MEGADETH: Endgame
I was really excited for this album. My relationship with Megadeth has been a long and rocky one, full of ups and downs, but at the end of the day, along with the folks from Metallica, it was Dave Mustaine and company who made this fresh off the plane Hispanic kid who had never listened to anything more sophisticated or aggressive than my native island’s own blend of African and Spanish music called Salsa and Merengue into a raging lunatic for all things metal. I’m rather young, so I sadly can’t boast about first hearing of Megadeth back in Thrash’s heyday in the clubs of L.A like some of my older contemporaries can, but I can say that my passion for Megadeth is equal in intensity. When I first heard of Megadeth, it was during the infamous Dave Mustaine interview in Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster documentary. At the time, I had digested anything and everything ever put out by Metallica, and was looking for new unexplored territory within Metaldom to get into, so what better band to get into than the one started by the man “Too evil for Metallica”, Mustaine himself.
I write all this to a) Give the readers a little glimpse of who I am, and b) to let it be known that I am not one of the many (and yes, there are many) reviewers out there with an axe to grind against Dave Mustaine and whoever happens to be playing in his band at the moment. I write this as a fan, and am disappointed to say that if you’re looking for the next great Megadeth record, this sadly isn’t it. But if you’re looking to listen to a pissed off Megadeth the likes of which we haven’t heard since Rust in Peace, then this is the record for you. This is Megadeth at their fastest and heaviest since the aforementioned album, just don’t expect any Megadeth classics here.
For a while now Mustaine has been boasting about how great his new guitar player (Chris Broderick, ex-Nevermore/Jag Panzer) is. In terms of skill and virtuosity, Mustaine has said that he ranks at the very top with other well known ex-Megadeth guitarists Chris Poland (Killing Is My business…/Peace Sells), and Marty Friedman (Rust In Peace / Risk). I’ve seen his performances live, and can safely say that Broderick is definitely up there, playing all of Friedman’s and Poland’s solos with little effort. It is then of little surprise that Mustaine was so excited to showcase what his priced lead guitarist could do in the studio. And this is what may divide the Megadeth camp into either a ‘This makes me cream my pants” reaction to the album, or “This guy can play, but can he really write?” mentality. I sadly fall into the second camp. There is a profound distinction between the guitarwork of Chris Poland era Megadeth and Marty Friedman era Megadeth. The former (at least to my ears) had a bigger emphasis on shredding and showcasing virtuosity, whereas Friedman era Megadeth, while retaining the thrash lead guitarwork of previous albums, seems to have made it a priority to write solos that were memorable. Play me any Rust In Peace song and I can sing along to just about every solo. Play me any solo in Peace Sells and I’ll have no idea what the hell is going on among all the notes being played. Not that one is necessarily superior to another (how on Earth could one even establish that?), but that simply speaking, my preference has always been with Marty. So how does this relate to this record? Well, let’s just say, if you wanted shredding , and ample guitar solo dueling then this is the record for you. Mustaine had something to prove with this record, that unlike certain other bay area bands (*cough cough Metallica*), Mustaine remains firmly grounded in metal. And he has absolutely achieved that goal. Unfortunately, he may end up alienating quite a few fans in the process, namely, those he may have acquired in the time period between Countdown to Extinction through The World Needs a Hero (and arguably The System Has Failed). He is back to writing metal songs. Gone are the days of catchy choruses or slower (while still semi-heavy) chord progressions, this is music to pillage a town to.
And here seems to be my problem with this album, for all the ‘thrash roots’ and string-melting solo-work, there is very little in terms of songs.
There is very little on this record that you can sing along to, there’s not much here that the band can use to interact with the crowd in a Live setting (like popular songs like Peace Sells, Dread And the Fugitive Mind, She-Wolf, and Trust), but instead we are given songs with very little in terms of singing and rather have blazing guitar tracks while Mustaine angrily speaks at the music. Not that Mustaine’s singing has ever been great, but he’s always had at least a knack for finding vocal hooks that keep you interested in the songs (think of the chorus for Never Walk Alone), yet here, his vocal work really feels like an afterthought, lyrically and performance-wise. Lyrically we are treated to a blend of old ‘Deth themes about, well, Death and instruments of Death (Headcrusher), and newer Megadeth topics like the conspiracy theory paranoia we first got with United Abominations, which we now get even more of (songs like Endgame). Performance-wise, again, it seems like the vocals were an afterthought for this album, some angry yelling or talking, nothing new or unexpected here.
Regardless of the vocals, Megadeth has always been a guitar driven band, and this can be the strongest, or most disappointing aspect of the album, depending on your tastes. On the rhythm guitar section, Mustaine has always been a powerhouse. There is a very good reason why he won the Golden Hammer award this past year. There are some very good riffs here and there in this album, but nothing memorable like Holy Wars or Hangar 18. I really wonder if Mustaine actually decided to sit down and write riffs for this album, or if most of them were just pulled directly from his “Pandora’s Box of riffs” he’s talked about. There’s really nothing here to that has the same effect as songs like Symphony of Destruction did where one was instantly hooked at first hearing the opening notes.
Song-wise the album is a mixed bag.
The album starts ‘Dialectic Chaos’, one of the heaviest hitters of the eleven tracks. This is an instrumental closer to ‘Into the Lungs of Hell’ rather than ‘Absolution’. A pretty decent riff in the background keeps the ship afloat while Mustaine and Broderick take turns on the leads. Some sweep picking and Mustaine’s signature brand of shredding make this a damn excellent opener.
This Day We Fight: The opening track then seamlessly blends into the second song of the album, one of the fastest songs on the cd, and where my criticism of this album starts: there’s just nothing you’ll remember about this song. He speaks angrily on top of the music more than he actually sings, the riff is too close to similar Megadeth opening songs on other albums like ‘Blackmail the Universe’ and ‘Sleepwalker’. This is just your typical ‘start the album with all guns blazing’ type of metal track, but once you’ve heard it once, you’ll more than likely be compelled to skip it next time it comes up.
44 Minutes starts with a damn good guitar line, and a police radio effect reporting a crime in progress. The first time I heard it I was expecting the song to go into a damn epic riff with all hell breaking loose, but instead Mustaine goes into a simple bass line and a very forgettable riff. This is the first time he attempts to bring a vocal hook in the chorus, but it isn’t all that memorable. Then a mini guitar solo comes in, and back to the main guitar/bass combo riff, and then back to the chorus again. Afterwards we get a damn good solo with Mustaine and Broderick taking turns, both doing a damn good job, and then back to the main verse. The song finishes with a Holy Wars-esque riff on top of yet another solo. Overall, a pretty solid track.
1,320: This song has been out for a few weeks now, and it is the second song off the album to have been released. Definitely not one of my favorite songs on the album. Apparently this riff was chosen from Mustaine’s “Pandora’s box of riffs” by drummer Shawn Drover himself. I don’t know why, overall, nothing worth talking about here, except for maybe yet another shred-fest at the end. Just a million notes being played per second though, nothing memorable.
Bite the Hand: The fifth song of the album starts with a riff very reminiscent to ‘High Speed Dirt’ from Countdown to Extinction. Fast paced song, don’t know what Mustaine is talking about in this song, but I frankly don’t care, his performance isn’t that interesting. The song does get better by the end with yet another guitar shredding marathon on top of a damn good riff. By now it’s starting to seem like Mustaine reserved his creative juices for the soloing on this album and chose not to put much effort into the main meat and bones of each song. You shouldn’t have to listen through half of a song for you to actually start getting interested. Whatever happened to the instantly recognizable intros from the Peace Sells era? Those were songs that grabbed you by the throat and pulled you into the song instantly. Here instead we are treated to songs that are half-way interesting but not enough for you to want to go back and listen to each song on repeat.
The next song The Bodies Left Behind was originally written for the previous album, United Abominations, but for some reason Mustaine decided to can it and save it for this album, a curious choice, seeing as ‘Bodies’ is definitely of one of the strongest tracks on the album and better than half of the songs on United Abominations. We have a slightly more interesting vocal performance by Mustaine, but the song really starts getting damn good roughly at minute 1:50 where we have a damn good lead guitar melody, then a harmonized guitar duo with a palm muted guitar riff underneath; and then the song cuts to a pure thrashy shred-fest, only for the song to have a semi sudden ending. Definitely a song to listen to over and over.
The next track Endgame starts with a dystopian scene where curfew has been imposed on all the citizens. This is a continuation of the theme from United Abominations, conspiracy theories, Fema coffins, concentration camps and blah blah blah, I really just don’t care. The song is solid, another heavy hitter, but just not that interesting. We’re halfway through the album and we keep getting treated to average riffs that are pretty interchangeable, some shredding, and more generic riffs. Another average song you’ll be inclined to skip.
The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Is Saying Goodbye is definitely the odd track out on this album. It is the ‘ballad’ but unlike ‘A Tout Le Monde’, this song is strictly a by the numbers rehash of The World Needs A Hero’s song ‘Promises’, only much, much better. It’s strange that in an album that’s being hailed as a ‘comeback album’ to their metal roots I’d like the slowest song the most. It starts with some great acoustic guitar work, with some violins in the background for extra depth. His singing style is exactly as in ‘Promises’ but it doesn’t sound nearly as annoying. There is definitely a dark haunting melody in this song, with some great twin guitars adding a great atmospheric feel. The song then switches from acoustic into a heavier part with violins accentuating the riff. Definitely the most memorable track of the album.
Headcrusher was the first to be released to the public. Definitely another pretty solid track, the intro riff is fantastic, and the song just kicks all kinds of ass. Definitely looking forward to hearing to this one Live.
How the story ends is yet another fairly solid song. Mustaine again pumps out another up tempo track that you may actually find yourself singing along to. Roughly halfway we get a palm-muted riff with a classical guitar solo, and then another shred-athon from Broderick, and then the tempo changes again with another alternate picking riff with some double bass to accompany it. A solid track through and through.
Nothing Left To Lose: Yet another surprisingly good track, a deep bass intro leading to a slower riff with a chorus that takes you back to the Youthanasia days. After around 3 minutes, we get arguably the best riff on the album with a flying solo all over the place. The album ends just like it began, pure aggression. By the 8th through 10th tracks on most albums, the music has started to lose steam and become stale, but Mustaine went for an album that was aggressive all the way through, no slow tempo songs that just drag on and on, these are short fast paced songs that begin and end without any filler to buy any extra time. Mustaine definitely decided to streamline his writing for this album, there’s only one song on here that exceeds the 5 minute mark.
If Mustaine was going for a ‘kick you in the ass while I show these younglins how to properly write a metal album’ effect, then he definitely succeeded. Unfortunately, it isn’t a memorable album. It’s good to know he can still pump out metal, but the problem is that there’s nothing in this album that makes it stand out among the heavily saturated metal world. I can’t really imagine anyone remembering any of these songs ten years from now like we still remember just about everything from Rust In Peace and Peace Sells.
Overall, this album is going to make a few fans very happy, while some other fans will be disappointed at what seems to be a lack of any kind of personality to the album.
This album gets 3 horns out of 5.
