OUT: June 4th, 2013
LABEL: Tradecraft/Universal
WHERE: All good record outlets, iTunes, the general interwebs.
Now that we’ve had a good solid dose of ‘Deth nostalgia, it’s time to get a cold hard shot of the near-future, as we take a glimpse into the murky depths of Megadeth’s 14th studio release.
At the time of writing, the press junket for the album is in full swing, with Dave Mustaine and the returning Th1rt3en lineup of Ellefson, Broderick and Drover dropping knowledge about the record on every publication and website worth their corn, but the big news so far has been the release of the single, the Super Collider of the title, which has merited a divisive response to say the least. One camp have denounced it as the worst kind of Risk-alike drivel, some even calling for the band to retire completely on the basis it, while the other side have embraced it as a return to the style that proved so uber-popular for the band at their 90s peak.
Whichever side you pick, it’s fair to say the song is not what anyone was expecting in the buildup. Early controversy was built around comments made by born-again Christian Mustaine – and taken out of context by some outlets – about the actual Large Hadron Collider project which inspired the song that suggested it would take an anti-science stance in terms of lyrics, while further comments suggested the track would be a “straight metal” cut.
The end result, a catchy if predictable feelgood hard rock song that references rather than discusses the super collider, continues Megadeth’s habit of confounding listeners’ expectations, and the increased influence of producer Johnny K., returning for this record after Th1rt3en, is apparent. A video is being filmed and is due for release sometime in the near-future.
It’ll come as a relief to the single’s detractors that during some more recent interviews Mustaine has mentioned that this song was the exception rather than the rule in terms of the style of the rest of the album. Though in speaking to Ultimate Guitar.com, Mustaine made reference to some tracks people will take “exception” to, the general consensus from band members is that the album overall will be a logical continuation of the mix of mid-tempo metal and short sharp thrash tracks featured on the previous album, with a hint of the more standard ‘Deth numbers featured on Endgame.
The comments were rather varied, but the evidence early on supports what they say; David Ellefson has been quoted as saying the album will be “pretty thrashy” and drummer Shawn Drover has a co-writing credit on a song about arson called Built For War which, considering he co-wrote Endgame’s thrashiest track, the mighty Headcrusher, bodes well for fans of Megadeth’s speed metal output, while a snippet of the album’s opening song Kingmaker has been likened to Judas Priest classic Painkiler on Megadeth’s fan forums. It seems that Kingmaker is the next official release from the album, with a competition currently running on Megadeth.com giving fans the chance to be the one to premiere the song on their personal Twitter feed.
Biggest of the suggestions that the single’s style is in the minority was the release of a 40-second snippet of the much heavier-sounding track Don’t Turn Your Back, which came out when the album cover was revealed. Compared by some to the work of Canadian thrashers Annihilator, the snippet features a double-kick driven opening before a a verse section that features the sort of rhyme-based, James Hetfield-style lyrical structure the band adopted on Th1rt3en over a guitar line full of mini riffs. Mustaine’s vocals seem somewhat more suited to this than to the single, also, having shown a deeper, gruffer voice of late.
The other major talking point was the inclusion of Disturbed frontman David Draiman as a guest singer on two tracks, Dance In The Rain and Forget To Remember. While this came as something of a surprise, given some of the names bandied about in the early running, Draiman’s connections to Johnny K. and Mustaine – having toured with the latter and been produced by the former – and his stepping in ahead of another choice that didn’t pan out saw him make the grade. Exact details are still sketchy, but it’s been revealed that he will be playing the “voice in the loudspeaker” on Dance In The Rain, for which he also contributed vocal melodies, and that his part on Forget To Remember was “ad lib.” No word yet whether or not we’ll be hearing any of Draiman’s trademark rat-at-at vocals yet, a bone of contention with non-fans of Disturbed and fans of Megadeth alike.
A still-unconfirmed but at this stage unlikely rumour was the inclusion of country troubadour Willie Nelson as a guest player on the Western-inflected song The Blackest Crow (during the recording process, Mustaine cited Clint Eastwood as a lyrical inspiration), something which seems to have fallen by the wayside as a result of packed schedules for both parties.
The full tracklist of 13 has been released (see the track-by-track run-through at the end of this piece), including two Japanese bonus tracks, All I Want and A House Divided, with a live version of Countdown To Extinction rounding out the album.
SUPER COLLIDER – Track By Track
1. Kingmaker
Musically likened to Judas Priest based on song clips, Dave Mustaine has revealed that the lyrics concern themselves with the actions of pharmacies and prescription painkiller addiction. The title is apparently a reference to how being high makes one feel.
2. Super Collider
The single sounds more like Def Leppard than Priest, with some simplistic guitar work and a focus on radio friendliness. Lyrically it seems to be about a guiding force or loved one remaining loyal to a person/people until the world explodes “Like a Super Collider.” (It’s better than that description, honestly.)
3. Burn!
Concerning a man burning evidence of a dark past. No real details on the musical style at the time of writing, but the title (and the exclamation mark) suggest something aggressive in the vein of This Day We Fight! from Endgame.
4. Built For War
Apparently a song about arson, both Shawn Drover and Dave Mustaine revealed that the song had various other titles during recording. Likely to be a thrashier track based on Drover’s previous songwriting contributions, though it’s odd that this isn’t the song entitled Burn, considering the subject matter.
5. Off The Edge
Nothing really revealed about this one either in terms of subject or style, making this one of the few mysteries as regards the tracklist.
6. Dance In The Rain
The first of the two tracks to feature David Draiman, Mustaine has said this one is about “society going to the dogs” and likened it to 1984, while other band members have made mention of it ending with a Killing Is My Business… style speed metal section.
7. The Beginning Of Sorrow
Again nothing particularly revealing said about this one. The title suggests a ballad.
8. The Blackest Crow
Eastwood-inspired, country-influenced song, possibly about Alzheimer’s disease or perhaps the spectre of death surrounding a loved one suffering a similar ailment.
9. Forget To Remember
Most of the pre-announcement buzz had this as being the only song about Alzheimer’s, but Mustaine has recently mentioned it being about trying to forget events best not remembered. Musically he’s described it as “A Tout Le Monde flipped upside down.”
10. Don’t Turn Your Back…
Heavy, but with hints at a melodic chorus based on the released snippet, Don’t Turn Your Back appears to be about revenge on a friend betrayed by someone close to them. It’s not clear whether this a person or a metaphor for something like drugs. The triple-stop at the end of the title suggests it’s paired with Cold Sweat a la Holy Wars…The Punishment Due.
11. Cold Sweat
Thin Lizzy association aside, it looks like this is going to carry on the theme of Don’t Turn Your Back. No details on lyrics or style as of yet.
BONUS TRACKS
12. All I Want
Nothing released on this as of yet.
13. A House Divided
Nothing too solid about this. There’s the minor possibility that it concerns the Houses Of Congress and/or The US Senate.
