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.