Band's List Thrash Heavy Megadeth Endgame

It isn’t always a guarantee when a great band comes out with an album that it’s going to be spectacular. In the case of thrash metal giant Megadeth’s 2009 release “Endgame” it can make good on that promise. With three new members backing up lead guitarist/vocalist/band leader Dave Mustaine on this project, the winning formula for success comes not from direction but from respect - a sense that these guys know what it means and takes to make not only a Megadeth record, but a great Megadeth record. Mustaine is still the main songwriter and without question the creative force by which the other members take their cues from, but from this very small parameter between shelling out hollow product and overstepping musical boundaries this current team of band mates have amazingly come through with a very high level of quality thrash - the result of which is eleven songs very qualified to carry the Megadeth brand.

The best example of this notion of respect comes from the lead output of second guitarist Chris Broderick. He is an extremely complimentary number two to Mustaine. The opening track, “Dialectic Chaos” is an instrumental piece that primarily features the two guitarists trading off solos (for a total of seven). The surprising stat, though, is that four of them come from Broderick. Most of the songs on “Endgame” feature more spotlighted solos from Broderick than Mustaine. As with each solo; however, more attention to detail is paid to the larger body of work than just merely showcasing Broderick’s talent. The end result is not a cloning of past ideas but a healthy reinvention of what all parties would correctly call the essential Megadeth sound (the song “Endgame”, “1,320’”, the slower “Bite The Hand”, and possible best cut “This Day We Fight!”).

Other aspects of “Endgame” that really work are nothing more than tweaks and tune ups to an already smooth running model. Lyrically, sociopolitical tones are Mustaine’s wheelhouse, but where old subjects could be rehashed new ideas are unearthed and exposed (“44 Minutes” with it’s stop/go verses highlighting the message, “Bite The Hand”, and the largely ambitious titular “Endgame”). To add, there is the introspective “Bodies” and an E.A.Poe influenced love song(?) “The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Sealed With a Kiss”. Of the latter, it should be noted that it is structurally two songs: one song is book ended within another. The louder “Sealed” plays like a second movement to the acoustic line over an ominous background wash that is “…Hardest Part…”. It is one of the more creative and atypical songs on “Endgame”.

The better songs are the more aggressive tracks with very strong rhythm lines that either explode (“This Day We Fight!”, “1320’”) or fire by way of machine gun chugging (“The Right to Go Insane”, “Head Crusher”, and “Bite The Hand”). The lead work is extraordinary throughout and really the central component of the album’s foundation. “Bodies” harnesses a very melodic solo break, and the dueling approach shines also on “1,320’”. The solo on “Bite the Hand” remarkably stays within the confines of the bass/rhythm track which shows if anything else the band’s faith in the quality of the song’s main line.

At times, Mustaine will sing rather than snarl, and a couple of the songs fail to overly impress by playing elongated notes behind chorus lines (“44 Minutes”) as a sort of break from the more technically complex stuff, but here it’s OK because that is what they are - breaks - and not so much different as to redefine the whole of “Endgame“. The brand is intact, and the musicians assembled here have not only played as if that was the primary directive, but managed to give birth to an exceptional piece of metal. Megadeth truly have exceeded all expectations. It is a very well conceived, well written, and well played thrash metal album - truly one of the strongest albums to have come out in ‘09.

I hadn't bought a Megadeth album since 1994. That was because I was disappointed with the Youthanasia album. I thought that they had sold out and became washed up. Like Metallica or Van Halen. Last week, I encountered a sweet promotional deal. Megadeth's new album, End Game, with the t-shirt, for 20 bucks. I took the deal and I'm very pleased with it.

The first song, Dialectic Chaos, sounds like it was borrowed from Running Wild. The rest of the album sounds like the real Megadeth. Most of the songs shred and grind at a fast tempo. A few songs rock at medium speed. The mood of the album is very gloomy, as if you just saw hundreds of people killed in a terrorist attack. Dave's vocal style has a lot of rhythm. At the beginning of The Hardest Part Of Letting Go, his vocal style is like that for a classical love ballad, similar to Barry Manilow. Dave and Chris have a lot of sharp guitar solos.

All of the musicians are top notch. A lot of the songs are about fighting a war. Similar bands are Overkill or Exodus. My favorite song on the album is End Game.

This album was a redemption from United Abominations. This album resurrecting the old Megadeth thrash heavy we all know and love. The Endgame is possibly the best of there current albums released in the 2000's with the exception of The World Needs a Hero released in 2000. Now this isn't a Rust In Peace album or a So Far So Good...So What? album by any stretch of the imagination but it's close. They just need to bring back the Hangar 18 or Train of Consequences sound in there newest album and we'll be fine. Now the bad. To be brutally honest, 1,320 and Dialectic Chaos are pretty average in my opinion, 44 Minutes reminded me of United Abominations and The Right to Go Insane is not fast enough. However, I like them regardless of there sound. It's an album to behold and I gave it a 17/20 because of the average United Abomination repeats.