Megadeth ‎– So Far, So Good... So What!

In my opinion this is the most under rated Megadeth album, and one of their best. It's hard to say which albums make the top three, because in Megadeth's long career they have consistently created some of the finest musical pieces of artwork of any genre; however, this one cannot be denied, and it is certainly an essential part of the band's golden years of thrash. Sometimes regarded as a rushed and immature follow up to Peace Sells, it was actually a testament to the strength of Dave & Dave as a writing and performance team at the time, and a sign of their ability to keep up with any other band out there by standing on their own two feet.

‪So Far So Good So What is easily overlooked for a few reasons, and I believe one of them is due to the fact that this album had the line up that I consider the 'here today gone tomorrow' line up. You know those two guys who you might not recognize, care about, or even consider in the same league as the other outstanding musicians who have played with Dave & Dave. Of course I am talking about Jeff Young and Chuck Behler. Both were picked up amidst the hassle of firing Chris Poland and the late Gar Samuelson, two admired legends who will go down in history thanks to ‪their contributions to Peace Sells, But Whose Buying as guitarist and drummer respectively. It's hard to recapture the energy from such a seminal album, and both Young and Behler were really pressured to do so when they jumped into the new roles. Unfortunately due to a combination of reasons, Young and Behler were gone immediately after the So Far So Good So What tour ended. Their faces and part in the band may best be remembered for being in the documentary ‪Decline Of Western Civilization II, otherwise unless you're a close fan of the band you may not even notice who they are or what part they played in Megadeth for a year. Let us also not forget that the talents of Behler and Young hit a pretty high standard. Of course they weren't able to really leave any creative footprints on the band due to the fact that they were picked up in the middle of the album's recording period, and they were gone before another album went in the works, but they kept up and performed strongly on each track.

Now as for the album itself, in my opinion it's a masterpiece that really could not have been a better follow up to Peace Sells, especially given the conditions that the band were working with. A lot of reviews done at the time of this album's release hailed it as a transformational epitome of thrash metal, and ‪hailed it as the beginning of Mustaine's longevity as an artist. The album also had the commercial success to back up those words, with hundreds of thousands of units being sold in its first month alone, and it would go on to be a platinum record for the band. I think the critical praise it had in 1988 still holds true today, although many industry experts call this one a juvenile album in retrospective. I think calling it juvenile is a half truth, or maybe a quarter truth, because there are certainly some words I have about the "Anarchy In The U.K" cover, but that track was really an example of the times. Few thrash metal bands were not pressured to put a recognized rock track into the mix when they were releasing new albums, and almost all of those covers were embarrassing.

"Mary Jane" is still a fan favorite after 27 years, and "In My Darkest Hour" is one of the greatest heavy metal songs ever written. From front to back So Far So Good So What is an adrenaline fueled frenzy of speed and aggression coming from one of the darkest if not the darkest period of this band's history. The drugs were everywhere, and probably at no point was the thrash metal scene as competitive as it was between '87 and '89. Dave knew that he had to make an album that would stand out. There was no time to relax and just take it in after the success of Peace Sells. If he released anything short of the most killer album out there, Megadeth would have taken a backseat to bands like Exodus, Slayer, Overkill, Testament, Kreator, Sodom, Anthrax, and of course that other band... Metallica. If So Far So Good wasn't a genuine M60 hail of bullets out of the gates, then Megadeth may have become one of the countless other cult bands that released one or two great albums and then disappeared. I do think that pressure played a part in the band's creative process and the rush it took to hurry this album out of the recording studio, but to Megadeth's strength, they had two of the greatest musicians in the industry and a very strong creative team behind the warhorse. Ellefson and Mustaine could come up with a magnum opus on demand, and they did. No one, and I mean no one in the business have the collaborative gift that they shared and still share today. Again, I think there are some truths to the criticism that is attached to this album, but to focus on them is like complaining about a girlfriend who loses her keys a lot but is otherwise a perfect match and usually a killer lay.

If this album had a vagina, I would fuck it every day of my life for a lifetime. On the other hand if the riffs on this album were a sexual activity, I would be able to stay alone forever. "502," "Hook In Mouth," "Liar," "Set The World Afire," and of course you could not forget the fan favorite instrumental "Into The Lungs Of Hell," all set a higher precedent for what was expected in Megadeth's territory of raw thrash metal. Was Megadeth ever stronger than this? Again, it's hard to say, because Megadeth has constantly shown to be a band that succeeds with multiple transitions, but I don't think that Megadeth could have been any stronger for where their focus was at that point as a purely fucked up thrash metal band. Each track drips with nasty grooves and contempt, and lyrically either A) cuts right to the chase of a self-destructive world in an intellectual way that provides examples of where we're heading as society, or B) inspires a self awareness of individual destructive behaviors that were all but universal in the extreme metal scene at the time ex: "502," a song about drunk driving, and "Mary Jane," a track that clearly suggests an individual who has fried their brain in an attempt to escape from reality by means of drugs.

The depth of this band's catalog is unlike anything else out there, and dismissing So Far So Good So What's place in that catalog is simply repulsive. In contradiction to the claims that this was an immature follow up to Peace Sells, So Far So Good has a lot of lyrically matured themes that hadn't fully evolved into the fold yet on their second album. The scathing social criticisms of "Hook In Mouth" and apocalyptic revelations so abundantly clear on "Set The World Afire" would go on to be enduring assets to the band's career with each album that followed after. They're a huge step forward from the title track of Peace Sells. I couldn't say that the album is as influential as Peace Sells or Rust In Peace, but I think that it is just as important. In fact So Far So Good So What may have been the most critical album in Megadeth's career. They came out of a really dark shadow that hung over them in an uncertain drug fueled period that usually destroys a band, and followed up the thrash metal masterpieces of '86 with one of the best thrash metal albums ever recorded.

Now without further adieu, I leave you with one of my favorite lines in metal;

"No survivors, set the world afire!"

Megadeth ‎– Youthanasia

This album is by no means a classic and it's not as good as its predecessor Countdown to Extinction but it does have a number of songs which can be deemed as classics. Gone was the speed and intricacies of Rust in Peace and to a lesser extent Countdown to Extinction; in its place is a more streamlined and simplified style. It's an album that sacrifices speed for catchy songs and it uses standard verse and chorus patterns with a good degree of success. There are very few fast rhythm sections and not many duel guitar solos which were so often associated with their earlier work. Nevertheless Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman's riffs, licks and solos throughout the album are still very accomplished.

The album begins with a powerful medium paced opening guitar riff which provides the first indicator as to what will follow. As the album progresses I feel that it doesn't have enough pace to it. The opening two tracks warrant faster riffing and an increased tempo which is how they are played on live sets; never the less they are still very good. The pace then quickly drops with a very slow song called "Addicted to Chaos" which only needs to have an increased tempo and this applies to the entire album. It even begins with a tediously slow opening drum rhythm section. This is where I first notice that the drums have this bassy echo which doesn't sound very good. Nick Menza's [RIP] drum track is proficient although at times slightly underwhelming. This clearly isn't Menza's fault as he's just playing in unison with the other rhythm sections.

I also noticed that the guitars have been tuned down and this has a negative affect on the overall sound; they should have used standard tuning to retain that gritty Megadeth tone. I think that they tuned down half a step to create a thicker sound which would compensate for the slower tempo and this slow tempo was created to produce a very mainstream album in order to achieve that no. 1 record which incidentally never came to fruition. There has been some suggestion that it was Max Norman, the producer, who encouraged the slower tempo and if that's the case then it also suggests that Mustaine wasn't in total control over his musical direction and this would be detrimental to Megadeth in the later part of the decade.

These are only minor flaws that don't ruin what is essentially a very good album. The writing is still very strong with subjects which range from drug and gambling addiction to a phenomenally well written song about someone's imminent death. This shows that Dave has focus in his writing which is a major plus for the album. The mid section of this album has two stand out tracks, "The Killing Road" and "Blood of Heroes," but it also gets bogged down in monotonous melody and mediocrity. Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with the written content here; it's just the delivery that's the issue. For example "Elysian Fields" has this tediously repeated vocal harmony in the second verse along with the song title being over used during the chorus, and to top it off there's a harmonica played at the end which is completely pointless. Also "Family Tree" begins promisingly but fails to deliver any of those trademark jackhammer riffs thus slowing the pace of the album. I therefore find myself skipping through half of the mid section to get to the title track.

The entire last third of the album gets much stronger after the mid sections melodic slump. The title track "Youthanasia" is a fantastically heavy sounding song with a timely tempo change and a great riff in the middle. It would have been good if some of the other songs had a few varied structures. I was also pleased that in the last third of the album there was more content in relation to nuclear destruction which is reminiscent of "Set the World Afire" from the So Far, So Good, So What! album. In actual fact this was the last album for a decade which would vocalize matters of nuclear war and political turmoil in the world. The next two albums would completely move away from these subjects which had been the mainstay for much of Mustaine's material. It only seems fitting that Mustaine wound pen the last track titled "Victory" using words and sentences constructed from past songs. It's like showcasing their entire discography in 4 minutes and this is also one of the few moments when we can hear one of those fantastic duel guitar trade-offs. The track also appears, even if unintentionally, to signify an end of a chapter in Megadeth's history. They will be moving onto new ventures; ventures culminating in the Risk disaster.

In retrospect this album reveals that the band were in transition. This is where Mustaine became more influenced by the success of the previous album Countdown to Extinction and by the direction of the record producer Max Norman. Norman suggested that they record the songs at a "heart beat" and essentially that is what Mustaine did, but the lyrical content and the speed at which the songs are played live suggests that this album would have been even better if Mustaine had ignored this direction. It was only after hearing several of these songs live in concert that I began playing all of them with an increased tempo of between 6-16% and I have to say that it makes such a considerable difference; it's a much more enjoyable listen. Even though these factors dictated the final version of this release Megadeth didn't completely abandon their heavy metal roots unlike some of their peers during this decade, and it's definitely not a complete "sell out." The album has some really excellent songs with only two that I really dislike, and then there's the bonus tracks which consist of two good instrumentals and a really good demo of "New World Order." The standout tracks are the openers "Reckoning Day" and "Train of Consequences," followed by "À Tout le Monde," then "The Killing Road," "Blood of Heroes," "Youthanasia," "Black Curtains" and "Victory." To all intents and purposes this album was a victory.

Megadeth ‎– The World Needs A Hero

So it turns out after Risk (and possibly Cryptic Writings) Mr. Carrothead and crew realized that while they were taking an admittedly unique and fairly experimental path that their career would be far more secure if they retreated back to familiar ground. So now we get The World Needs a Hero which can be summed up as sounding as if they couldn't decide whether to return to the melodic thrash of Countdown to Extinction or the melodic hard rock of Youthanasia.

Luckily the two sounds mix fairly well as they both share the previously mentioned melodic roots. Much of the band's good ole early and mid 90s sound is back, but this is still a far cry from a complete return to form. Still lacks the anger, the aggression, the edge and the overall heaviness of Countdown to Extinction (and in most of those aspects Countdown pales in comparison to their 80s work). However you can tell the band are still trying to appease the fanbase and redeem themselves to the metal crowds, unfortunately they still clearly had the mainstream in mind as well during the writing process.

Dave has lots of energy but focuses it into more of a fun sound then an angry sound. He still swings away from the aggressive side of things as much as he can get away with. His singing is alright, very limited in range but very charismatic in performance. Pretty solid for the most part but he forgets to pack energy on some songs (1000 Times Goodbye). His lyrics now pander to a more radio oriented crowd with lyrics dealing with things like breakup (1000 Times Goodbye) or how desperately the world needs saving (the title track).

The guitars once again go for catchy hooks on the chorus but aren't quite as chorus centric now, with them attempting to sprinkle most every song with as many melodic riffs as they deem reasonable (an average of 2 or 3 to be exact). Its all midpaced and very simplistic as to offend as little as possible and to make sure it can still get decent marketing (another example being 1000 Times Goodbye, which by the way may be the most bland thing they've ever made). The soloing is all melody and is usually pretty predictable in placement, certainly nothing as shredding as Hangar 18 or Into the Lungs of Hell but admirable all the same.

The bass is reduced to the mere position of rounding it all out, on certain occasions the production pushes him up in the mix revealing some nice little bass grooves (opening of the title track). The drummer returns to his AC/DCish bass snare pattern drumming and mostly keeps time, he lays down some nice beats here and there but nothing too special about it. All in all its a decent laid back melodic album from a band that once released high speed balls of intensity and aggressive classics.

Stand out tracks: The World Needs a Hero, Dread and the Fugitive mind and Moto Psycho. Return to Hangar is also somewhat of a nostalgic blast, but doesn't hold a candle to Hangar 18.

MD.45 ‎– The Craving

MD.45 is a little curiosity in the Dave Mustaine history, a rip-roaring punk-metal adventure, which was little publicised. Just to clarify, this is the re-mastered version I have, with Dave on vocals. Maybe one day, I'll compare the two version of this album, but for now, it's all Dave.

First thing that strikes me is that this is far more fun than most of Megadeth's output. The songs are more upbeat and to the point than Dave's day job, less technical and more in-your-face. That said, it still sounds like Megadeth a BIT. "The Day The Music Died" could have come straight off Cryptic Writings, and the bridge reminds me a bit of a modern-day Megadeth song, something off of The System Has Failed, and I believe that, if this was released as a Megadeth single, it would've done very well, better than Trust probably.

"Fight Hate" starts with Take No Prisoners-style call and reply shouty vocals, and sounds like Mustaine's covering a Motorhead song. I also especially love the sitar midsection, akin to Holy Wars, and the more harsh "UGH"s Mustaine unleashes on this song, but the "Something's different" refrain grates a bit. But ironically, this song has some of the most megadeth-y lyrics, especially nowadays Megadeth, but the lyrics weren't written by Mustaine, they were written by Lee Ving.

After this, it all descends into mediocrity, Designer Behaviour has a baffling chorus which is annoying, while The Creed is not bad, but it starts out very boring and can't really pick up. It reminds me of something off of Youthanasia or Countdown, 2 of Megadeth's weakest records, but overall it's not bad. The rest of this album is all a bit non-descript, but good nonetheless. There's nothing remotely bad about these songs, but by now, the novelty of Mustaine playing this sort of stuff has worn off, and you may tend to get a bit sick of it. "No Pain" is the highlight of the second half of this album definitely, but even this still sounds the same to the rest of this stuff, just better executed. It's a nice, fast thrashy headbanger of a song and I really like it.

The bonus tracks are of absolutely no use to anyone. Chutney is unbelievably boring, it basically consists of Dave going "From my mother I am torn" over and over again and, although we're warned not to take Segue seriously, it's still pretty pointless, basically consisting of 3 little snippets or jams that Mustaine felt should've been on the album. That said, I would rather have these than the pointless live tracks or remixes which furnished the other re-masters. The third song, a version of The Creed, played by the Countdown-era line-up of Megadeth is fairly interesting. It is a different beast from the MD. 45 version, and is interesting to see, and is a nice inclusion on the disc, but it's still pretty boring.

In conclusion, this is a good album, if a bit samey. After a while, you might get bored but there is nothing bad about this record. Although a departure for Dave, it still has hints of Megadeth about it, and various songs are referenced. This is a good album to put on when your having a party or are getting drunk with friends. It's good old-fashioned headbanging music, and serves it's best purpose as background music, but not something to be held under close scrutiny. As a Megadeth album, it isn't essential, but can hold it's ground against most of the other albums. This should be near the bottom of your shopping list, but you should definitely buy it if you find a copy, because it still is a good listen.

Megadeth ‎– Greatest Hits: Back To The Start

I consider my perspective a lot different from the others on this release, so allow me to pitch in my two cents and justify my rating without getting emotional.

With respect to Megadeth, here’s my profile: I’m only a casual fan, never kept up with the latest Megadeth news, and to this day I haven’t bothered to go buy another Megadeth record.

The CD attempts to overview the golden era of the band’s career (the 80s and 90s) in a balanced manner. And, frankly, even with some great songs like "Tornado of Souls" missing, I still think this song selection represents the best of Megadeth well. Aside from obvious classics, I’m glad “Trust” is here to showcase the band’s more melodic songwriting, as well as lesser-known songs like “Train of Consequences”, "Kill the King”, and “Angry Again” where the band finds a middle ground between melody and technical appeal. Not only did I get a good overall picture of what Megadeth is all about, listening many times to this release made me want to explore more of Megadeth, and I did go on to eventually listen through their albums I have not yet heard at the time I got this.

I also find the song order to be agreeable here. While it isn't chronological, the older & highly rated songs are generally lined up first, while more recent (and not-as-highly-rated) songs tend to be towards the back end of the order. I am in favor of such an approach because the CD grabs the listener's attention with the best of the best, and keeps the listening experience interesting with diversity. It also sounds cohesive, despite putting songs from different albums next to each other. For example, the first three tracks - “Holy Wars…”, “In My Darkest Hour”, and “Peace Sells” - all flow very well from one to another, thanks in part to their instantly recognizable riffs. Compared to the other Megadeth compilation releases, I think this one is the best in terms of number of songs included and the order in which they are presented.

Nonetheless I can’t give this release a higher rating - I have the version that came with a DVD, and the DVD is god awful. Its main feature is the live performance from 1999, but the sound mix is inexplicably bastardized by sporadically cranking up Dave Mustaine’s solos to an obnoxious level where others are drowned out. To make matters worse, such mixing also exacerbates Dave’s sloppy performance on that particular night. Drowning out Marty Friedman’s solos is also a huge disrespect to Marty, who had a better performance than Dave in the film. Watching the band perform with Marty should have been a great pleasure, especially because this was one of his last performance before he left heavy metal for the world of J-pop, but the sound mix totally destroys the experience. I suppose the DVD also does a good job of representing what to expect from Megadeth (or, specifically, Dave Mustaine), in an ironic way.

I will admit that the criticisms by others on this site (and elsewhere) do leave a very bad taste in my mouth. I had no idea for a long time that the songs on the CD were supposed to be chosen by fans’ votes (which would have been very cool). I do feel really bad for the faithfuls for having their wishes ignored and betrayed. I also agree that Megadeth has put out too many compilations with similar set of songs, and I definitely don’t like feeling like I spent my precious money on a cash-grab.

But, my $10 is gone and will never come back, and at the end of the day, I don’t regret buying this. This release is good enough to satisfy my occasional and casual Megadeth fix. I’m genuinely happy with what I have.

Megadeth ‎– Risk

"This is Megadeth's St Anger!" or "This is when Megadeth sold out!" are two very common phrases that are stuck to this album. Is it as bad as everyone says? Is it truly the weakest point in Megadeth's career?

Of course it is. Compared to giants like Killing Is My Business or Rust in Peace, this album is a pile of pure shit. If you only like that type of music and refuse to expand on your variety, then yes, you'll despise this album. You'll hate the mellowness, you'll hate the softness, you'll hate the stadium rock, alternative, electronic, and basically any aspect that isn't thrash that "plagues" this album.

If you aren't stuck in the mentality that anything besides heavy metal is pure garbage, then you'd be surprised that this excellent rock album comes from one of the Big 4 of thrash metal.

The only really shitty song is Insomnia, that song is ridden with garbage vocals. Sure, Mustaine may not be Halford or anyone of that level per se, but jeepers fucking creepers. He sounds absolutely terrible here. He sounds like someone taking a strap on in the ass while having a choke hold performed on him.

So, what else is shitty about this album? It's a major downgrade. Oh, and I mean MAJOR. Just a few years before, they brought us the classic Youthanasia, couple years before that was Countdown to Extinction, then the thrash masterpiece Rust in Peace a couple years before that. I mean, it wasn't Rust in Peace to Risk in a year, you saw the progression happen over the course of nine years. However, from having nothing but songs and albums that hit the mark to having this? It was a major disappointment.

Even though it was a major disappointment, it is something very new and refreshing. There comes a point (for me at least) where hearing seventy renditions of Holy Wars... The Punishment Due becomes just totally dull and you crave something new. This album hits the spot for that occasion.

However, if you take away the frustration and the betrayal of them releasing this album, it still is fucking good. The positives? This has some INCREDIBLY strong songs. Wanderlust has a country feel to it, but it's probably the best song in the style of country I've ever heard. Crush Em is the shit, good stadium rock to get you pumped. Excellent sports arena anthem. Breadline is also a great song, I mean this album is just filled with really good songs. They're definitely strong releases under the Megadeth name. I mean, I'd listen to Wanderlust a hundred times opposed to the filler on Killing is my Business... And Business is Good! (looking at you Chosen Ones, you asshole) once.

Obvious by the previous paragraph, the album is really a total mixed bag. Everything from electronic and country to stadium rock, as well as everything in between. Of the twelve songs, only one of them is truly offensive to the ears. Open minded or not, Insomnia is pretty much worthless. The rest? Excellent for the most part.

Rumor even has it that Dave Mustaine hates this album. Untrue, he still regards it as a strong release, but just very unexpected for fans to hear. Unexpected it was, but satisfying it is.

Megadeth ‎– Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!

Since I'll be finishing with my Slayer series tomorrow (hitting the World Painted Blood album and maybe a few of the singles if I feel like it before I write a prayer book in review form for Haunting the Chapel) I found it fitting to start on a Megadeth series today and cover all the big 4. I'll start by saying I won't mention production much like I did with Slayer as most of my listening will be done with Spotify which only carries Megadeth's remasters unlike Slayer where they have the original recordings. Just doesn't seem like it would be fair to judge classic albums by modern remasters that may have improved or castrated their original sound.

As pointed out by another reviewer it seems this album was made to outdo Metallica. Honestly this seems like the only way for Megadeth to have gained much traction. They came out in the middle of thrash revolution, the only bands who had definitive futures at this point were Exodus for practically inventing the genre and Metallica for putting it in a form that would reach global marketability. Megadeth had to prove themselves superior to their peers as well as get something that would make them unique. Add to this Dave was just kicked out of one of thrash's most successful bands at the time which made him a hard sell with producers and Metallica claimed to have kicked him out due to him being a drunk (nasty, nasty feud, glad its over), hearing that Kirk played Dave's riffs except faster on Kill Em All probably supported that rumor.

So that leaves Megadeth having to claim their place in the growing thrash scene and prove that they aren't headed by a talentless drunk. What better way then to outplay Metallica in every way. Faster songs, more aggressive and far more technical. Mission accomplished boys, your first album and you've already both outdone Metallica and made a classic. You've also kept it all within reason without out doing yourselves (some of their later material is too flashy and show offish to really work)

The only issues performance wise is vocals and chemistry. Dave gets the job done but he is not an amazing singer, he is emotive though, enough to spit out venom and fire in his performance. He simply cannot be replaced even if his vocals fall a bit flat here and there. The band don't completely mesh yet. It isn't a major problem but its a bit of rust on what would otherwise be a well oiled riff machine, they all fight for attention and to show off. The riffs are fast and calculated with a hint of professionalism. Like whirlwinds ripping their way through the ears of the ill prepared. The solos and rhythm sections too are fast and calculated, shredding technical pieces with a good level of melody added in.

The bass is more audible and utilized then is average. Generally bass just rounds out the sound and/or adds a backbone, here the bass player gets to show his chops, do some flashy stuff of his own. The drummer uses some jazz skills to great effect. I may be a total Metallica fanboy but Lars can suck a duck against this guy. He even manages to pound it out amongst all the technical aspects. The cover track isn't very strong, I'm not sure if it was just the remaster or not but it kept bleeping the 'walking' lyrics. It was obnoxious.

Standout tracks: The Skull Beneath the Skin, Rattlehead and Mechanix

Megadeth ‎– Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

In my mind, Megadeth have always been one of all too few thrash bands that have a real identity. I don't mean that they have an identity as a thrash band, because there are thousands of groups who only have an identity as a thrash band to make them memorable, which of course backfires as they get lost in the masses; what I mean is that Megadeth have always had an identity apart from as a thrash band, meaning that they really do stand out distinctly from their multifarious generic peers and imitators. In fact, if we really think about it, Megadeth are not really that pure a thrash band. Ventures into hard rock and commercial territory aside, Dave Mustaine and his many cohorts forged a thoroughly unique sound from the beginning, as 'Killing Is My Business' is quick to prove if you listen to its speed metal riffing, baggy bass, and frantic shredding. Probably for this reason, Megadeth can easily lay claim to being my favourite of the "Big 4" bands and - if they truly play thrash - also my favourite thrash band.

In this regard, 'Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?' is a typical Megadeth album, exhibiting all the assets and the few drawbacks that have made Dave and co. so consistently entertaining for so long. There are lots of riffs and speed; there's Mustaine's idiosyncratic voice(s); no sense of restraint in terms of solos; hooks that never lose their hard edges; finally, there's that ever-present sense of excitement that mostly comes from the friction between white-knuckle technicality and enraged sloppiness, which is almost certainly the defining factor of early Megadeth. What makes 'Peace Sells' a little more than just a typical Megadeth album is its invention and daring. Whenever Mustaine has gone all-out and fired everything at an album or a song, it has come out exponentially better than the times he has played it safe, even if the song is riddled with weirdness or poor production or that imposing sloppiness that only someone really crazy could ever pull off (not Metallica, naturally).

The invention is all there in the bulk of the songs on this record, often coming from the guitars, though by no means limited to them. The entirety of opener 'Wake Up Dead' is a testament to an intensely different way of thinking about music, right from the splurge of words that leads the album out of the gate to the combative riffs that chop up the middle of the song with so many different time changes to the stomping feel of the closing solo section, which remains one of the most distinctive moments of Megadeth's career. The creativity on display here is inimitable and fearless, making the entire song feel thoroughly unpredictable and exciting after the hundredth listen, however much it might spin the listener's head at first. Then there are those broken riff licks on 'The Conjuring', the legendary bass line from the title track, the bloodied tatters of fingers flying off guitar strings during 'Black Friday', the funky dip and groove of 'I Ain't Superstitious', and the climactic gang shouts in 'My Last Words' - this album has a lot going on in terms of ideas. It shouldn't really work with this kind of hectic creativity, though that's the difference between being good and being unique.

Four men do their best to make this a great listen. The first one, I don't need to talk about, though I would like to say that Mustaine is underrated as a vocalist, since he crafts a whole load of different shapes from his voice and never sounds as though he's doing anything inappropriate. Chris Poland, while not as celebrated as Marty Friedman, may actually be as worthy of praise as the later axeman, particularly as his fills on the Willie Dixon cover and the album's title track are at once playful, skillful, and sound cool as fuck. David Ellefson has had his plaudits in the past, though 'Peace Sells' must be his best performance in Megadeth colours, doing way more than scraping around the guitarists and frequently putting his own stamp on fast and more measured sections alike. Gar Samuelson has not been endowed with the most robust drum tone on the 2004 remastered version that I'm listening to (there are a few beats that sound like he is throwing drum sticks at his kit from across the room), but he is super tight when the string players take off with their right hands and scatters fills about whenever he can. Perhaps his proudest moment might be the transition between 'Good Mourning' and 'Black Friday', where he rolls around all the drums before locking into a rock-solid beat.

For all this praise, however, there are some weak points in this album. The first one is the production, which I feel is imperfect on both the old and newer versions (I haven't heard the 25th anniversary version, but I have the original remaster). On the 2004 addition, everything still sounds pretty loose, with Ellefson's bass twanging tastily at times and rattling annoyingly at others, while OlympicSharpshooter's about "chickenscratch" guitars is apt in several places, where the E-string gets busy and we don't get a lot of joy from any real notes, just speed. A few of the solos also become rather abrasive at high-pitch, though that's not such a problem, since it gives these parts a physical punch that they would otherwise lack, guitars occasionally being thin. The second problem is a much more regular one, and that is the fact that 'Bad Omen', but especially 'Devil's Island', don't match up to the others in terms of quality or interest, remaining fairly predictable, though not completely bland. Since the other songs needn't resort to speed in order to surprise, these songs feel restrained in comparison whatever their pace, even if I rather suspect there are a fair few thrash bands who would have made them focal points of any of their own albums. The most bizarre complaint I have is that no else seems to be able to hear the totally obvious chant of "Neville's island" replacing the actual title of that song at some point in its latter half.

So, to sum up, 'Peace Sells' is a pretty obvious classic and plays more like an obvious classic nowadays than a few other 1986 peers, despite the signs of weakness in the production. There is a whole lot of quality packed into a relatively short album and even the less essential songs are exactly that - less essential, rather than inessential. The real selling point, however, must be the entirely unpeaceful attitude of this release, since it never lets up in terms of creativity and rarely gives the listener pause for thought either, unless that thought is, "Fuck, I like this."

Megadeth ‎– Cryptic Writings

A lot has been said about 'Cryptic Writings', both positive and negative, but a fact is, that after the balance between Rock and Heavy Metal, that made 'Countdown To Extinction' such an awesome album, went to Rock a bit too much with 1994's 'Youthanasia'. Not that 'Youthanasia' was a bad album, but the fact that it lacks that sharp edge, makes that I hardly listen to that album anymore. On 'Cryptic Writings', Megadeth, and singer/guitarist Dave Mustaine in particular, tried to get back a large share of Metal in the music again, which makes 'Cryptic Writings' an album that has that special balance again. In fact, stylistically the album doesn't even differ that much from 'Countdown To Extinction'. To illustrate how much I like the album, together with 'Rust In Peace' and 'Countdown To Extinction', 'Cryptic Writings' forms my personal Megadeth top 3.

In the typical Megadeth-tradition, the album has a really, really strong opener. 'Trust' is a very good song, probably even one of the best songs that Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman have ever written together. The lyrics are quite sensitive and the music builds up very nicely. Not really a typical opener, but who gives a damn? One of the most catchiest choruses the band has ever made and a short, but very strong guitar solo by Marty Friedman round off this great song.

It took me some time to get used to 'Almost Honest', but once I got used to it, I realised that 'Almost Honest' is actually not a bad song at all! The lyrics are pretty much comparable to those of 'Trust', the subject is the same, and just like 'Trust', 'Almost Honest' has some very nice work on the backing vocals.

Next up is 'Use The Man', which I consider one of Megadeth's best ever songs. The acoustic verses and Dave Mustaine's typical dangerous low voice create a perfect atmosphere and a nice step towards the great chorus of the song. A nice surprise is the heavy guitar riff underneath Marty Friedman's great solo, which is based on the same key as the verses, just played more "Metal". Some nice headbanging to be done here.

'Mastermind' is a hideous song with one of the most ridiculous choruses the band has ever produced. However, the song is followed up by a nice surprise; 'The Disintegrators' is a very nice Heavy Metal song which reminds me of 'Poison Was The Cure' from 'Rust In Peace' a lot. This song just hasn't got that pointless bass intro and rocks right from the beginning.

After that, the album declines a bit. 'I'll Get Even', 'Sin' and 'Have Cool, Will Travel' aren't bad songs and actually have some nice riffs, but lack in conviction. Apart from that 'Sin' and 'Have Cool, Will Travel' sound rather forced in heaviness, just like these songs had to be written in order to make the album sound a little heavier. Nothing to impressive there. However, not this entire part of the album is not too impressive, 'A Secret Place' is a great, slightly experimental song. The intro riff is really powerful and so is the rest of the song. Unlike many other songs on the album, 'A Secret Place' doesn't sound like it's built around its chorus. The song flows quite nicely and the chorus doesn't stand out as much in the way that it doesn't get more accent than the rest of the song. Impressive!

After 'Have Cool, Will Travel', the album suddenly becomes very Metal! 'She-Wolf' is probably as Heavy Metal as it gets and has one of Dave Mustaine's best ever guitar solos and has a chorus that won't let go of your mind for a long, long time. In fact, at the moment I am writing this review, I am in a period that I constantly find myself playing that song over and over again. In the same Heavy Metal tradition, 'Vortex' has this really euphoric Heavy Metal riff starting off the song and throughout the song, you can hear some very nice guitar and vocal melodies. Another pleasant surprise!

Closing off the album in style is 'FFF', of which the intro slightly reminds me of Metallica's 'Motorbreath' (Dave Mustaine might want to kill me because of this comparison) and which is another euphoric Metal track. Those last three tracks have something in common, it is pretty obvious that those songs were written in a time that the band was feeling very comfortable, that can just be heard in the euphoria and the "looseness" in which the songs are played. In any way, 'She-Wolf', 'Vortex' and 'FFF' form a nice and Metal way to close off the album!

Maybe the tension between the band members is the reason that the middle part of this album doesn't sound that consistent. Out of the liner notes in the booklet of the re-release of 'Cryptic Writings', I also understood that the band's manager at the time, a certain Bud Prager, was a pain in the asses of the band. However, I find 'Cryptic Writings' a very good release which should be heard by anyone who is into solid, traditional Metal!

Megadeth ‎– Countdown To Extinction

By releasing the ridiculously good Rust in Peace in 1990, Megadeth had achieved the pinnacle of songwriting that the thrash subgenre allowed for. With it, the band proved capable of interweaving stellar instrumental work within complex arrangements, resulting in a sophisticated product that was nonetheless very catchy and memorable. At that point in time, metal was on the verge of breaking into the mainstream, with Metallica releasing their famed self-titled album in 1991. And rivalry-fueled Dave Mustaine, ever-eager to outdo his competitors, decided that the only logical path for his band to take was to also expand their sound into a more accessible format. The result was Countdown to Extinction.

Countdown to Extinction had its eyes on the grand prize of radio airplay and fame. As a result, the band has sacrificed most of the complexity that had accompanied Rust in Peace in favor of a more streamlined and polished sound. The songs are primarily straightforward four-minute rockers, sporting an emphasis on catchy guitar hooks, vocal lines and choruses. Despite this sharp turn in style and simplification of sound, however, the album's attitude still screams "Megadeth!". Mustaine's snarl hasn't lost its edge, and neither have the instrumental capabilities of Ellefson, Friedman and Menza who don't waste the opportunity to show off their prowess every now and then. The solo in Symphony of Destruction is still among the finest the band ever put out, whereas the tasteful opening bassline to the title track and the drum solo in closer Ashes in Your Mouth are successful as well. Even ridiculous-yet-cool design decisions such as the "Hello me, meet the real me!" monologue in Sweating Bullets don't take away from the fun factor that this release possesses. In addition, a high degree of consistency is achieved throughout the record's eleven songs, which successfully prevent this from being a singles album.

The band hasn't entirely lost touch with its past self, as there are a few moments which remind us of older Megadeth. Architecture of Aggression and Ashes in Your Mouth are heavier, more complex and more aggressive than the rest of the songs, even sporting some off-time 2/4 and 7/8 riffs here and there. Captive Honour, on the other hand, features a pretty complicated riff that almost sounds like a lead. If there are songs I'd criticise, one would be Foreclosure Of A Dream, which simply doesn't manage to be interesting. Also, High Speed Dirt, despite being decidedly catchy and upbeat, is about the quite dull and un-metal subject of skydiving.

Overall, Countdown's crowning achievement is that it successfully breaks into radio-play territory without sacrificing the integral ingredients that make the music Megadeth and not some other band. Do listen.

Helloween ‎– Metal Jukebox

Cover albums can be tricky sometimes. There is the chance that a band goes for a simple cash-in or puts a quick release to escape a record contract. This usually leads to faithful renditions to a song with little to no improvisation. On the other side of the spectrum, an album full of covers gives an opportunity for a band to showcase its influences or just completely show another side of them. Helloween falls into this category. Any pumpkin fan would be delighted to see them put the Helloween magic on some metal favorites from maybe Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, or Black Sabbath. However, if one takes a look at the cover art for “Metal Jukebox”; the pumpkin man dressed as a hippie gives an odd impression of what exactly is going to be found.

The jukebox lifts off to a rousing start with a Scorpions tune of “He’s a Woman-She’s a Man.” Andi Deris’ gritty vocals serve as nice contrast to that of Klaus Meine from the original version. The punchy guitars give this the aggressive tone the song invokes and is a pleasant sting to open the proceedings. A grounded version of “Locomotive Breath” ensues minus the flute styling of Ian Anderson. It definitely has a metal edge by letting the percussive elements shine.

Things become weird when ABBA makes an appearance. Yes, THAT ABBA. “Lay All Your Love On Me” is undeniably catchy and I give them credit for trying to put a metal on it, but it just doesn’t work. It is also downright weird hearing Deris crooning to lay all your love on him. Another cover that misses the mark is The Beatles song “All My Loving.” Helloween manages to make this a speed metal song somehow and the duel solo between Roland Grapow and Michael Weikath is cool, but it just doesn’t capture the lovable spirit of the original. The lyrical content also does not match the amped tempo either.

A cover that ended up working that I was first apprehensive about was “Space Oddity.” Helloween perfectly captures the spacey, eerie atmosphere and Deris shines as a vocalist. The acoustic guitar has a radiance that measures exactly what the song entails as well. I am confident David Bowie nodded in approval when he heard this version of his tune. The one pleasant surprise was the inclusion of a Faith No More cover. The spirited, uplifting tone of “From Out of Nowhere” does fit the Helloween mantra of having fun, but this was still unexpected. Deris has a firm grasp of his voice, which unfortunately I can’t say for Mike Patton’s cracking pipes in the original track.

The best cover is “Hocus Pocus” by Focus (try saying that five times fast.) The simple, repeated riff is a joy to listen too because of the continued yodeling of Deris and the quirky, odd sound effects that jump out on the middle section. It’s a song that easily becomes trapped in your head and the humorous noises are good for a laugh or two. The wailing solo by Grapow breaks up the ongoing nuttiness for a spell before it goes back to the madhouse, but the silly nature and the catchy and roaring riff works perfectly.

The latter half of the album features basically hard rock tracks made into metal. I like the moodiness and the creepy vibe of “Faith Healer” from Alex Harvey. It’s a definite change of pace from “Hocus Pocus” and puts the listener into a different setting. “Juggernaut” is crushing and the drumming from Uli Kusch is outstanding. The way Deris sings “it’s a juggernaut” is amusing too. Cream’s “White Room” sounds much better as a metal song and the melodic solo keeps the tune to its psychedelic roots. Finally, “Mexican” is a cool and fast closer from Babe Ruth. Who knew the famous baseball star had some music ability?

“Metal Jukebox” is the finest cover album I have heard. Everybody’s second favorite Germans (Scorpions being the first) captured the perfect guitar sound as found on their albums from the late nineties. “Hocus Pocus”, “Space Oddity”, and “He’s a Woman-She’s a Man” should provide incentive for repeated listens. With all that said, I wish they would have taken on some metal tunes, like maybe “Freewheel Burning” from Judas Priest or “2 Minutes to Midnight” from Iron Maiden. Tracks such as these would have made this even better, but unfortunately it does reach its full potential with covers of The Beatles and ABBA. However, this is a very well done album and is in no way a simple cash-in; so slip a coin into the jukebox and have a hell of a time listening to Helloween.

Tysondog ‎– Cry Havoc

TYSONDOG is a British Heavy Metal band from Newcastle. The band was formed in 1983, when NWOBHM was going strong. Via the well-known label Neat Records they released their debut album “Beware Of The Dog” in 1984. Cronos (VENOM) produced it. The following year TYSONDOG released the EP “Shoot To Kill”, preceding the sophomore album “Crimes Of Insanity”. Years later (in 2002) a compilation was put out.

I had never heard of TYSONDOG until I got a review copy of their latest album, “Cry Havoc”, a few months ago. The album was released in April 2015 and contains twelve tracks. It all begins with a police scene (shooting, cars, …) in “Cry Havoc”. The bass comes in, playing the main rhythm, leads join to create some tension, after which everything erupts into firm Heavy Metal. The vocals reminded me, somehow, of Blaze Bayley, albeit in a lighter version. Musically you get the kind of music that is similar to IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, BLAZE BAYLEY, and even, one way or another, IRON SAVIOR. The chorus is catchy, with those rhythms and melodies. Of course, with this kind of music, the guitar solo is a must. Coming back to the vocals, and that counts for the entire album: Was there and effect to them? Were the recordings like this? Did he sing behind a screen or something? The singing doesn’t sound or come out like it should. Or was this “effect” done on purpose?

“The Needle” offers direct slow/midtempo Heavy Metal, very rhythm-based, but with the bass guitar high in the mix and that’s a good thing. The vocals, despite the aforementioned problem (by lack of a better word) go well here. Rhythm in the verses, melodiousness (and an emotional touch) in the bridge and chorus, which sounds a bit whiny, if I may say so. Overall, a good song, but not as strong as the first one. “Parasite” begins in a powerful way with the drums and guitar in a dominating role. Firm Metal is unleashed with again a nice bass sound. The verses are in half-time, allowing for massive head-bang pleasure. The chorus, on the other hand, is of the atmospheric and emotional kind. It’s not heavy at all, not sound-wise. Yep, it’s all about contrast. The Bluesy solo is inline with the overall feel and atmosphere.

“Nemesis” begins with a mysterious intro, thanks to the guitar. This leads to linear, straight-forward Heavy Metal by the book. The vicious, Bluesy verses could be compared to some of SAXON’s tunes. Solos are good to have, but if only they were a bit more memorable. Later on, the rebuilding commences with the intro theme, shattered windows, barking dogs, sirens…

After these two ok songs, “Shadow Of The Beast” steps up as another highlight. Starting with a creepy intro, you get fast Metal after that. Good! But the surprise then comes from the rather funky verses, while full power is reserved for the chorus. At some point the band even goes into Power Metal mode, paving the way for the solo. A more rhythmic bridge leads back to business as usual. Another quite good song is “Into The Void”, which also begins with a pounding intro. The Heavy Metal that follows is by the book and very predictable. But the music’s got power and energy. It’s catchy and I like the contrast between the verses and the chorus. “Playing With Fire” is another definite highlight: Fast and diverse in tempo. This could also have been a BLAZE BAYLEY song.

“Relentless” doesn’t refer to the guitar here, which acts like a blinker: start-stop-start-stop-…, but to the drums and bass, which play on no matter what. The singing here doesn’t go/flow well with the music, I find. To be honest, the song itself, on a whole, isn’t that strong/interesting/captivating/… Even the atmospheric break made me frown, not in the least because of the not so good production on this album. There’s also a ballad on “Cry Havoc”: “Broken”. Ballads are hazardous. It’s hard to write a good ballad. “Broken” isn’t among the good ones, in my opinion. Contrast is created between the two halves: Calm at first, a bit more musical power later on.

“Cold As Ice” has a mysterious, atmospheric intro comparable, not 100% of course, to e.g. MACHINE HEAD. Clean guitar, tension… and *bang* into firm Metal, again with a more melodic chorus. At some point there’s a half-time break, followed by the intro theme. But when you think the song is done then, TYSONDOG restart their engines and add another, instrumental part to it. Why? It sound a bit out of place and it needlessly prolongs the song.

“Crash And Burn” isn’t a SINNER cover. But it’s got pounding drums, fat sounding guitars and all flows firmly onwards. Another ok song, though compared to the (personal) highlights, not that spectacular. Last but not least, the last highlight: “Addiction”. The music fades in, the song is being built and develops into Bluesy Heavy Metal, though with the required power. This is another catchy song and another one that should do well on stage.

I’m not familiar with TYSONDOG’s back catalogue, but “Cry Havoc” is, by itself, a fairly good album. A majority of songs make it entertaining enough. Songs aside, I did not find the production that good, especially for a band that has been around for so long and especially in this day and age. Sometimes the guitars sound too fat for a particular song, the drums are a bit too plastic for my taste and the aforementioned “effect” on the vocals…  Maybe it’s just better to see the band at work, maybe the stage is where the songs come out better.

Kreator ‎– Renewal

The 90's were a busy time for extreme metal. Coming from the late 80's, this era of metal music saw death metal rising up, thrash metal falling down, groove metal taking the baton over, and nu metal unfortunately gaining loads of popularity. Thrash metal was one of the first genres that lost its reputation and quickly fell victim to the simplified formula of groove metal, and big thrash metal acts saw fit to change their sound to something more populair and "hip" to keep a fresh image amongst their ever growing fanbase. Imagine if you will, Metallica shifting to heavy metal and hard rock, Sodom going warpunk on us, Slayer and Sepultura hopping on the nu metal bandwagon and Destruction shifting to dumb pedestrian groove metal. One of the bands that took a less crappy direction was Kreator, they too shifted their sound to something a little simpler than the brutal thrash formula of prior efforts, but out of all the bands I just named, it's definitely Kreator that suffered the least from changing their approach, from a quality perspective, that is. Renewal is "phase 1" from Kreator's experimental period, and it showed us that the 90's were a goldmine for Kreator, because, using their newly found elements, they created one of the best albums the metal scene has ever witnessed.

Renewal is a work of pure artistic creativity, it changed the true meaning of catchiness, it's incredibly succesful at creating a fitting atmosphere, and serves as one of the most recognizable albums mankind has ever experienced. Overall, it's pretty ironic to see that Kreator, by experimenting, have kreated (ha-ha) an album that outgrows the worth of basically everything else they've made...combined. This simply has so much more of a meaning to it than their somewhat (read painfully) repetitive thrashy output and it's proof that this band are the best when they're not trying to please their fans. I truly wish Kreator would have continued experimenting after Endorama, because them stepping out of their experimental phase resulted in one of the most redundant "comebacks" the thrash metal scene ever had the misfortune to lay its eyes upon. This is way ahead of anything the band has made before or after it, it has much more of a personality and individual identity, instead of sounding like basically everything else ever the band made.

Sure, there might not be an abundance of ripping leads and riffs, but Renewal more than makes up for it by creating some of the catchiest licks the metal scene will ever see. This is truly on a whole new level of catchiness, even eclipsing albums like Heartwork as a result. It's also really impressive to see how everything on this album sets itself apart from basically everything ever and even its own material. Not a song here sounds even remotely similar to another, and you can easily tell them apart from each other. I can perfectly hum every song purely from memory, even months after last hearing it. (Don't ask me how I forgot about this.)

Being the first of 4 experimental albums from Kreator's 90's era, Renewal introduced the industrial elements to Kreator's formula. Along with hardcore, groove and perhaps even a little doom for the atmosphere, they created something truly unique. Mind you, most of these elements are merely aesthetical, the industrial elements are largely limited to the mechanical feeling of the production, the hardcore is found in some uptempo parts and the vocals, and the groove is the bulk of the slower material. Of course, Kreator didn't completely get rid of the thrash sound, but it's simply put in the background, with the band favouring more of a sinister and depressing approach to songwriting. This is incredibly dark and atmospheric, and the negativity in the aesthetics and lyrics make for a somewhat difficult album to sit through. One of the main reasons long-time fans/idiots didn't like this is the new vocal approach from Petrozza. Being the enemy of metal I am, I'm proudly going to say that this is by far the best performance of his entire career. There's genuine anger and frustration in the guy's tortured grunts, and while he's a bit grating on the ears, I feel that it's perfectly fitting to the album's idea. And even the lyrics (which are far more negative than usual) fit like a glove to what the band tried to achieve with this masterpiece.

I'm absolutely in love with the sound of this album, the thick and doomy sound of the guitars makes for absolutely crushing moments when the album hits its highest peaks, and even when the band are going flat-out thrashy on us it sounds fucking perfect, best heard on "Reflection", one of the most typical songs from this album. The rest of the band certainly don't leave anything to be desired though, the bass might not be that loud and you need to listen carefully to hear it, but I feel the thick sound of the guitars do more than enough to create a nice layer of bass for themselves. The drumming here is incredibly prominent, I feel this album is actually more drum-driven than it is guitar, the drums are very loud, and you can hear every single beat or hit Ventor produces here, which is also due to the incredibly high quality of the production job and mix. Everything feels perfectly balanced, some instruments might be louder than others, but I feel it's all very fitting to the album's sound.

Renewal is a depressing and tortured work of utter awesomeness. Of everything the band made, Pleasure To Kill is what comes the closest to the level of this magnum opus, but even that album doesn't have the right to lick the shoes of this masterpiece. I'm sure everyone will disagree with me that this is by far the best Kreator album because you need constant Coma Of Souls-dickriding to feel safe on a Kreator record (which is EXACTLY what they're doing nowadays), but this masterful. It shows a band leaving their past behind for something that gave them the possibilites to create one of the best albums ever, and that's exactly what they've done.

Buy

CD / Vinyl / Tape

Metallica - Blackest Album 3: Industrial Tribute

The third installation in the most successful tribute album series ever, The Blackest Album 3: An Industrial Tribute To Metallica! Far and away the most brutal of the series featuring industrial remakes of Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Leper Messiah, The God That Failed, King Nothing, Harvester Of Sorrow and many more! Appearances by the best in underground industrial music including Razed In Black, Funker Vogt, Godeater, Neotek, Transistorhythm and several others! Full service to press and radio! When Cleopatra Records released the first industrial tribute to the gods of metaldom, Metallica, in 1998, who could have known that, just three years later, the incredible success of both The Blackest Album 1 and 2 would become a bona fide phenomenon? Well, we did! Working off one of the most devout (and discriminating) fanbases in all of modern music, The Blackest Album series gained a wide acceptance amongst established Metallica fans and even brought some new black sheep into the fold. By unleashing the kinetic fury of today s most twisted underground industrial/EBM pioneers on the entire Metallica catalog, these tribute albums have achieved that rare distinction of being both an homage of things past and an enthralling vision of sounds to come. 1. K16 - The Cure 2. Funker Vogt - Harvester Of Sorrow 3. Enhanced Reality - Carpe Diem, Baby 4. Razed In Black - Welcome Home (Sanitarium) 5. Excessor - Leper Messiah (Godeater Remix) 6. The Element - My Friend Of Misery 7. Transmutator - Orion 8. Tolchock - The Thing That Should Not Be 9. Transistorhythm - King Nothing 10. Neotek - The God That Failed 11. Lunar Flux - Hero Of The Day 12. Godeater - The House Jack Built 13. Black Eyed Sinner - Secret / Outro

Metallica ‎– Garage Inc.

I must admit to being biased towards this disc. THis is the album that turned me onto real metal, the album that opened up my world. I was at a friends place and he put The Prince on, and I was stunned by the fast riffing and the great singing/growling thing James was doing. I went out and got all the metal I could find.

7 Years later, and most of the early stuff I bought is at the bottom of my CD collection. This album still gets regular spins though, basically because there's two awesome but very different CD's on offer here. The first CD, full of the new covers, is full of experimentation and just a bit of goofing around. The seconds CD, the one I guess you're all looking for, is just full of straight up, ass whooping thrash.

I'll start with the first CD. Let me jsut say right now that most of you will hate this CD. THe only bands that make sense to me would be Sabbath, Diamond Head and Merciful Fate. Still, there's a lot of quality cuts on here. The album starts off a bit weakly, with the punky blast of Free Speech, but the next two songs are really, really good. It's Electric and Sabbra Cadabra are bursting at the seams with energy, and James seems to really enjoy singing these songs. His performance in Sabbra Cadabra is pretty happy and stuff, it's a nice change. There's a bit of misstep with Turn the Page next.. I think it's a decent cover, but not Metallica cover. Then there's the epic, brooding Loverman. Personally, I would've prefered someone else to do the spoken word parts (Nick Cave should've guested!) But it's still a cool song, unlike anything Metallica have ever attempted.

I'm not going to go through all the songs in that much detail, but there's two more tunes that really stand out. Astronomy is a really, really good power ballad, and why it wasn't the first single confuses me. Great verse and a cool, heavy chorus, with a very melodic and catchy solo to finish the song off. Met's best ballad since One? Maybe. The Merciful Fate tune stands out as the most metal thing MEtallica have done since AJFA, and there's some really, really great leads and riffs here. Top stuff.

The second disc is the one you are all looking for, and I don't blame you, because all the songs here are really, really good. The songs aren't as diverse, but you know what you're getting here, that is, super heavy and raw thrash. Helpless has a great bridge and some fairly techincal riffing, Small Hours is slow, punishing doom metal,. But my favourite is THe Prince, the heavy, almost punky kinda song. THe song that got me into Metal, it will always have a place in my heart. Am I Evil too... Damn, what a solo. This record really shows how damn good Metallica were/are (cross out whichever one seems most valid to you). They also deserve a mention for the production, because while it is raw and heavy, it's also really clear. Some of the songs are short on bass, but overall, this is heavy, raw and clear production, the best kind there is IMO. Why can't more bands do covers this good?

Damn, this is one amazing covers disc. One CD full of cool, diverse tunes, the other one full of ballsy thrash. It losses 7% because of a few dodgy parts in the first CD. Overall, you won't find many better cover albums then this. Essential listening for the Met fan.