The Megadeth Reissues - All 8 Albums Reviewed
Published August 08, 2004
What folks should be yacking about, of course, is the ridiculous pun in the title, or the cover what has an old woman hanging infants from a washing line, just in case you didn't get all the, y'know, messages and stuff what are dripping from the music.
The thing is, see, as far as the actual stuff on the record is concerned, there are a few numbers what are pretty easy for to love. Train Of Consequences is glorious, flaunting a skull-shaggingly catchy melody, and following the truly awful Addicted To Chaos, there's a stretch of songs what approach the consistency of the first half of Rust In Peace.
Blood Of Heroes starts well, then pinches its chorus from Symphony Of Destruction and soon loses its way. It's fairly representative of the album as a whole. Moments of genius coupled with a whole heap of the toss, wank, shit and so on.
Some of it sounds uncomfortably close to the kind of AOR pish that Megadeth once offered a respite from. Most of this, granted, is down to the horribly conservative production. If you thought that maybe it would sound better now, what with all the remixing and what have you, then, sadly, you'd be mistaken. A lot of it sounds just as cheesy, as dated and as embarrassing as it ever did.
There are a handful of tracks here what make the record worth hearing, though, and in addition to those mentioned above, there's I Thought I Knew It All, one of a number of tracks on the album what reflect on post-rehab Mustaine's state of mind.
Victory references sundry points in the bands back-catalogue, and it's another highlight. Overall though, the album is disappointingly weak, sounding uninspired and by-the-numbers for the most part. It's really not that much to get excited about, is what The Duke would suggest, barring Train Of Consequences and Victory which, if I'm being totally honest, are the only real, genuinely brilliant songs out of the whole damn lot.
And wouldn't you know it, what is easily the weakest of the albums thus far has the most interesting bonus material. Alongside a rehearsal demo of Tout Le Monde, there are three rare or unreleased tracks; Millennium Of The Blind, New World Order and Absolution. Millennium and Absolution are instrumentals, and New World Order sounds like a belated sequel to Mary Jane from So Far, So Good… So What?
The Tout Le Monde demo is two minutes longer than the studio version, and has a much more impassioned vocal. Whether or not it makes buying the album again worthwhile is up to your own good selves.
Cryptic Writings (1997)
Trust, the first track on this 1997 effort, is so much better than most of Youthanasia that one could feasibly bend the thing out of all proportion, so potent is the sense of relief. Don't get too excited, is what The Duke would advise, since it is immediately followed by a hair-metal power-ballad masquerading as something all the ferocious in Cuba. No amount of growling can hide the fact that this is MOR radio-rock middle-of-the-road pish.
The Duke (Aaron McMullan to his parents and the clergy) is a Northern Irish writer, performer and insomniac currently residing in London. He is the creator of Mondo Irlando, wherein his scribblings and hollerings can be found. He is currently working towards the completion of his first novel, and his debut "punk / country / folk / whatever" album has recently been released by Ex Libris Records . You can also pop by His MySpace Page and maybe have a coffee and a biscuit.
- The Megadeth Reissues - All 8 Albums Reviewed
- Published: August 08, 2004
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- Section: Music
- Writer: Duke De Mondo
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Tom, thanks loads for the info!
I tried to talk as much as possible about the remastering, but you now how it is when you've got 8 records for to write about! Your input is really, really appreciated.
I've been hearing good things about the later record you mention, The World Needs A Hero, and apparently the upcoming The System Has Failed is great too. Who knows? I'll seek out the original MD 45, based purely on your reccomendation, and also, obviously, the fact that i loved this version.
Again, thank you.
Duke, the little teasers of The System Has Failed that I've heard (via mp3s posted by Mustaine at Megadeth.com - you can also hear "Die Dead Enough" as an e-card at the site now) indicate it's going to be a great album, covering pretty much everything the band has done so far, but with a lot more fast Rust In Peace-era riffing.
2004's been an incredible year for metal . . . and it's only a little over half-finished!
I saw a set of all eight albums (pre-release) for sale for $45 at the local, monthly record show. I was tempted, but didn't have the cash on me. If thats there next month, I'm totally picking it up.
theory, i'd say thats quite the bargain. I could live without the last three megadeth releases, but still, 45 quid is a fine price. The others are all fantastic, and sound great.
yo u all dont like criptic ritings u can suk mi dik bcuz its da shit just like all their other albums
by the way probly 1 of the most crucial Megadeth songs eveer is RATTLEHEAD i looooooooove killing is my business it kicks so much ass!!!!!!peace n anal grease
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Cool, Duke! I was hoping to see your take on these sometime soon. One big thing that needs to be addressed is that these are not simple remasters - they are remixes from the ground up. Each album was mixed as if it was brand new, with Mustaine going back to the originally recorded master takes of each instrument and mixing it to remove the really sadly dated effects the producers back in the day added to make it sound so "modern." What we get to hear now is about as close to the natural sounds of the instruments and vocals as you'll ever hear coming out of a major label studio effort. It's also interesting to note that Mustaine re-recorded the vocals for Rust In Peace's "Take No Prisoners," which has had some fans up in arms over on the Megadeth fan forums. Me? I don't care - it sounds amazing and if you'd never heard the original, you'd never know the difference (and might not know the difference, period.)
I picked these all up the week of release and each one has had quite a bit of rotation since then, but like you suggest, it's those later ones that just don't call me back as often. I have to say, however, that when I put Cryptic Writings on, I was STUNNED at how much better that album was than I'd remembered it being, It's been a while since I'd heard it, actually, having sacrificed it to the used-CD gods for other "necessary" stuff that I probably also sacrificed someday later on, but I immediately noticed, and thanked Mustaine in my thoughts, for removing the really cheesy vibrato-guitar from the chorus of "Almost Honest," like the live version found on Rude Awakening. (Yes, I'm not ashamed, I actually do love that song, and actually much of the whole album.)
Even Risk has turned out to be pretty fun listening - as long as I don't expect it to sound like Megadeth. Mustaine's liner notes about the time really go along way to excusing the changes - afterall, having the label, the producer, AND rest of the band leaning on you to produce a commercial hit can likely lead to a little loss of dignity. Happily, the follow up, on Sanctuary records, The World Needs A Hero is a return to the post-Countdown, pre-Risk era, with a little of the frantic power of the earlier four thrown in for good measure (except "Moto-Psycho" - seriously, was this a Risk leftover?)
The original MD.45 is worth seeking out - the differences are not just in the vocals. But Ving's vocals are also kind of fun, kind of choked and deeper than Mustaine's, giving the album a more punk feel than the new remix. I think you can likely track down a copy in a used shop - I see them all the time - or on something like half.com or Amazon. It's worth owning if you enjoy the new one so much.