Dystopia Megadeth

The return to form that began on 2016's Dystopia continues with The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, the 16th studio album from metal institution Megadeth. As with Dystopia, Megadeth ringleader Dave Mustaine and his bandmates focus on precision thrash, this time around turning in a tighter, cleaner batch of songs that feel both intently focused and streamlined for maximum intensity. The time leading up to the album wasn't an easy one for the band, however, and the six years that passed between the last record and this one stand as the longest time between new material in the band's nearly 40-year history. The turbulent time spent working on The Sick included not just Mustaine being diagnosed with and aggressively treated for throat cancer but also Megadeth co-founder and bassist David Ellefson leaving the band due to his involvement in a sex scandal…

The return to form that began on 2016's Dystopia continues with The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, the 16th studio album from metal institution Megadeth. As with Dystopia, Megadeth ringleader Dave Mustaine and his bandmates focus on precision thrash, this time around turning in a tighter, cleaner batch of songs that feel both intently focused and streamlined for maximum intensity. The time leading up to the album wasn't an easy one for the band, however, and the six years that passed between the last record and this one stand as the longest time between new material in the band's nearly 40-year history. The turbulent time spent working on The Sick included not just Mustaine being diagnosed with and aggressively treated for throat cancer but also Megadeth co-founder and bassist David Ellefson leaving the band due to his involvement in a sex scandal…

As evidenced by Megadeth's last three studio albums, fans are used to being let down. Dystopia could have been another case in point when an anticipated reunion of the Rust in Peace-era lineup failed to materialize. Undaunted, Dave Mustaine recruited Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro of prog metal outfit Angra. Megadeth's 15th studio album marks a return to the band's thrash roots…

As evidenced by Megadeth's last three studio albums, fans are used to being let down. Dystopia could have been another case in point when an anticipated reunion of the Rust in Peace-era lineup failed to materialize. Undaunted, Dave Mustaine recruited Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro of prog metal outfit Angra. Megadeth's 15th studio album marks a return to the band's thrash roots. It's angry, extremely aggressive, but also tight and polished. Adler adds clean, thunderous playing chock-full of syncopation and Loureiro proves to be a real surprise. Mustaine has historically cooked up imaginative riffs and motifs, but has seldom had a guitarist who displays the level of creativity and style that Loureiro does…

Dystopia is the fifteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on January 22, 2016. The album, produced by Dave Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw, is the first by the band since 2004's The System Has Failed not to feature longtime drummer Shawn Drover and also the first not to feature guitarist Chris Broderick since 2009's Endgame. These roles have been filled by Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro, respectively.

Issued just a few years shy of their 40th year in existence, the massive 35-song compilation Warheads on Foreheads draws from every era of Megadeth's twisting but always menacing tenure. The tracks were hand-selected by bandleader Dave Mustaine, cherrypicking stand-out selections from each of their 15 studio albums (as well as a few outlier tracks) and presenting them in chronological order. Beginning with three of the stronger songs from 1985's Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good, Mustaine charts Megadeth's progression through their string of classic thrashy '80s albums into the more accessible sounds and heightened production of their early-'90s work. Things taper off after that, with only one or two picks from most of the band's 2000s and 2010s albums like The System Has Failed, Endgame, and Super Collider.

On March 22, MEGADETH will celebrate its 35th anniversary with the release of "Warheads On Foreheads", a 35-track career retrospective. The anthology spans the band's entire studio recording career, from its first album "Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good" to its 2016 Grammy Award-winning release "Dystopia", and will be available as a 3-CD set, a 4-LP set and a digital edition via UMe Recordings. "Thirty-five years ago, I chose the name MEGADETH for my band and I see these songs as the most efficient weapons in the band's arsenal," says Dave Mustaine. "'Warheads On Foreheads' is a U.S. military term for targeting efficiency. It's all about using the right tool for the job and these tracks were created for maximum destruction (or stopping power, or something else!)."