![]() ![]() ![]() It's also way less heavy than the last few, which at least had that going for them (not that music has to be heavy to be good, but Megadeth pretty much do). Look, I've long been a late-era Megadeth apologist, and while there's nothing abhorrent about this album, it's so unobtrusive that it's practically not there, just one more forgettable release from a guy we're all secretly rooting for. "Forget to Remember" pulls off the mid-tempo Mega-dance, but barely, and at track nine, it's way too little too late. See "Off the Edge" and marvel at how a song so catchy could also be so cold and unlovable - this is the frustration of modern Megadeth. From there, mid-tempo rules, with Mustaine constantly trying to write something that's going to both keep his credibility intact (um.) and be a radio hit, when both are impossibilities at this point. (Mustaine's vocals do not jive with music like that.) And it's the title track. So, it starts strong enough, but then track two comes along and right when the band need to drop a heavy thrasher, they plop down a textured radio rock tune that absolutely not one person on the face of the planet will enjoy. Here, opener "Kingmaker" starts things off with a relentless enough, speedy gallop, sounding like something off of Countdown to Extinction (the excellent production recalls that release as well), which may not be the form most were hoping this long-suffering band would return to, although that mix of radio rock smarts and streamlined mature thrash is a winner. And the band - the tunes - well, for a number of albums now he's been in a strange zone where a record drops and we say, "Wow, that's actually not bad," then totally forget anything about the damn thing, except that it resolutely wasn't a "return to form" like the man had promised. ![]() The man is the biggest train wreck in metal, our collective hearts breaking over his most recent shenanigan. You just want it to stop: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine's constant and very public falling apart at the seams. ![]()
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