Unsolicited (& Rather Brief) Megadeth Thirteen Review
Megadeth
Thirteen
Roadrunner
2011
Hot shot producer Johnny K (previous clients: Machine Head, Mushroomhead, Disturbed) is all up in Megadeth’s Kool-Aid on Thirteen, going so far as to co-write roughly fifty percent of the album. The results are a surprising improvement over the last Megadeth effort, 2009’s perfectly enjoyable Endgame; tighter mixing plays to the veteran thrash band’s strengths while head ‘Dether Dave Mustaine thankfully avoids overextending himself on the vocals. Some credit should also be doled out to founding bassist Dave Ellefson—his return after a decade(ish) of exile probably provided some much-needed comfort for King of Pain Mustaine. Thirteen doesn’t boast any riffing as jaw-dropping as what the world heard on Rust in Peace or Peace Sells, but is that really a surprise? Most bands don’t even have half of a “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” in them (plus, Megadeth’s currently pushing into the AARP zone). There’s no excuse for giving us another song about driving too fast, though. We get it, Dave. You got goddamn speeding tickets.
FINAL SCORE: Three Backwards Vic Rattleheads (out of four).
New Megadeth Single Rocks…But Where Is The Ellipsis?
Megadeth’s getting senile in their old age. They’ve completely forgotten they’re the band that abuses the ellipsis, not parentheses. So here’s their new song, which they’re insisting should be punctuated “Whose Life (Is It Anyway?)” True fans, of course, will no doubt take to writing it “Whose Life…Is It Anyway?” when drunkenly scribbling out top ten lists of the best post-Marty Friedman Megadeth songs.
Thirteen, Megadeth’s thirteenth(!) studio album, drops November 1…just in time for World Vegan Day! Hallelujah!