It was inevitable, I guess. Once Metallica released their self-titled album in 1991 and achieved commercial success, the cries of \u201csellout\u201d rang out. So, when Megadeth decided to attempt a more commercial sound to their music in 1992 with Countdown To Extinction<\/i>, the same cries were leveled at Dave Mustaine and crew.<\/p>\n
What was it? The fact they weren\u2019t playing everything at 200 beats a minute now? The fact some of their songs actually sounded like they could get played on mainstream radio, following on the trails that Metallica helped to lay down? Or was it that people just weren\u2019t happy unless they were bitching about something<\/i>?<\/p>\n
Whatever the case, the facts remain the same: Regardless of whether the disc is commercial or not, it\u2019s a step down from Rust In Peace<\/i> just one album prior.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at the disc\u2019s positives, of which it still has many. Sound-wise, Countdown To Extinction<\/i> is as crisp as it can be. Mustaine\u2019s vocals burst through the mix, his and Marty Friedman\u2019s guitar work remains a solid one-two punch, as does the rhythmic thumping of Dave Ellefson\u2019s bass and Nick Menza\u2019s drums.<\/p>\n
And there is some great music on this album. The first real \u201chit\u201d for Megadeth, \u201cSymphony Of Destruction,\u201d remains a powerful march down the listener\u2019s spinal column (even if it\u2019s not done at double-step like earlier albums would have), while \u201cForeclosure Of A Dream\u201d proves that Megadeth could mix the gentle side of their music with the bone-crushing riffing they became known for.<\/p>\n
Hidden gems? They\u2019re here, too. \u201cArchitect Of Aggression\u201d is a track that should have gotten more notice than it did, while \u201cHigh Speed Dirt\u201d and \u201cAshes In Your Mouth\u201d show that, just because Megadeth doesn\u2019t have their feet down completely on the gas pedals, it doesn\u2019t mean the music is any less powerful.<\/p>\n
If the whole album had been this solid, it\u2019s possible that it could have even eclipsed Metallica<\/i> at this time. But, there are a few missteps. The opening track, \u201cSkin o\u2019 My Teeth,\u201d is a little uncertain in terms of its musical delivery and its lyrical content, and is an uneven way to kick off a new direction for a band. \u201cCaptive Honour\u201d is a bit of a throwaway track, to my ears.<\/p>\n
And then\u2026 \u201cSweating Bullets.\u201d I have never<\/i> liked this song, even from when I first bought this album the day it came out. Mustaine talking to himself as an alter-ego, possibly addressing all the mistakes he\u2019s made in his life? You lost me at talking<\/i> to himself; it comes off as feeling a little overhanded, and the bridges that tie the spoken-word verses to the chorus don\u2019t add anything to the mix. Not gonna lie: this is one I dive for the \u201cskip\u201d button when it comes on. (I know\u2026 see if Mustaine ever returns my calls again.)<\/p>\n
Oh, wait\u2026 we forgot to address the concerns about \u201cselling out\u201d! Two words: who cares? Megadeth had proven they had mastered the thrash scene with Rust In Peace<\/i>; I don\u2019t know if there was anything they had left to prove on that front by this time. What they were<\/i> able to achieve was to prove they could write a solid song, with a beat that didn\u2019t sound like a hummingbird\u2019s heart on an espresso bender. In that regard, they showed they knew how to succeed\u2026 but, like the albums leading up to Rust In Peace<\/i>, they had some work to do.<\/p>\n
I still listen to Countdown To Extinction<\/i> on a fairly regular basis, and it certainly belongs in the collections of not only Megadeth fans, but fans of metal in general. Less a \u201cselling out\u201d than an album featuring the band growing up, it heralded a second phase of Megadeth\u2019s career, albeit with a slightly tentative first step in that direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5796],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-46456","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-megadeth","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=46456"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=46456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}