Megadeth are back in town...prepare for some true classic me
howzat | 09/02/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"United Abominations (2007.), Megadeth's eleventh studio album
Thrash metal gods Megadeth have been enjoying somewhat of a re-birth in the past few years. Following reforming Megadeth in 2004, Dave Mustaine put together some great material for the band's comeback album `The System Has Failed'. `TSHF' marked a great return to the classic sound of Megadeth, with all of the band's classic traits of speed, solos and energy. Since then, Dave has been able to recruit a permanent line-up for the band in the shape of the Drover brothers and James LoMenzo. One of the most anticipated metal releases of 2007, `United Abominations' catches Megadeth on a new outing of classic metal...
Listening to `United Abominations' for the first time brought a real smile to my face. If Dave Mustaine proved to me and many other fans that he still had the ability to produce classic thrash metal on `The System Has Failed', he and the rest of the band really consilidate it here in style. What `United Abominations' has over its predecessor album though is that the music feels like a true Megadeth CD. The reason for this is that a permanent line-up for the band play on this album whilst Dave had to get in session musicians for `TSHF'. There is much more chemistry in the sound of this album between the band members whilst on the previous album there were moments were the work felt like it was Dave Mustaine solo release. `United Abominations' is Megadeth fully back in their prime. The whole album is a strong showcase of metal songwriting. The songs speed along effortlessly with plenty of catchy hooks and riffs and there are plenty of classic Megadeth solo trade-offs between Mustaine and Glen Drover. Dave is also as usual stong in the lyrics department, making his political views known. It could be easy just to dismiss this album as one long political rant from Mustaine but it really isn't. The main theme of the album is clearly a criticism of the UN but Dave doesn't let that dumb down the whole sound of the album as he keeps a sharp focus with his words and weaves them into the underlying riffs very well. Just listen to `Washington Is Next' and you'll see exactly what I mean - theres some killer lyrics and they're backed by killer hooks. I was also highly impressed by the soloing of guitarist Glen Drover on this album. Filling the big shoes of past guitarists such as Marty Friedman ain't easy but he does the job excellently. The band overall are a strong musical unit once again and you can tell this on the album and if you are lucky enough to see them live.
An nice acoustic intro lures the listener in at the start of the album in `Sleepwalker' before plenty of fast, catchy riffs kick in. This is a fantastic opening track with a powerful chorus, plenty of guts and some great solos. A perfect starter that is a taster of whats to come. `Washington Is Next' is a clear and precise political commentary from Mustaine but it is also a brutal 5 minute song with plenty of memorable hooks that rock hard. My personal favourite on the album, this song has everything you could wish for from a Megadeth song. `Never Walk Alone...A Call To Arms' has an awesome intro that casts instantly back to the days of early Megadeth. More great riffs are in this one on a cool, atmospheric section mid-way though. The epic title track `United Abominations' is next. The song contains a staple Mustaine spoken commentary to open the song which actually works quite well over some crushing chords. Once the meat of the song gets going, this is a fantastic hard hitting track with some great lyrics - `Poverty in the kitchens, held hostage by oil for food' anyone? My only criticism in this song is that I think Dave should have just stuck to an opening commentary and cut the outro one. `Gear Of War' is catchy and is a great sing along. Vintage Megadeth at its very best and rocks hard. An excellent staple that sounds brilliant live.
`Blessed Be The Dead' is an excellent, apocalypse themed song that is another album highlight. The band sound great here, the intro is cutting and has you on edge and builds up excellently. Theres plenty more great lines especially in the chorus and there are some cool outro solos. `Play For Blood' is more classic Megadeth with lots of speed and aggression. There's solos aplenty in this one to keep you interested. Next is an great remake of `A Tout Le Monde', featuring Lacuna Coil vocalist Claudia Scribbia. Remaking such a hallmark Megadeth song may have damaged the credibility of the album but it actually works really well and doesn't destroy the flow. Although I prefer the original, I would never say no to hearing this excellent version of the song. The last 3 songs on the album are all solid songs however they are not quite up to the standards of the rest of the album. `Amerikhastan' has some good hooks but Dave loses focus just a little and descends into full rant mode! `Your Dead' is solid, with some good hooks and overall feel but the song doesn't quite grab me like some of the songs on the album. `Burnt Ice' is a very good finisher though with lots of crisp riffs that sound great. The high energy finish marks a powerful close to an excellent album.
`United Abominations' yet again gives me pleasure to say that Megadeth are still a force to be reckoned with after all of these years. This new release from the band has some great songwriting, pretty concise and strong lyrics and most of all feels like a true old-school Megadeth album. I'm a huge fan of the band and new releases like this one will keep my faith with Megadeth strong for some time yet! 2007 has been a strong year for the metal genre so far and Megadeth's `United Abominations' is right there in the top of the mix. Highly recommended, Dave and Co. I salute you!
MY RATING: 8.5/10"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1