Megadeth are my favourite thrash band. There I said it! Dave Mustaine is a wally there can be no denying that but my god he's a talented musician.
Look at their recent back catalogue, The System has failed, United abominations, End Game, Th1rt3en, even with the miss step of Super collider (nowhere near as bad as some made out but certainly a pedestrian effort) the band have shown they are far more in touch with what their fans want and they unlike some bands who shall remain nameless *cough*metallica*cough* they have not become so bloated with success that their quality control goes out the window.
But yes the last release was a miss step so how does 2016 find the band? Treading water? Back on form? Happily I can attest that 2016 is off to blistering start.
Sometimes the best art emerges from times of tragedy or upheaval, and that has certainly been the case here. Already spurred on by a newfound sense of mortality following Jeff Hannemans tragic passing, death would raise its face far closer to the Megadeth camp with the death of Mustaines mother and Ellefsons brother. Soon after Mustaine and Ellefson would find themselves the only remaining members of the band as Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick departed the band. Fuck.
Some bands would have folded or gone on an extended hiatus, in this case thankfully it appears to have spurred them on and injected a sense of urgency and the additions of Chris Adler and Kiko Loureiro have added a vibrancy to the band missing on the last release.This album lives upto and indeed exceeds all my most optimistic expectations and delivers exactly what I want from a Megadeth album. Snarling political charged lyrics? Check. Shredding? Check. More shredding? Check. Fast? As fuck. Musicianship? Off the chart. Is it angry though? Angrier than a Catholic at a gay wedding.The jury is out as to whether Adler will be a longterm member but both he and Ellefson are on fine form here and Kiko and Mustaine play off each brilliantly, producing neck wrenching riffs and intricate tempo changes with disturbing ease.
Mustaine as always is the key and with recent personal events already mentioned and the current state of the world, the fire has been well and truly re-ignited within him, lyrically and vocally he is back to his absolute best. No I dont agree with his politics but what matters is the music and this is the finest collection of songs the band have produced in years, time will tell how this is remembered in relation to their back catalogue, but is this right up there with Peace sells, Rust in peace, Countdown and Endgame? Absolutely.
9/10 Thrashy goodness.
Listen to: Posionous Shadow, Death from within, The Emperor
