This week I've been listening to Cryptic Writings (1997) and it's been interesting.

I'll get my potentially controversial opinion out of the way and say that I'm fairly sure I enjoyed this album more than I did So Far So Good So What or their debut album. But it's also not to the same level as Peace Sells-Rust in Peace-Countdown-Youthanasia, and it is a bit of a mixed bag. The songs that clicked with me clicked pretty hard, my favorites so far would be "Trust", "Use the Man", "Almost Honest" and "I'll Get Even" among others. I like the overall sound of the album and I think Mustaine actually sounds pretty good vocally for the most part. Maybe a part of why I seem to not rate the debut or SFSGSW as high is that those albums felt a bit more limited and his vocals felt a bit more in the shrieking register. Crypting Writings by comparison feels like more of a hard rock/heavy metal album where he can sing in a more comfortable register most of the time.

But if we get to the negatives, as much as I was surprised by enjoying this album I also can't lie and say it lived up to the albums before it. I read that Mustaine said something about this album being something like 1/3 of new direction ideas, 1/3 of what they had been doing on Youthanasia/Countdown and 1/3 faster thrash-y stuff and I can kinda see that. This feels a bit fragmented and it's a big issue I had with SFSGSW was that it didn't feel like a cohesive album. Overall I enjoyed Cryptic Writings more than I expected and I'm a bit surprised just how lukewarm reviews seem to be, because I don't think anything on here really sounds that bad. It could have passed for a B-sides compilation from the last two albums with a few standout songs but I don't think it's bad or anything. A couple of songs from here would make my 'Megadeth favorite songs' playlist (I might compile something like that after I'm done with their albums) and I could see myself revisiting this album at least occasionally.

Next up is Risk which might be an interesting discussion because I know it's kinda their St. Anger in terms of being controversial (though I am aware it's more of a Load type album soundwise). I was also curious if people would be interested in me doing side content as well such as Hidden Treasures for example? I think it counts as an EP but it's 30 minutes of music and has a few B-sides on it. I might also dip into one (or more) live albums after I'm done to get a flavor of that too. I've gotten some mixed messages though, is Rude Awakening or Live in Buenos Aires considered the best one? Or maybe there's another one that's better?

Let me know and also what you guys think of Cryptic Writings.

[DTA]

The fan response to Cryptic Writings always confuses me. Like there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it and it contains all memorable, catchy songs. I think there’s certain albums by bands that newer fans bandwagon into disliking or underrating just because older fans say it’s inferior. A Secret Place, Vortex, and FFF are my favorites from it and the album flows beautifully imo.

Risk is a really good album, and continues the CW sound but into a more poppy direction. And I always felt like the vocal melody of Crush Em sounded exactly like Beat It by Michael Jackson.

[twosuitsluke]

For me Cryptic Writings >>>>>>> Youthanasia, by a long way

[Grappler]

I love Cryptic Writings.  I can listen to that record and like Youthanasia, it takes me back to 1997 and getting the record when it came out.  Hearing songs like Trust and Almost Honest on the radio, and discovering some of the deeper cuts like Sin and Mastermind.  A Secret Place is a killer song.

I think the only song I don't really like is I'll Get Even, but I still sing along to it. 

[TAC]

After Countdown and Youthanasia, I was pretty much done with new Megadeth. I really didn't like the direction they were going in. I skipped Cryptic Writings in real time. I think I may have heard Almost Honest, and figured they were done. A buddy of mine really liked it, but I just couldn't bring myself to listen to it. I didn't want to be disappointed.

I definitely did myself a favor.  When I went back and listened my fears were confirmed. This is easily their worst album to this point.

I think She Wolf, musically is a tremendous track, and easily the best thing here, though the lyrics are dumb AF. The Disintegrators is the only track here that reminds me of classic Megadeth.
I have grown to really like Trust as well. But after those three tracks, there's really just not much here.

[wolfking]

I can see why people would dislike CW, but it was my first Megadeth album and while I found it strange at the start, it's grown nicely and I think it's a really great album.

[nick_z]

Haven't listened to CW in its entirety in a long time...I do remember liking it well enough, though...

I didn't buy right away either, and when I eventually did (used bin, if memory serves), expectations were quite low (given the comments I had read/heard). Partly because of a bar set low enough, I remember I found it better than I was expecting. Overall, certainly not great, but not bad either. I suppose I should revisit it...

[TAC]

Haven't listened to CW in its entirety in a long time... I suppose I should revisit it...

No need. I took one for the team today.

[nick_z]

Haven't listened to CW in its entirety in a long time... I suppose I should revisit it...

No need. I took one for the team today.

 

[Zoom E]

Haven't listened to CW in its entirety in a long time... I suppose I should revisit it...

No need. I took one for the team today.

Excellent. I would not care to revisit CW either. 

[The Realm]

Count me also as someone who has not listened to CW in a very long time. The cd was a release day purchase for me and as a huge Megadeth fan at the time I was all fired up but I remember that even seeing the cover disappointed me and the songs/music overall weren't much better. I'll see if I can find some time to give it a listen at some stage to see if my mind has changed but my memory is that this album was a huge step down from those that came before it and actually turned me off Megadeth for a while.

[Zantera]

Popping in for the weekly update and this time to talk about the risky left turn that is Risk (1999).

And to start things off I do feel disappointed, not necessarily just with the album itself but my lack of any strong feeling towards it either way. I was hoping for such a controversial album that most people seem to strongly hate, that I would either have a similar experience where it's at least a classic 'bad' album, or that I would get some sort of 'hallelujah' moment where I would like the album a decent bit and would defend it as this misunderstood album that's really not that bad but not a masterpiece either. But maybe similar to Load by Metallica that I actually like a fair bit despite changing direction, or Sound of White Noise by Anthrax which is also a different direction but an album I like. It's important to note that timing really matters and if I was a Megadeth through the late 80s going into the 90s and I was waiting years for this album - I might be one of those people thinking it's the worst thing ever. Because I'm able to jump from one album to the next from week to week and I listen 4-5 times to each of them and next Monday I have a new one, this was mostly just a 'meh' week where I didn't get that much out of it but I also know I'm moving on soon.

But let's talk about the actual content and not just the circumstances around it.

Insomnia starts the album off in a decent way IMO. The song is a bit of a mixed bag for me because it has the sound of a 90s alternative rock song (giving me some Smashing Pumpkins vibes) which should be more my thing since I love that whole period and genre, but I feel like had they made more of a metal version of this same song, I would have liked it more. It's decent though, probably one of the better songs which isn't necessarily saying much. Prince of Darkness is alright as well, but I can't shake the feeling that it's 6 ½ minutes of ideas we've heard done better before and kinda lacking that edge. But I feel like the more we get into the album the more it loses me. Some of these songs really lack great guitar riffs and sounds like something from the 90s alternative radio except writing more 'radio pop melody' songs isn't really Mustaine's strength IMO. I was kinda enjoying Wanderlust a bit, some parts reminded me of Wanted (Dead or Alive) by Bon Jovi (who I don't necessarily like much) but if I'm looking for any sort of positives on this album I would still say this song would make my top3.

I wish I had more interesting things to say about the album but it's just very 'okay' in my book. I can understand people saying it's bad, I can even understand some people liking it if they are into more of that 80s/90s 'cheesy radio rock' (no offense, best tag I could come up with)  but for me it's just a pretty average listen. I would say the weakest Megadeth album so far. There's 2 or 3 songs here I might revisit but the album as a whole is one of those I might revisit in like 5 years to see if I hear something different, but it won't enter my frequent rotation. For me the biggest problem isn't the change in sound, it's that a lot of these songs just aren't very interesting. Maybe you guys have more interesting stories or thoughts about this album.

Next week I'm doing The World Needs a Hero which I think has some mixed reviews but seems to be a return to metal so that will be interesting.

[bosk1]

I LOVED Risk.  Loved it.  But I know I am in the minority on that.

Next week I'm doing The World Needs a Hero which I think has some mixed reviews but seems to be a return to metal so that will be interesting.

Two words:  drum.  clinic.

Or alternatively:  Jimmy.  DeGrasso.

[Grappler]

I don't think I'll ever forget the disappointment of being a 19 year old thrash fan and listening to Risk for the first time.  I agree with Dave's assessment in the remastered version's liner notes - he sings his ass off on the album.  But there's not really much to love.  Prince of Darkness was heavy, Insomnia and The Doctor is Calling are catchy.  The Time songs are good.  I have a great memory of a former friend getting us 7th row tickets for that tour in Milwaukee, where I got to see the Marty Friedman/Jimmy DeGrasso lineup and came home with one of Marty's picks. 

Prince of Darkness
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
In My Darkest Hour
Train of Consequences
Hangar 18
Breadline (live premiere)
A Secret Place
She-Wolf
A tout le monde
Almost Honest
Crush 'Em
Use the Man
Trust
Insomnia
Sweating Bullets
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells

Encore:
Paranoid
Anarchy in the U.K.

I do remember the build up to The World Needs a Hero.  The band's website posted a few off the riffs that were written - Kill the King, Return to Hangar, maybe one other.  I loved that some faster riffs were coming back, but it still wasn't the Megadeth of old that would come back after Dave reformed the band. 

I met the band when TWNAH was released in 2001 and despite being star struck and embarrassing myself, I had a very short and nice moment with Dave and played the hell out of the album. 

[jammindude]

TWNAH is the only post-SOD album that I’m very familiar with. I heard 1000xGB on internet radio and it just struck a chord with me. It might be a bit simplistic, but I love that riff and I like the humor in the female dialogue.

[TAC]

Post-SOD??

[jammindude]

Post-SOD??

Sorry. I keep forgetting that Symphony of Destruction was not the title track of the album. I meant CTE. EDIT - Apparently I’m not even really familiar with THAT one. 

[billboy73]

Risk isn't terrible it kinda just plods along.  I really don't like the guitar tone on this album though.  It's got a few decent songs, and I revisit it every so often.  Insomnia is decent and the Time songs are pretty cool.  The Doctor Is Calling is good, and I agree Wanderlust sounds like a decent Bon Jovi tune.  I actually really like Breadline for what it is.  Crush 'Em has got to be the worst thing Megadeth ever crapped out though.  The only remnant of this album is that Prince of Darkness is the intro tape for their shows.  I couldn't imagine Dave trying to sing any of this stuff now with his strained vocals.

[wolfking]

I always quite enjoyed Risk personally.  I understand the hate but meh.

[Zantera]

Alright, moving on into the 00's we have the album that was made to get the band 'back on track' after taking a Risk 2 years earlier and this was going to be the big return to metal. Even the return of the mascot Vic Rattlehead who had been absent on the album covers post Rust in Peace (unless I'm mistaken) and this kinda feels like a band trying to find their footing again after 2 releases that got mixed reception among the fans. So yeah let's talk about The World Needs a Hero (2001).

Disconnect starts the album off and I would say it's pretty solid overall. I enjoy the intro riff and while I do think the song could use with a little bit more energy, I still think it's one of the better tracks on here. Just maybe doesn't feel like a great album opener but a song that would have been better as the 2nd or 3rd song. We get into the title track next and while it has some interesting percussion in it, the chorus feels a bit underwhelming and while the song overall is okay, I always feel like the title track should be one of the standouts and this just feels like it could have been one of the forgotten songs in the middle of Cryptic Writings or something. I realized I had the japanese album version because for me the next song was Coming Home which I believe is not on the 'regular' release at all. I was hoping this would grow on me because it is different and I like artists doing different things but I don't really like it much at all sadly. A bit of a cheesy and forgettable track and I've heard Megadeth do acoustic songs better before. Moto Psycho brings back some energy but I'm not a huge fan of the chorus I must say.

1000 Times Goodbye feels a bit more interesting to me. It's hard to say how my perspective will change as I spend more time with the band but this was really the first song on the album that stood out where I felt it had a bit more things going on in it, and it felt like a song with a few more layers to unpeel rather than 'what you hear on the first listen is all the song has to offer' which I feel with some of the previous songs. The second half of this album I start to lose some focus though, but I would say most of these songs are fine just a bit 'middle of the road'. Return to the Hangar kinda drives home the point of this album which is getting back to core of the band and I honestly feel like maybe this should just have been the album title? This would feel more fitting as a title track and it would also drive home the point of "we're getting back to a more classic Megadeth sound guys". I guess "The World Needs a Hero" might stand out more as a title but that song as a title track just felt a bit meh. The album ends off with the 9 minute When - which is their longest song so far in their discography (unless I'm wrong) and I actually quite like it. Maybe the fact it is 9 minutes gives the band more room to do things with the song but I actually thought it was pretty good even though it took me a few listens to keep up my focus going into the last few songs.

Overall I would say this album is what the young kids these days refer to as 'mid'. I wanted to be more excited about their return to metal but this just feels like a 2.5 rating out of 5 if there ever was one. A few good songs on here but most of these songs fall in that 'okay'-pile for me where I might like the intro riff, or a chorus, or a solo but not all of the elements so many of these songs have that 'if only the chorus was better' or 'that main riff just feels a bit boring'. For me this album doesn't manage to capture the heights of Rust in Peace or Peace Sells but it kinda captures the low points of like So Far So Good So What or Countdown/Youthanasia which for some people probably means they like this album a fair bit, for me it was very okay. The world needed a hero but this wasn't quite that. Next time we get to see if the System Has Failed or not.

Album rankings so far:

Rust in Peace
Peace Sells
Youthanasia
Countdown
Cryptic Writings
Killing is My Business and Business is Good
So Far So Good So What
The World Needs a Hero
Risk

[devieira73]

I'm listening a lot to Megadeth the last 2 weeks, including this album.
Interesting you didn't comment on Recipe for Hate... Warhorse, I think it's amazing and the best song in the album.
This album is more mid tempo Megadeth, but it's a good and solid album. I think the clean production sucks out a bit its heaviness, but also highlights the great drum work (by the way, I love Moto Psycho chorus, the drumming is great there!)

[Zantera]

I'm listening a lot to Megadeth the last 2 weeks, including this album.
Interesting you didn't comment on Recipe for Hate... Warhorse, I think it's amazing and the best song in the album.
This album is more mid tempo Megadeth, but it's a good and solid album. I think the clean production sucks out a bit its heaviness, but also highlights the great drum work (by the way, I love Moto Psycho chorus, the drumming is great there!)

Recipe For Hate... Warhorse is another decent one for sure! The album isn't bad but I think for me the fact I have heard better from them just caps this one out at being 'okay'. I'll probably revisit this more often than Risk for example but when you have such great albums in your discography as Rust in Peace, Peace Sells, Youthanasia or Countdown, it just seems unlikely I will come back to this one much, outside from if I want to do a full discography re-listen or something.

[devieira73]

I understand what you saying, it's really hard to compare anything to classic Megadeth, maybe only Endgame and the last one are truly at the same level. But Megadeth has a strong discography, with the all the albums varying from good to very good (maybe only Risk is clearly in a lower level, but I'm still not sure - I'll revisit it) and, in all the albums, there's always at least a couple of songs at their top quality.
By the way, about The World... I also love Silent Scorn/Return to Hangar.

[Grappler]

Looking at the bigger picture, the album wasn't exactly Megadeth's "return to metal," so much as it was Dave's realization to tell his management and other band members to STFU and let him do what he wants, for better or for worse.  They still had albums like Thirteen and Supercollider in their future, but at least he went back to writing heavier and faster riffs.  Hence the album cover, with Vic bursting out of his body.

[Zantera]

This week was spent with The System Has Failed (2004) and I'm here to talk about it.

Going into it I guess I had a mild concern that it would be a bumpy ride considering I wasn't big on Risk or The World Needs a Hero and for many bands, once you start getting into 'rough waters' it's surprisingly hard to get out. A lot of bands just seem to settle at a lower bar and they struggle to put out quality, but there are exceptions of course. And I didn't hate Risk or The World Needs a Hero just to clarify, but if you told me "It doesn't get better from this" then I would strongly reconsider the 'listen through the entire discography' journey as I still hope to find more solid stuff.

I would say almost right off the bat with Blackmail the Universe I'm on board and it's like showing up at a party where you don't know anyone but an old friend appears and puts his arm around you and says "You can stay around me tonight, it's cool". We get a pretty classic-Megadeth sounding guitar riff with a political voice sample intro and it feels like coming home. Die Dead Enough is another solid song and Kick the Chair has a great intro and high energy level. Really like this song. The Scorpion is another cool song followed by the slightly slower Tears in a Vial. But the energy picks up again with Back in the Day which has a nice quick riff and some pretty good drumming throughout as well. Getting into the final third or so of the album, Truth to be Told is another favorite and I also like Of Mice and Men a fair bit. There's other good songs I have not mentioned either but I genuinely don't have much complaints here, to me this is a very well rounded album and even though you could nitpick individual songs and maybe say "There's no Holy Wars or Hangar on here" I feel like as a collective of songs, it works well. The album also sounds pretty good IMO, at least it feels like a step up from the previous two.

So where do I land on this album? I would say pretty good. So far I kinda have the Megadeth albums in different blocks and while The System Has Failed doesn't quite match Youthanasia or Countdown for me, I would gladly slip it into the next tier with Killing is My Business and So Far So Good So What. While those albums might have a few standout songs that might beat anything from this album, I think in terms of an overall enjoyable listen, I might go for this album sooner than those. The debut still feels a bit raw to me (despite some great playing on it) and Anarchy in the UK really drags down SFSGSW for me and this album doesn't have a single song that I feel ruins the quality. In many ways I suppose this is what they tried to do with the previous album but IMO achieved better here. It's like classic Megadeth, maybe not as great but close enough. Like when you watch Die Hard 2 after the original. Yeah it's not as good but if you want more of that flavor, I think it does the job.

Next up we have United Abominations which will be interesting. I have heard it 2 or 3 times back around that time when it came out with 0 context for the band and I have not heard it since, but I do remember the remake of A Tout Le Monde with Cristina Scabbia (I am a fairly big Lacuna Coil fan) and I do remember the intro riff to Sleepwalker being pretty badass. For some reason I thought this album had the reputation of being a 'great return to form' but looking at some ratings sites, it is lower rated than The System Has Failed. I know that's all subjective so we'll see. Still very curious to hear this one!

The system may have failed but this album did not fail me or my expectations! 

[wolfking]

TSHF is probably a top 3 Megadeth album for me, love it.

[DTA]

TSHF is a really great album. I wasn't too into TWNAH as I felt it was trying to be Risk but heavier and felt super inauthentic, but System is definitely Dave doing his thing very well. Truth Be Told is a really overlooked standout track imo and there's really no bad moments.

UA is good too but I'd say there's maybe a few throwaway tracks and I don't know anyone who likes the ATLM remake.

[Grappler]

It's been a long time since I've listened to TSHF, but that's another record that pulls me back to where I was in 2004.  My wife and I had just started dating and I was making a long drive between my parents' house and her parents' house when she was home from school.  I can remember being on those roads and listening to the album in the car. 

You didn't touch on it in your write-up, but the record was originally going to be a Dave Mustaine solo album, however, he still had a contractual requirement and it became a Megadeth record.  It's definitely a return to form and I was excited that Megadeth was back after Dave disbanded them a few years earlier. 

The musicianship on the album is stellar, with Dave using session players for drums and bass, then inviting Poland back for leads.  The songs are great and have some full-on burners alongside really catchy songs like Die Dead Enough.  I think the worst part of the whole thing for me was that he poached Jimmy MacDonaugh from my favorite band, Iced Earth, to play bass on the tour.  Also of note was the live album they recorded in Argentina, which was where Dave wanted Rude Awakening to be recorded, but didn't want to fly overseas in the wake of 9/11.  That was the show where he announced to the crowd that Megadeth would continue forward as opposed to putting them to rest for good after filling his contractual obligation.