{"id":41714,"date":"2009-10-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/endgame\/"},"modified":"2009-10-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-01T00:00:00","slug":"endgame","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/endgame\/","title":{"rendered":"Endgame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Metal\u2019s best guitarist, Dave Mustaine. What a nice ring that has. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Bearing a new lineup for the first time is getting to be old news for Dave Mustaine and Megadeth. The man has gone through countless musicians over the years, most noticeably since drummer Nick Menza, guitarist Marty Friedman, and longtime bassist Dave Ellefson left the group years ago. It seems that each new release of Megadeth material means someone new has replaced the last \u201cnew\u201d musician. They come and go, guitarists riffing and shredding for a release or tour, then leaving for reasons you can read on the Internet. It doesn\u2019t really matter, after all, because Megadeth is always going to be home to Mustaine. Megadeth as a band hasn\u2019t existed for several years now. It\u2019s Mustaine assembling musicians who will play his creations the way he wants. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

While I used to have a serious problem with that, probably rooted in the innocent vision that bands are friends first that happen to play music together, I think this is the release that makes me think \u201cI don\u2019t really care if it\u2019s new musicians.\u201d It\u2019s no longer an issue for me. Finally, Mustaine has written or co-written the strong material I\u2019ve been seeking to cleanse my system of those initial thoughts. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

And if one song alone were going to sway me, it would be \u201cDialectic Chaos,\u201d the scorching 2:25 instrumental that kicks off the release. Setting the tone for riffs that transcend the fret board with interesting structure and clarity, it is immediately clear that the riffs on \u201cChaos\u201d and the rest of the release are going to be thick and heavy. Both staples of Mustaine\u2019s work, there is something particularly special about this material. Mustaine quickly continues the momentum with the snarling vocals on \u201cThis Day We Fight.\u201d In \u201c44 Minutes,\u201d the morbid reference to 44 minutes of target practice provides a frame for the third track. Spinning a tale about AK-47s being used to gun down police officers us the first glimpse into what is on Mustaine\u2019s mind. He is still fixated on going fast. Dating back to \u201cHigh Speed Dirt\u201d on 1992\u2019s Countdown To Extinction<\/i>, there is a reference going fast in \u201c1,320.\u201d This song would have perfect for drummer Shawn Drover to provide a memorable fill, but when the guitars drop out, the fill he plays is embarrassingly too simple for the rest of the surrounding music. In this case, less is more sounds out of place. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

The only song that starts out without guitar riffs going ballistic is \u201cThe Hardest Part Of Letting Go \u2026 Sealed With A Kiss.\u201d I was disappointed that Mustaine hopelessly mires the song in the clich\u00e9 and relies on lyrics that have been used in other songs by other bands. When Mustaine sings about seeing \u201cyou across the room\u201d and \u201cIf you love someone, you have to let them go \/ The hardest part of letting go is saying goodbye.\u201d Enough already! Hasn\u2019t this song been sung by others? Do we really need this? Thankfully, the electric guitars enter with a galloping thrash metal riff. The first 1:35 of the song is painful, however.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But that\u2019s a minor quibble compared to the rest of the strong material on this release. Mustaine and his league of supporting characters sound invigorated and ready to make thrash metal relevant again. With a lot of the charts saturated by country albums and albums from various Disney franchises, Endgame<\/i> couldn\u2019t have arrived at a better time.
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