Part 3: Still Alive…And Well?
The World Needs A Hero (Sanctuary, 2001-02)
As is so often the case with Megadeth, the backstage travails behind the making of each record ends up being reflected in the songs on it, and this, a transitional effort in the same way as So Far, So Good…So What? was all those years ago, is no exception. Parting ways with both Capitol records and replacing Marty Friedman – a big supporter of Megadeth’s turn towards pop music – with seasoned session player Al Pitrelli, The World Needs A Hero shows a similar split between styles as Cryptic Writings as the group began its slow mutation back into a metal act.
Blending big hooks with severe bottom-end riffs, the album combines vapours of the Risk era with old-school metal tropes, resulting in a mix of heaviness and catchiness that when it works, works amazingly. Disconnect, Dread & The Fugitive Mind, Burning Bridges and the thumping Return To Hangar are angry, soulful and gut-wrenching in equal measure, and even the lightweight Moto Psycho is a ton of fun and pounding, incessant rhythm.
But the renewed vigor on offer here can’t hide the fact that the record is uneven, with aggression waxing and waning on the title track and 1000 Times Goodbye, and style diversions like synth-driven alt-rocker Losing My Senses and melodramatic, syrupy ballad Promises preventing the album from building up a good head of steam, despite the songs being mostly serviceable and enjoyable.
The whole thing smacks of a band trying to relearn the things it used to be good at and not quite getting it right, best shown by their having to borrow the riff from Diamond Head classic Am I Evil? for big closer, When. For a band whose reputation is built on crafting unique riffs, it’s a big misstep that proves just how difficult returning to form can sometimes be.
The System Has Failed (Sanctuary, 2004-05)
In the intervening 2 years between this and The World Needs A Hero, Dave Mustaine had fallen out with longtime bandmate Dave Ellefson, become embroiled in a lawsuit over the band’s name rights, found God, and suffered nerve damage to his hand which required strenuous rehab and having to learn how to play the guitar all over again. So considering that until The System Has Failed came out, there were questions hanging over whether there would even BE a Megadeth anymore, one would be forgiven for not knowing what to expect.
Originally a solo effort, but changed due to contractual issues, The System Has Failed is without doubt the most Dave Mustaine – owned album of the band’s history, and provides a window into the man’s varied musical tastes (he’s a Cat Stevens fan, apparently). A broad collection of thrash excitement, as on Blackmail The Universe, Kick The Chair and Back In The Day, old school weight and pomp on My Kingdom and The Scorpion, old-fashioned hard rock in the likes of Die Dead Enough and melodic pop stuff on Tears In A Vial, The System Has Failed has plenty to offer, much of it good and played with aplomb by a band of hired guns (former Sting drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, band friend and bass player Jimmie Lee Sloas and a returning Chris Poland), but ends up overstretching itself and falling short of being the return Megadeth fans were perhaps waiting for.
Of Mice And Men falls on the wrong side of cheesy, and the personal jabs taken in the lyrics of Something That I’m Not seem petty when compared to the quality of the band’s other autobiographical songs, while name-checking real-world figures like Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden instantly dates Truth Be Told, an otherwise classy track.
These faltering moments aside, The System Has Failed proved that in spite of all attempts to derail the project, there was life in the old Rattlehead yet.
