In that respect, their song-writing approach here is similar to how Carcass – a band heavily influenced by prime Megadeth – hit upon the strongest musical traits of their most lauded albums for their 2013 comeback album Surgical Steel, the best metal release in a year that saw Megadeth hit a huge creative low. Yet neither song does so in a contrived fashion. 'Post American World', for example, recalls Countdown… hit 'Symphony Of Destruction' during its verses most strikingly, it utilises an iron-clad marching bassline from Ellefson together with chugging riffs similar in effect to the Megadeth mainstay, or even Youthanasia's 'Angry Again'. 'Dystopia', with its classic thrash tempo changes and supreme control of groove, rolling through stunning solo trade-offs, is not the only song here to channel the spirit of a past Megadeth neck-wrecker. Mustaine may be conservative in his political stance but his lyrics appear to come moreso from the view of a concerned humanitarian (albeit a fantastically-minded one) on socially-minded songs such as the opening pairing of 'The Threat Is Real' and the melodic jolt of the title track - a technology-used-for-evil anthem, musically aligned to the pristine model favoured for Megadeth's 'Hangar 18'. 'From Peace Sells…' to 'Holy Wars…', Megadeth are at their best when Mustaine is antagonised and disgusted by socio-political issues, and his lyrical commentary on 'The Threat Is Real' - which surely deals with modern day terrorism - adds a suitable dimension of reality in light of recent atrocities. Like on those aforementioned classic albums, Mustaine's lip-curled snarl spits venom - a million miles away from his toothless performance on Super Collider. Overall the technically sharp musicianship and the hook-laden, yet acerbic vocals – all of which are highlighted by a pristine production job - make Dystopia, stylistically, most comparable to Megadeth's highest charting album, Countdown To Extinction. The aggressive, precise and groove-orientated playing of Adler and the dazzling soloing of Loureiro work extremely well within the paradigm Mustaine and bassist Dave Ellefson established in the mid 1980s and perfected on thrash metal milestones - Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?, Rust In Peace, and Countdown To Extinction. And album number fifteen, Dystopia, just so happens to be a timely - and necessary - return to form: it's the kind of record they should have made directly after 2009's Endgame, one of the finest releases in Megadeth's extensive back catalogue.īringing new blood into the fold in the form of Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro (they replaced Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick in their respective positions) has played a significant part in revitalising Megadeth. It was the second major creative nadir in Megadeth's storied existence, arriving at a time when you could not browse a metal website without seeing reference to another ill-advised rant from Mustaine.Īs bad as Super Collider was, Megadeth have shown in the past, over the course of their many line-up changes and albums of varying degrees of quality, that you can never write them off. The title track was a weak attempt at an arena rock anthem 'Kingmaker' unashamedly ransacked Black Sabbath's 'Children Of The Grave' 'Burn's sleaze rock was enough to make you lactose intolerant 'The Blackest Crow', a banjo-led number, had no place on a Megadeth album and the only tune of any real worth was an impotent run-through of 'Cold Sweat' - and that was just because the song was written by seminal Irish rockers Thin Lizzy. The problem was that the majority of songs were lifeless, trite and cringe-worthy. The fourteenth studio album by the thrash metal pioneers highlighted the periodic carelessness of guitarist/vocalist/band leader Dave Mustaine, as he managed to sabotage the momentum he had gradually regained across a number of solid albums since the much maligned Risk (1999). Megadeth seriously needed to refocus after the massive misstep that was 2013's Super Collider.
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