Ejected from Metallica despite being their prodigiously-talented lead guitar player and primary songwriter, Dave Mustaine was so filled with anger and bitterness and determination for revenge upon his dismissal some weeks before the recording of Metallica's seminal debut album, that he would spend the next 20-odd years singularly trying to prove what a mistake they made…
Megadeth guns for arena thrash success and gets it on Countdown to Extinction. Following the lead of 1991's Metallica, Megadeth trades in their lengthy, progressive compositions for streamlined, tightly written and played songs more conducive to radio and MTV airplay. Cries of "sellout" seem pointless when the results are artistically (as well as commercially) successful; songs like the mega-hit "Symphony of Destruction," "Skin O' My Teeth," "Foreclosure of a Dream," and "Sweating Bullets" are among the band's best. Megadeth guns for arena thrash success and gets it on Countdown to Extinction. Following the lead of 1991's Metallica, Megadeth trades in their lengthy, progressive compositions for streamlined, tightly written and played songs more conducive to radio and MTV airplay.
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.
No surprise here: Megadeth: Rust in Peace Live simply rocks on Blu-ray. Shout! Factory's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is a butt-kicker and name-taker. This track never lets up and literally engulfs the listener in a barrage of crisp and powerful sound that's got to be the next best thing to attending a live Megadeth concert…
Century Media and Legacy Recordings have announced the 2018 deluxe reissue of MEGADETH's classic debut album, "Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!", due on June 8.
After leaving Capitol and losing longtime guitarist Marty Friedman, Megadeth felt that a retooling was in order. Risk had been the culmination of their move toward commercial accessibility, so much so that the album engendered a backlash among fans. So, they attempted to craft a more metallic record with The World Needs a Hero, going so far as to resurrect early-years mascot Vic Rattlehead for a gory cover that just screams heavy metal. And The World Needs a Hero does indeed prove to be the band's heaviest offering in quite some time, certainly much more so than Risk. In fact, fans who just want to hear the group play straight-up metal will probably find this their best album since Rust in Peace or Countdown to Extinction - and Dave Mustaine tries to conjure memories of both…
Megadeth have been through a lot of lineup upheaval circa the early 21st century, with longtime leader Dave Mustaine being the only familiar face left in attendance. But Megadeth's crunchy, venomous thrash has remained intact, as heard throughout their 2007 release, United Abominations (their first for the Roadrunner label). While many thrash-metal bands take the easy way out lyrically - by detailing their encounters with Señor Beelzebub - Mustaine has never shied away from voicing his opinion about politics and the state of the world. And as evidenced by such biting tracks as "Washington Is Next!," "Gears of War," "Amerikhastan," and the title track, Mustaine remains as outspoken as ever about what he's been seeing on CNN for the past few years…