I Want to Believe

Although I am in the process of marathoning my way through Season 1 of "The X Files", this blog is not about that show. I just wanted to borrow its tagline, which is arguably the most iconic of them all in TV-land. This is not about alien lifeforms, or paranormal activities in rural America either. This is about my restored faith in all things metal.

I have just finished listening to Megadeth's new album, Endgame. Dave Mustaine claims it to be their best since 1990's seminal Rust in Peace (in my opinion the greatest and the best heavy metal album ever. Word.). The latest issue of Classic Rock claims it to be their best since Youthanasia - the pop metal classic from 1994. I don't agree with either statement, but it is by far the best album they've made this decade. Bands like Mastodon and Opeth have been making outstanding albums of late and the old-school thrash bands are gaining new momentum: last year's Death Magnetic by Metallica kicked some serious ass, despite the poor audio quality; Testament's "come-back album", The Formation of Damnation is as good a thrash record as you can get, Slayer is releasing a new album this year. Only Anthrax seem to be unable to rid themselves of an ongoing soap opera involving their vocalists. Megadeth, or more particularly Dave Mustaine, have been churning out decent albums every few years and the results are always a tad disappointing, knowing how good they can be.

The latest from 'Deth restores my faith in metal and in Megadeth in particular. It is an aural blast that not only manages to be relevant, both musically and lyrically, but also harks back to the olden golden days of metal. It starts off with "Dialectic Chaos", their first instrumental since "Into the Lungs of Hell", with which it shares the grrove. Mustaine and Chris Broderick, the new recruit, spar off in shred heaven for two and a half minutes. By the end of it, you are already exhausted - in a good way! The following tracks, "This Day We Fight!", "44 Minutes" and "1320'" are classic Megadeth up-tempo blasts. It prepares us for a handful of songs that would stand proud next to any of their 80s or 90s classics: "Ride the Hand" with its subtle(!) political lyrics rocks and rolls naturally, "Bodies" has some of the cleverest lyrics Mustaine ever wrote, "Endgame" with its anti-Patriot Act lyrics and insane solos is a classic-in-the-making, "Head Crusher" starts off with a bruising shred solo by Mustaine and never lets up, "How the Story Goes" and "The Right to Go Insane" wouldn't have been out of place on Youthanasia. One dud is the proto-ballad "The Hardest Part of Letting Go ... Sealed with a Kiss". Megadeth dabbled in ballad territory twice before with mixed results. For every sublime "In My darkest Hour", there is the cringe-inducing "Promises". "The Hardest Part ..." oscillates between the two, but leans more towards the latter.

Will Endgame earn new fans to Megadeth? No. Will it go number one like Death Magnetic? Sadly, no. But will it stand the test of time and be regarded as one of their best albums in a decade or so? Oh, yeah. They were never really gone away, but somehow this album marks their comeback. Welcome back, boys. And thank you for restoring my faith in metal.

Pecae.