The packaging
The album cover to "Rust in Peace" dates that album...you have political figures that people under 16 only know from history books. This album follows in that tradition...Bush, the Clintons, Cheney, Condi Rice, among others line up to be judged by Vic.
It's well done, but when you put out something with current political or popular figures you are dating yourself. A pretty minor issue.
The booklet is solid...full lyrics, recording info, thanks...all the necessary stuff except photos, which is fine.
The music
I go into every new Megadeth album pretty much the same...I know there will be some great songs, a lot of good songs, and a few tracks so absolutely terrible tracks you can't help but wonder what the hell Mustaine was thinking. I feel this is true for just about every Megadeth album except "Risk" which has a lot of crap and a couple decent tracks.
This one is no exception. The high points are high, the low points are low, and the religious points have no place. Read on.
The crap? "Die Dead Enough" which I believe is the first single. Bad choice. It's a mid-paced track that even discounting the boring vocals, is not at all interesting.
The album intro is stupid...I'm sorry, but the fake broadcast of Air Force One being shot down just sounds lame. "The President is presumed missing"? I assume this was not "The President is presumed dead" because the band would be subjected to some Secret Service questioning if they used the words "president" and "dead" in the same sentence.
"The Scorpion" and "Tears in a Vial" aren't all that great either. They're not as bad as "Risk" but they sound like filler from "Cryptic Writings." Not bad but rather uninteresting.
The first time I listened to this obviously worried...I'm on track five, only one has been outstanding, one has been good, and three have been uninteresting.
To the impatient listeners, I suggest you head straight to track seven...songs seven to twelve are excellent Youthanasia-style Megadeth.
"Kick the Chair" and "Back in the Day" are phenomenal. "Kick the Chair" seriously reminds me "Take No Prisoners"...heavy, fast, intense...probably the heaviest songs Dave's written in ten years. A classic that old fans will eat up.
And then you hit "Back in the Day." I'd have to say it's the best Megadeth song since "Holy Wars." The guitar work is classic Megadeth, the vocals are aggressive, and the music is strong and fast. The end of the song when you have the guitar harmonies, double bass drums, Mustaine singing, and something that almost sounds like an organ going at the same time is flawless. Well done. If you are an iTunes person, this is the song to buy...the only real standout on the record.
In the songs "Truth Be Told" (sort of lame, but a decent song), "Shadow of Deth" (pointless filler), and "My Kingdom" (decent newer Megadeth style) Dave has decided to bring his religion into the band...the first being a sort of prayer for mankind, the second being a recitation of Psalm 23...Dave actually felt the need to give writing credit to "David" for writing that which is interesting...as if people wouldn't know what "Psalm 23" referred to.
I am not a follower of any church, and I have little patience for all things religious. It's his right to express himself however he wants to, but I have the right to say that Christianity is nothing less of a mental disease which has plagued mankind for about two thousand years. I would prefer no reference to the big guy or Jebus in my so-called "secular" music, but that's not realistic I guess. Shit like this turns me off and to be honest if this wasn't a Megadeth album, I probably wouldn't have even bothered with the rest of this. Dave has frequently had messages in his songs so I suppose it should be no shock that the born again wants to talk about God, but I couldn't care less about it.
I equate it to the following. I don't care how awesome a pro-life band is, I'm sure as hell not about to drop money into their pockets, and I find Christianity to be the same. I don't get how Republicans could stomach bands like Anti-Flag and I sure as hell don't get how Rage Against the Machine sold as many records as they did...people don't care about lyrics I guess which is a shame, since people are saying some really stupid shit out there (check the country music section of your local record store for more information). It's a shame that over half of this album is either bad or religious...two songs are outstanding, and the rest is slightly above average but not good enough to really win me back over.
Vocally, it's Mustaine...you know what he sounds like, so if you're into it you'll like it...he doesn't try to whine or sing a love song so you're set with that. The music is very much "Youthanasia" in sound...if you hated that album, don't bother with this.
So, what we have as an album that has two great songs, around four tracks of absolute crap, and six songs that are at alright...I prefer "The World Needs A Hero" over this but neither of these hold a candle to anything pre-Risk. And that includes "Cryptic Writings" which I think is a fine album. I'm not stuck in the past...a solid album is a solid album but this is too hit or miss for me to really recommend for those who wouldn't call themselves fans.
