I don't care how much you hate Dave Mustaine if you listen to Megadeth's latest release Endgame you will get the same message everyone else took from it, DAVE MUSTAINE IS BETTER THAN YOU. Endgame is an all-out metal masterpiece and this album is tied for best album of the year with Lamb of God's Wrath in my mind, and this is after one listen. I've never been so excited about a Megadeth album after one listen. Dave Mustaine and Chris Broderick are matches made in heaven, Mustaine's signature rhythm’s go perfectly with Broderick's face melting leads. Broderick reminds me very much of Marty Friedman, but on steroids, this guy is as technically proficient as they get but still very soulful. Shawn Drover's drumming is great, not as stand out as the guitars but he really keeps the beat with some great classic Thrash Beats. James LoMenzo really followed the guitars on this album and his bass playing really added a lot of bottom end and it made the album sound huge. The Production was absolutely stellar, this album sounds huge and I have no idea how it’s contained on such a small disk (hehe). The guitar sound impressed me the most on this album, the low end is really tight and all the riffs sound extremely heavy as well as all the solos sounding absolutely shred-tastic. I can safely say this is also one of the cleanest guitar recordings I’ve ever heard and you can hear exactly what’s going on even with all the gain!
Now the Track by Track
Dialectic Chaos - Usually I enjoy albums with those slow epic intros like Annihilator's Alice in Hell opening with Crystal Ann. This album doesn’t do that but instead this song is an all out guitar duel that gets you pumped up like no other and the second it goes into the next track you are ready to mosh!
This Day We Fight! - This song starts from the get go, the second it starts you hear the famous snarl from Mr. Mustaine and he is ANGRY! This is a war anthem with a really head-banging heavy riff and the leads are just classic shred licks. This is the perfect song to have after the epic Dialectic Chaos and it's everything you expect from Megadeth.
44 Minutes - This is an instant classic, possibly the best on the album. 44 minutes is about a bank robbery in California in 1997 and has just astounding lyrics recapping this event. The verses remind me of Symphony of Destruction and the chorus is like no other, it's extremely catchy with Dave Mustaine's more melodic vocals and a great slow lead guitar line. Broderick really played his heart out on this track, anywhere there should be a lead guitar lick there is and his solo trade offs with Mustaine can only be described with one word, orgasmic. This track is set to be a classic and will be blasting in arenas and theaters across the world the second Dave and the crew gets on the road.
1,320 – This song draws you in with a riff that is powerful and reminds me of something that would be on Countdown, which I’m not complaining about, it also reminds me of the intro in Sabbra Cadabra by Black Sabbath. This song seems to be about a drag race of sort and it really does have that feel, it’s a song you’d hear right before the cars went off at a NASCAR race and I wouldn’t be surprised if they started using it. Once again Broderick is very present with lightning fast licks and great solo trade offs with Mustaine.
Bite the Hand – A classic Mustaine political song, the Intro/Main riff has a lot of chug that really makes you want to head bang. The other riff is just a classic Deth’ crazy speed riff. The vocal hooks aren’t as good on this song and Broderick on this song but that being said, I really think this song was begging for a classic Mustaine solo like on Wake up Dead.
Bodies – Was another song that was just screaming Countdown to Extinction. It had the verse that was more focused on the Bass and Drums and LoMenzo and Drover really held it together and the song had a chorus that I’m pretty sure people who like pop could sing along to, what I mean is that the vocal/guitar hooks are great. It then goes into a great slow break down with great guitar work from the Dynamic Duo, I really enjoyed the use of harmony here and it’s the first time I’ve really heard it on the album. Then comes the old school solo, Mustaine comes in with a great solo intro and then Broderick takes over. Yet another great song by the boys in Deth’.
Endgame – The title track, and there is a reason the album was named after this song, yet another classic. This is song starts announcement telling people to report the there Distract Detention Centers similar to United Abominations and it really sets the mood for the song and gets you pumped. This intro is big and segways perfectly into a great heavy metal riff that’s dark and chugs like no other, Mustaine’s voice is sounding better than ever in these verses. This song reminds me a lot of Testaments – The New Order, musically and lyrically. The solo licks are killer but i think you can really feel the passion in them to, they remind me so much of the classic Friedman solo’s and I think Mustaine really got the right guy for lead guitar on this album. This song drags on a little at times but otherwise this is another song that I cant wait to see live.
The Hardest Part of Letting Go...Sealed with a Kiss – HOLY SHIT! This is the most impressive song musically Megadeth has ever done. It starts with an amazing acoustic guitar part and with strings or something orchestral in the background as well as Dave with some stellar vocals. Then comes a galloping riff at mid tempo with goes extremely well with Mustaine’s cleaner Vocals. The guitar fills are beautiful, they remind of a slower Gus G solo and how he can really put a lot of passion into his solos no matter how fast they are. “The hardest part of letting go is saying goodbye...” Mustaine says this part with so much passion he really takes over the song with his voice, this song will be on repeat for a long time with me.
Head Crusher – You’ve been hearing this heavy beast for months so I’m going to keep it short. This is just a thrashy fast song with, a Fast Riff, Snarl Vocals and Fast Lead parts, what more do you expect?
How The Story Ends – This song is built around a great riff that sounds like it could be on Killing Is My Business... Dave’s voice is a bit less aggressive here and I think it went extremely well with the riff. One thing that really impressed me on this song and throughout the whole album was how good the chorus hooks are. In one part there is a small clean solo over the heavy riff, like 99 Ways to Die, and then had a old school shredding solo. Just a great track!
The Right To Go Insane – On first listen I was a little disappointed by this song because I was expecting something a lot heavier because of the name, I wanted a mosh pit anthem. That being said this still a great medium tempo song with a riff that really reminded me of the classic Architecture of Aggression. This song has one of the best solos on the album; it’s fast but very passionate as well. Broderick is really reminding me of Gus G on this album
Overall this may turn out to be the best Megadeth album of all time and if not, barely behind RIP and Countdown. This may be Megadeth’s best lineup ever but I still wish Ellefson would come back because I adore his bass lines. No album this year really even comes close besides Lamb of God’s Wrath and I can’t wait to see Dave and the boys on tour!
9.5/10
