Thought Sausage

Welp, Megadeth's new album hit the streets today in America. I've taken it in after a brisk run up to Lakeview. Much like Year Zero, I don't really have a solid opinion of it yet. I will say the musicianship on this album is by far some of the tightest shit since Rust In Piece. The songwriting is a little too much of a throwback in that there's a lot of songs made for soloing rather than solos made for songs. But overall I think it at least holds up to System Has Failed and definitely surpasses World Needs a Hero (which basically bit other than maybe 3 tracks IM oh so HO).

It's definitely political. Almost too political. Like 80's political. It's hard to take an album seriously that has some weird Eddie meets the Tales from the Crypt guy on it. Dave Mustaine seems like he's trying to sound like an angry 20 something when in reality the dude is like 46 and isn't really selling anybody on anything.

Therein lies the real tragedy for me on this album. There's no doubt when you're 46, your days of being a cutting edge genre defining act are probably long in the rearview mirror (unless of course, your name happens to be David Bowie and you're about to start working on 1.Outside). So Dave Mustaine seems to have pulled out all the stops to recapture what he once did. And that's basically what the album is coming across to me like. A man well past his prime who definitely has tighter chops than players half his age playing music that harkens people back to "the old days". And that bums me out people. It's a sign that music that was once really vital to my generation is basically a relic from the days of yore. I guess every generation goes through this. I bet my dad couldn't believe I didn't understand the sheer genius of Paul McCartney and John Lennon when I was in my teens (it did of course become painfully obvious once I had a few years on me). Or more importantly, that that music didn't sound new and fresh anymore.

So to anybody who's going to buy this album that was there 'back in the day' that has actually listened to anything relevant in metal or any genre in the past 10 years, United Abominations is a great album, yet a sad reminder that we're gettin older and our time is past. You can't fault Dave Mustaine...if anything he's proven he's still got the goods here...but to quote Grandpa Simpson "I used to be with it, then they changed what with it is, and now what's with it scares me". I know I'll dig this album..but that album cover and the overall composition (and what's with that remake of A Tout Le Mon? Evanescance wannabe? C'mon yer Dave Mustaine dude!) scream to me that there's no way this album is going to kick todays' generations ass like Countdown to Extinction did mine. Shit...thought I'd die before I got old.