The Deth of Deth

  

I got into Megadeth at exactly the right time. It was early 1991 and I bought Rust in Peace, the band’s latest and fourth release, at my local record shop, Squalid Sounds. It was on vinyl too, and this was long before hipsters ignited a vinyl resurgence that saw album prices reach the giddy heights of 40 notes a pop.

As a fledgling metal fan – I had always loved guitar music, but never realised how extreme that could become until now – I’d been listening to the likes of Iron Maiden, Def Leppard (relax, I’d already accepted that everything after their first three albums was utter dogshit by this point) and Guns ‘n’ Roses for quite a while. This would be my first foray into the world of thrash metal though, not that I knew what that was at that point.

The album completely blew me away – figuratively, not literally – and I craved more. I soon acquired cassettes of Peace Sells and Killing Is My Business. I liked those too, but Rust in Peace was absolutely streets ahead. And third album So Far, So Good… So What! ranked below all other releases with the worst line-up they’d ever had (this might still be the case, which given there have now been about 6,000 Megadeth members through the ages, is quite a feat).

I then watched from 1992 as the ‘Deth released Countdown to Extinction – a pivot towards the mainstream, a la Metallica. Although there were some good songs on there, it was no longer thrash. I stayed in the game though. Until Youthanasia came out. That was the point where I fell out with Megadeth. They had gone straight rock. And not in a good way like early Aerosmith or Kansas. They were actually just boring.

I ignored Megadeth for a long time after this and only really started trying to get back into them when United Abominations came out. This was, and still is, an OK album – a bit thrashier than their mid- to late-90s output, but still not a patch on Rust. The band continued releasing so-so albums, but at least it looked like they were attempting to return to their thrash roots (also a la Metallica).

When it was announced that Megadeth would be releasing their final album, I (along with pretty much every other metal fan) hoped that it would be something decent and not more of the bang-averageness that had plagued Mustaine et al. for the best part of three decades.

As the album release date neared, single after single was suddenly on all the streaming platforms. Tipping Point was the first of these. Was Mustaine attempting to tap into the lucrative world of British teatime gameshows? Maybe thinking Ben Shephard would hear it and commission a muzak version of it to use over the show’s credits? Probably not. Anyway, it’s got a cracking main riff and some excellent soloing from the new Finnish dude, Teemu Mäntysaari (best lead guitarist since Marty Friedman, but criminally, he’ll only ever appear on the one album). The bit where it slows down to a virtual stop before the chuggy riff ending is a bit shit though. I find it tired, lazy and overused, although I can’t think of another example of someone doing this off the top of my head.

Single 2 was I Don’t Care. Dubbed “punky” by many, including the band (it isn’t really), it’s a speedy solo-athon with an accompanying video of yoofs at a skatepark.

Let There Be Shred came next and they are really letting there be shred as flames come off Teemu’s fretboard on solo after solo.

Puppet Parade followed and I was insistent that this was the worst of the four singles the first time I heard it. However, I soon realised that it wasn’t (not that any of the new songs were inherently worse than the others) and all the songs grew on me the more I listened to them.

By the time the new album (self-titled or no-titled?) came out, I was desperate to hear more. And it didn’t disappoint. I’m not going to track-by-track it, but I will say this: it’s absolute Riff City on this album and even though it hints at Countdown and Youthanasia at times, it’s an all-thrash affair and is absolutely the band’s best offering since Rust in Peace.

The “bonus track” of a cover of a song Mustaine in part wrote – Metallica’s Ride the Lightning – is a bit odd, but it has better solos than Kirk produced on the original. The vocals aren’t quite on a par with Hetfield’s though, but despite what many people have been saying online, it’s absolutely not a train wreck.

I found out from Mustaine’s autobiography that Rust in Peace was the last album he wrote while he was on heroin. If he hadn’t selfishly given up the gear, we wouldn’t have had to wait 35 years for another decent thrash album. But we are where we are, and where we are is at the end of a 40-year career of ups and downs as we stand on the precipice of an overpriced farewell tour that could last until the end of time.

That being said, this album is a great way to sign off and I could rock half as much as Dave Mustaine when I reach my mid-60s, I’d be more than happy.