Day 0671 - Rust in Peace

Megadeth "Rust in Peace" (1990)

Megadeth gonna Megadeth.

This is the fourth Megadeth album and features their third lineup, though apparently this one would stick for the next few albums.  As always with Megadeth, the album largely centres around Dave Mustaine, his riffs, his lead guitar, and his voice.  David Ellefson should be given his due though, being one of the most constant members of the band, and providing bass that ranges from nimble and virtuosic; and restrained and interesting.

This album gets held up as one of the highlights of the thrash movement, and I can buy that.  While I've always been more of a Metallica or Slayer fan, this album features some speedy riffs and (as the superlative goes) 'fretboard pyrotechnics' from Dave.  It has enough melody and intensity to it that it almost feels like it sits between thrash, and something more in the 'party-rock' vein like Guns n Roses.

I always felt like Mustaine took himself far too seriously though.  I never felt his music was quite as good as his old band, and he seemed to be stuck repeating what they were doing in their first couple of albums.  Mind you, some metal fans (though not all) appreciate a spot of creative inertia, so....

Day 0573 - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

Megadeth "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" (1986)

 
Following his expulsion as lead guitarist for Metallica, Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth... and brought along all of his baggage.  Mustaine was ousted from Metallica for (among other things) his issues with alcohol and drugs, which continued, and were shared by others in his new band.  The band's rhythm guitarist and drummer would go on to be fired at the conclusion of the promotional tour for this album for continuing drug use.  The guitarist would later resurface as a session player on a later Megadeth album, which kind of speaks to how the band would essentially go on to just be Mustaine backed with a revolving cast of musicians.  Even stalwart David Ellefson left for a period in the 00s.

Dave also bought to his new band, the original Metallica sound that he had helped craft, but without the sonic development they started undergoing pretty soon after his departure.  He kind of stuck with  his format of speedy riffs and virtuoso guitar solos, but with songs never as memorable as Metallica's, and with much cheesier lyrics.  He seemed for much of his career to be playing catch-up, to the extent that, following the success of Metallica's LOAD albums, Lars Ulrich suggested that Dave take more risks with his sound.  The result was him releasing the imaginatively titled "Risk" with an alt-rock sound that most of his fans hated because they'd always loved that he stuck to a more or less similar sound across his albums.

So anyway, this record is a competent piece of thrash metal, but with few particularly memorable songs.  Some good riffs here and there and some impressive soloing, but not up to the standard of his former band.