RELEASE FINAL SINGLE “PUPPET PARADE”
FROM THEIR SELF-TITLED FINAL STUDIO ALBUM
OUT THIS FRIDAY, JANUARY 23
PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM HERE
Eponymous! No, I didn’t sneeze or suddenly develop tourettes! It’s a genuine word, simply meaning to give your name to something which, in this case, Megadeth have chosen to do with their self-proclaimed final studio album, ‘Megadeth’! What it lacks in subtlety it makes up for in enthusiasm, which could be the dictionary definition for what Dave Mustaine et al. have been doing musically since back when all this was fields! The word itself has a grandiose feel about it, and it feels appropriate, much better deployed here than the more oft usage on first albums by an artist or band, for if this is indeed to be their last offering of this sort, then a suitable acknowledgement of the order of magnitude here is required. Megadeth by Megadeth! It’s got the right ring to it!
It’s only been a few months since I encountered Megadeth in the flesh as it happens, supporting Disturbed in Birmingham. I’ll admit to not really being a massive fan, which explains why it’d been 12 or so years since I last saw them live previously, and a full 36 years since “So Far, So Good… So What” graced my stereo’s speakers, complete with a Dokken album on the B side of a TDK D90 cassette! However, I took a chance on this and was pleasantly surprised. Happy days!
There’s 11 tracks to be found here, running out at around the ¾ hour mark, although it should be noted nearly 12 of those 45 mins are used up by the final two songs. “Tipping Point” is a decent entry, clean and crisp guitar intro which drifts into the old-school Megadeth sound, along with a decent solo and an angsty spoken word bridge slowing things to a more 80s rock pace until the drums kick out the ending. Following up with probably my track of the album, “I Don’t Care” is a catchy little ditty, repeating the track title inordinate amounts of times along with examples as to what exactly Dave is unimpressed with. It’s a short sharp shock track, but effective enough that I’d be tempted to sling it on a jukebox if in the middle of a conversation I didn’t give a rat’s rectum about!
“Hey God” is another standout track. A story, or rather a monologue, a soliloquy if you will, consisting of attempted communication with the singer’s deity. It’s trying perhaps a tad too much to be “Sweating Bullets” but it’s entertaining enough and quite relatable! “Let There be Shred” is daft, and could easily be written by Tenacious D, but it’s not bad musically if you can get past the lyric! Again it’s short enough that it’s not tedious and the humour is enough to make it fun, much as it pains me to admit it. “Puppet Parade” is another track paced at mid 80s rock timing, and it’s easy listening to a point where back in that time period you’d’ve probably escaped a “What’s that racket you’re listening to?” uttered by an irked parent!
It’s about now I noticed, I am enjoying this. “Probably a bit more than you should be” my brain whispers, having been a little miffed at me for taking on the assignment. “Another Bad Day” is again really catchy, almost earwormy in fact and absolutely relatable again for this grumpy 52 year-old-to-be! The track timings are excellent. Some bands have a habit of drawing out songs and thus somehow managing to create a sense of resentment at the time spent/wasted on them. “Made to Kill” ups the pace back to something similar to the opener, and still everything feels seriously well produced. Even on these faster tracks the enunciation both of vocal and musical notes is crystal, something not always found from bands such as Megadeth. There’s very little distortion through the whole of the album and each song’s story is followable without a hint of strain. Given the vocal at the concert, it’s genuinely pleasing for me to actually be able to pick out every single word. “ Obey The Call” allows both the guitar and the percussion chance to strut their stuff a little, but not to excess ad the end of the track, and I’m really getting the impression that this release has been buffed and polished exceptionally well as a final salute to the band’s studio capabilities. It’s not complex. It’s not convoluted. It’s simple but effective. Lyrically too that descriptive fits. “I am War” easily falls straight into that category, but it has to be said that “The Last Note”, as a eulogy feels rather more heartfelt. I wonder quite how true “The guitar got heavy, it’s time to lay it down” is? You can feel it’s a goodbye of sorts, and the more astute of people will note that it’s, while not the last track here, it’s still absolutely the last one for the album. “I came, I ruled. Now I disappear.” Is stated. Fitting and befitting of the end.
However, as noted, it’s not the last song on the release! “Ride The Lightning” appears like the ghost of times long gone, reimagined and a nod to where it all began. Mustaine is quoted as saying: “As I come full circle on the career of a lifetime, the decision to include ‘Ride The Lightning,’ a song I co-wrote with James, Lars, and Cliff, was to pay my respects to where my career first started”, and you have to smile at this. Roots, as any Sepultura fan will tell you, are important, and certain artists might do well to remember where they’ve come from.
Megadeth do. And this album is all the better for it.
The album’s full track listing is as follows:
Tipping Point 
I Don’t Care
Hey, God?!
Let There Be Shred
Puppet Parade
Another Bad Day
Made to Kill
Obey the Call
I Am War
The Last Note
Ride the Lightning (Bonus Track)
The Band:
