Dave Mustaine is literally the redheaded stepchild of the ‘Big 4’ of American Thrash. Slayer and Anthrax would rather kick your head off than see it whip back and forth. Metallica, on the other hand, grin while accountants nod at pie charts. What are Megadeth interested in? Not a whole lot, any more.
Dave’s torrid romance with the music biz has cooled into a loveless marriage. The first half suffers from a metal-by-numbers attitude as a result. For instance, Kingmaker is a re-tread of their previous album’s Sleepwalker. Burn! wearily digs away blues’ coalface as Chris Broderick’s leadwork torches the place. Dave mails Super Collider in, addressed to a greying rock radio station.
Built For War dimly recalls his slashing thrash days. Meat and potato riffs peak into gang choruses: a pre-fab arena hit. Cello on Dance In The Rain sweeps away urban grime like Queensryche’s Empire. Ultimately, it comes off as Days Of Our Lives more than Les Miserables. Mustaine’s self-obsessed lyrics take root in quiet bedroom sobbing which slivers into confused, pubescent rage. The Blackest Crow chugs from thrash metal’s platform whistling Dixie, chicken-scratch fiddles sliding in and out of breezily plucked banjo. It seeks attention and it rightfully gets it. Delivering a Bon Jovi denim and leather moment in Forget To Remember, his leads and choruses burn bright enough for a Eurovision stage. Why did they cover Thin Lizzy’s Cold Sweat? Hell if I know.
Dave’s not chasing Hetfield-sized shadows any more, nor is he angling at MTV stardom. A Mustaine 15 years junior would rightly feel appalled by a want of thrash in this record. We know he can write cracking tracks. It’s a damn shame he’s not aiming for a rivet-headed target.
BY TOM VALCANIS
Best Track: The Blackest Crow
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: METALLICA (sorry Dave), ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT
In A Word: Sawn-off
