I promised myself I would never get into a band or album because of popular opinion or hearsay.
That I would enjoy it for what it is rather than what they say it is.
And I stand by that. For the sake of reviewing, I will take the chance and review the fan's number one
Megadeth album...
Rust In Peace.
It starts off...no, explodes with one of the most addictive riffs in the history of this band: "Holy Wars..." is brutally fast over Dave's usual whining about the government and its unfairness. But stick around after the interlude, because "...The
Punishment Due" is a heavy closer to one of the best songs off this album.
As far as the "
Megadeth vs.
Metallica" was is concerned with this album, I have only this to say: I hear nothing of "Call of
Ktulu" in "
The World Needs a Hero".
Once again, Dave Mustaine and
Marty Friedman are at it again: going so fast, its as if their fingers move of their own will. Though it might seem a bit of overkill for this song, multiple guitar solos are something that I enjoy.
Don't be fooled by the medium-tempo introduction to "Five Magics", there's not a slow moment on this album. Perhaps its the gloomy "
Dawn Patrol", but that's just the calm before a jazzy explosion of traditional thrash metal...
Megadeth style, with the big closer: "
Rust In Peace...
Polaris."
Once again, the same material as before - nuclear holocaust, blame the gov't...blah blah blah - culminating in one last burst of speed before RIP rusts away to a close.
Hmmm...well, aside from Dave Ellefson's sweet bass-work and the "speed contests" that are Dave Mustaine and
Marty Friedman and Nick Menza's ridiculously fast drumming, there's not much else to be said for this album. It indicates the point at which
Megadeth more or less left singing about anything but the government and politics behind. Maybe I'm not the right person to be talking about his subject matter. I'm sure in 1990, when politics didn't have as much a part of Dave Mustaine's writing attention, this was interesting and vibrant. Now, in 2011, when every album since then (with the exceptions of "
Risk" and "
The World Needs a Hero") has been nothing but politics, it seems a little repetitive.
But the musicianship of the band is hardly repetitive in this album. In that alone, this album does win. It's definitely a testament to the fastest of the Big Four of Thrash
Metal, and has stood the test of time. I would find it interesting if I had an original reason for doing so, not just hearsay or the two tracks from "Back to the Start" that I enjoyed.
If you are a fan of break-neck speedy kind of thrash music, you will love
Rust In Peace. It is a relentless assault of speed from start to finish.
Speaking as someone who was there for the first album Megadeth came out with (I was determined to like them because everyone else was comparing them to Metallica and had already decided NOT to like them; I'm contrary by nature), I enjoyed your honest and still positive assessment! :D
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