Megadeth have never been my favorite heavy/thrash metal favorite of mine, but this new release has some darn good rhythm pieces. I don't think that the strong suits are necessarily in the lead guitars or vocals. Dave Mustaine can't really sing too well and that's been a reason why I never really got into this band. I can't really compare this release to past ones because I've never been impressed with this quartet.

This album is a pretty solid heavy metal with thrash roots though not too much. The music is filled with heavy rhythm guitar palm muting, chords galore, and sloppy leads. Dave can't really solo, but his rhythm guitar is solid. There are bits of clean guitar in the mix as well. Just not a face paced album at all, more groove based. Catchy rhythm guitar on all of the songs.

The lyrical topics aren't very complex, Dave mostly focuses on society and it's problems. The lyrical department meshes well with the music. The production is solid, though it's a bit hard to hear Dave Ellefson's bass. The solos like I said are a bit sloppy by both guitarists. There are leads that come out of no where which don't mix well with the music.

If Megadeth stuck with mostly the rhythm guitar on this release, it would have panned out as a better album. I think that was the downfall from the songs. Again, I never got into Dave's vocals. But his riff structures for the band are very notable. I think that's why I've given this album a fair shake.

Not the greatest Megadeth that I've heard, but still solid heavy metal. I think that this band still has a few more years of life until they call it quits. Dave is 50 now and needs brushing up on his solos like I said. He really has a solid foundation on the rhythm writing bits, but not his leads. Megadeth has a strong suit in the heavy metal music department and I won't discount their further efforts to continue to put out decent heavy metal.

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
12/15/2011 13:29