Megadeth
Super Collider
Track List Band Members
1- Kingmaker Dave Mustaine- Vocals, Guitar
2- Super Collider Chris Broderick- Guitar
3- Burn David Ellefson- Bass
4- Built For War Shawn Drover- Drums
5- Off The Edge
6- Dance In The Rain Produced By: Johnny K And Dave Mustaine
7- Beginning Of Sorrow
8- The Blackest Crow Official Site
9- Forgot To Remember http://www.megadeth.com
10- Don’t Turn Back
11- Cold Sweat Label: Tradecraft
Among Megadeth fans, this album is quite controversial. Mainly because they seem to think the band sold out. I, for one, disagree. I think the album puts them into crossover territory. Meaning, that it’s more radio friendly than previous releases and that doesn’t mean the band went pop or sold out. Not in my world anyway. Kingmaker the opening track and Super Collider, the title track, are great rock songs. Shawn Drover’s drumming shows no mercy in these tracks and throughout the whole album. It opens the album with a powerful punch and still stays in the thrash realm. Full disclosure is that I am not a die hard fan of the band. But 13 and now this one have made me a fan of them more so than in the past. I think Dave Mustaine shows his maturity, and I think he doesn’t want to keep doing the same album over and over. As a point of reference, David Draiman (Disturbed) is the vocalist on Dance In The Rain.
Dave Ellefson’s opening bass line on Beginning Of Sorrow is fantastic, along with the band’s harmonies. I can’t see how anyone can be disappointed with this record. Mustaine and Chris Broderick show why they are the envy of their peers in the thrash world with Forget To Remember and Don’t Turn Your Back. It is a fantastic track and shows how the band has grown over the years. As per usual, I won’t name every track, I always like to leave some songs for you to discover for yourself. The only song I would say that doesn’t belong on this album is The Blackest Crow. Banjo on a Megadeth album? I don’t think so. Doesn’t quite fit. But it does show that Mustaine is still willing to take chances.
Lyrically, I think Mustaine is dealing with things in his life, politically, religiously. But Forget To Remember, goes above that with his take on Alzheimer’s. Here is a sample:
Sands in the hourglass fall for us all / You don’t answer me anymore when I call / So much is trapped inside, tangled in your brain / … / I’m just a stranger now with an unfamiliar face / You can’t recall me anymore, there’s not a trace.”
That’s pretty deep and if you experienced it, it’s pretty dead on. I think that’s another area of growth I see in his writing style. You may not agree about the content but I happen to like that he is taking on these and other subjects.
The album closes out with a Thin Lizzy song called Cold Sweat. Not really fan of the track, the original or the cover. The album would have been better without it. Overall, I love the album. Is it a true Megadeth thrash album, probably not, but it does keep to its roots. Just go back and listen to Kingmaker if you have any doubts. It may even lean toward a really good Hard Rock album. I think it’s a great mixture and highly recommend it. Controversy or not, the album shows that the current line up makes the band’s music still relevant. It is a stand alone Megadeth record. The thing about past albums, was they were all trashed when they came out and now some are considered classics. This will be one, they will say the same thing when looked back upon, years from now.
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