Megadeth – Dystopia
Universal – 2016
Muthas, I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but Megadeth is by far the most prolific of
the Big Four™. Since 2000 they’ve
released seven albums, whereas Slayer has put out four, Anthrax has three and
Metallica has only managed two. You might not like everything they’ve done, but
Dave Mustaine and the bodys shows no signs of stopping their career any time soon. Which brings us to their newest album, Dystopia, which features one (two?) new
band members – Angra’s Kiko Loureiro
and Lamb Of God’s Chris Adler (who’s
a studio only member or something – he might tour too, whatever.)
Megadeth’s last
album – Super Collider – was an
unmitigated disaster that was almost as bad as the atrocious Risk from 1999. The album was a mess of commercial songs,
banjos, fiddles and David Draiman (?!), which stiffed completely at the box
office. I’m not sure what Dave was
thinking, but it was a major disappointment for the fans, especially so because it came after a string of good
albums. On the plus side, we did learn about Dave’s hatred of model rocketry in
the “Super Collider” video.
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| Fuck Yo Rocket! |
Super Collider was followed by a management shakeup and the
exit of both Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover.
There were then rumors that the “classic” lineup of Marty Friedman and Nick
Menza would be coming back, but that never came to fruition. (By the way, that lineup produced exactly one
great album and a bunch of good to complete shit albums, so I don’t care if
they ever get back together.) Following
this, Kiko and Chris were announced as filling out the vacant slots and
recording began. So how’d it turn
out?
Thankfully, it turned out great with nary a banjo, fiddle or
David Draiman anywhere in sight!
Vocally, Dave sounds strong and his old sneering, snotty voice is all
over the album. Junior is solid as
always and even gets to show off a bit in some songs. Kiko and Chris are both good and I think
Chris’s drumming adds much needed fire to the compositions. Lyrically, Dave focuses on corruption,
societal disintegration and the illegitimacy of the societal elites. He’s really full of the old venomous piss and
vinegar again.
The album starts with the killer “The Threat Is Real” that
features a middle eastern flavored intro before plunging headlong into a
thrashy crusher circa Countdown To
Extinction. Check out the animated video:
The first single is the blistering “Fatal Illusion” which is
pure, old school Megadeth that
recalls “Wake Up Dead.” I would have
placed this as the opening track on the album, because this is the type of song
that old-school thrashers want to hear and it also ably demonstrates that Megadeth doesn’t take a back seat to
anyone in the Big Four™. Great stuff!
A hallmark of Dystopia
is its very catchy choruses the will burrow their way into your brain and live
their for a long time. I was humming
the, “Know Know Know” chorus from “Bullet To The Brain” for days after hearing it.
The drumming is top notch and really stands out when
compared to what Shawn Drover was doing.
It’s obvious that Chris Adler was drumming for his favorite band and
wanted to put his mark all over the proceedings. Kiko also contributes greatly and actually has co-writing credits
on three songs - “Post American World,” “Poisonous
Shadows,” and “Conquer Or Die.” All of them are good with the chugging “Poisonous
Shadows” sounding like a long lost track from Countdown To Extinction or Youthenaisa. This cut blends seamlessly with the
instrumental “Conquer Or Die” where Kiko gets to strut his stuff from the acoustic
flamenco intro to the electrified intricacies on the rest of the song.
Another highlight is the face ripping speedster “Lying In
State.” This is vintage Megadeth which would be at home on the mighty Endgame
or the classic Rust In Peace. If you aren’t banging your head at the 2:20
minute mark, you’re most likely dead.
Strangely, I’ve read many reviewers complaining about not liking the
chorus from the closing track “Foreign Policy.”
Hey idiots, that’s a cover song by the band Fear, so stop complaining about it.
Maybe Dave’s buddy Lee Ving needed some cash or something to make up for
the lack of sales for MD.45.
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| Hey look! I bought all this stuff! |
Visually, this is probably the best album artwork Megadeth has ever used with the album coming wrapped in a cover that features a cyborg Vic Rattlehead armed with a katana, some drones and a
destroyed metropolis burning in the background.
This would make a killer poster for your music room, apocalypse bunker,
concert venue or Skynet installation.
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The Bottom Line: Dystopia is the
equal of Endgame and is the best
thing any of the Big Four™ have done for years.
It’s definitely worth your coin so go buy it!
As always, MAKE MINE METAL!
