Burn is pretty good. Mustaine gets pretty old-school blues with the lyrics here, which is okay because he delivers it well. But it doesn't really lite my fire all the same.
Built For War. I like how the lyrics are structured during the chorus. I like when Dave screams.
Off The Edge is preachy and annoying.
Dance In the Rain starts with good intentions of conveying all-encompassing government surveillance into our private lives, a very real possibility in our world today, but the music and the vocal style just keeps it in the mediocrity range.
By the end of the song, though, you have a sort of Part II. That's what Mustaine does well, he crafts whole pieces and makes chapters out of them. I love it, it's like legacy building. Part II of DITR is fucking awesome--the fast guitars that made Megadeth a legend back in the day. Also Dave starts fucking with vocal processors and it sounds really mechanized, like some kind of industrial thing. I think it's very cool. It also relates to the theme of the lyrics, double cool.
Beginning of Sorrow is good, but is he preaching about abortion? That's annoying. As if any mother needs some man to tell her that abortion is hard to deal with.
The Blackest Crow starts well with guitar-jo. It's not a banjo, but it's some kind of guitar-banjo instrument concoction. Pretty cool. I like that, that's inventive. The song's imagery reminds me of Lucretia. It's about a relative of Dave's that succumed to dementia. Perhaps his aunt or mother. It's a great theme for a song, it's touching, and real. The vocals are pretty cool. I like this song. The guitar solos are particularly good here, too. The Mustaine/Broderick combination really works to convey that special, characteristic Megadeth sound.
And when I hear Ellefson's bass come in, I realize how intricate his bass lines are here. Finally! Let that bassist shine already, Mustaine! Megathians love Ellefson!
Forget to Remember. Ah. So we're drifting into Lacuna Coil territory now. Great. No, it's good. It's fine. Go ahead, Megadeth, do that and gain some more followers.
I do like Mustaine actually singing, though. His voice is the right amount of gravel and note-accuracy, and of ... HOLY SHIT THAT LAUGH IS CREEPY (around 2:00--listen for it) ... corniness and enthusiasm with restraint.
That laugh threw me for a loop. Totally awesome. These are the studio tricks that add flavor to the songs and keep Megadeth relevant. They're pretty much just another aging metal band though, they never really leave their box.
I wish the band would do tread new ground--not further into pop territory, but into new forms of metal! Mustaine could really rip some black metal styles and throw some evil solos over it all.
That's what I'm trying to do with Freeze, incidentally. Keep watching us, we're going to blow up.
Holy shit, what's going on with Don't Turn Your Back...? Total Pink Floyd intro, leading into some pretty awesome double-kick metal riffage. The verse is kinda tired, but the chorus rocks. I like the melodies. Okay, while I was writing and bitching about how I wish Megadeth would leave their box, they do it. It was only a minute and a half song intro, but still. It was enough. And the proceeding song is really good. I admit: they're more than just another aging metal band.
I think about the metal scene here in Seattle. If some band this good at their instruments started playing shows, they'd blow up. The locals here are dying for some brütal, accurate speed metal.
Okay, time for the last song on the album. I'm expecting Megadeth to rock me. You've got to save one of the best songs for last, right? Burn out rather than fade away? Let's listen.
Cold Sweat. Okay, some old school riffage in my left ear, then in both, then some real AC/DC type shit. Pretty cool. Judas Priest influence big time. Awesome. Fucking 70s and 80s metal style. Not the complex riffage of Burnt Ice or Ashes In Your Mouth, not even the speed of Victory or FFF, but ... it's totally awesome. Okay, for the final track, Megadeth went in a new direction, and I think that's cool. It really works here.
It kinda leaves you on a high note. The song is pretty easy going and almost positive with the feeling it leaves you. The guitars are fucking sweet, the bass and drums fucking rock. I like the ending too. The lyrics are about being afraid and paranoid and stuff, but it's really fun to listen to.
Good job, Megadeth. Better than Risk and Cryptic Writings combined.
