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Megadeth: The Sick, The Dying...and The Dead

Hard to believe that The Sick, The Dying...and The Dead is now Megadeth's sixteenth studio album, but the thrash kingpin's keep on cranking out solid albums no matter who is in the band working alongside founder Dave Mustaine. No real big surprises here on this latest platter of metal, their first since 2016's Dystopia, now Kiko Loureiro's second release with the band, first for drummer Dirk Verbeuren (ex-Soilwork), with legendary bassist Steve Di Giorgio filling in on the album for the now departed Dave Ellefson, and the bass role now being filled by a returning James LoMenzo.

What makes this album so enjoyable is that it combines both the hyper-technical thrash attack of those first four albums with some of the more straight ahead melodic heavy metal of the '90s albums. The title track kicks off with some memorable melodies and kick ass metal arrangements, but it's on the snarling "Life in Hell" and the blazing "Night Stalkers" that the juggernaut Megadeth of old rears its nasty head once again, drums frantic and riffs firing on 11, Mustaine's vocals just as venomous as they need to be. "Dogs of Chernobyl" and "Sacrifice" return to a more mid-paced metal attack, both Kiko and Dave dropping in some sizzling solos, while "Soldier On!", "Celebutante", and the rampaging "We'll Be Back" are kick ass throwback thrash tunes that any fan will appreciate.

While there are perhaps one or two somewhat lackluster songs here, and "We'll Be Back" is eerily reminiscent of a few songs from the bands first two albums, The Sick, The Dying...and The Dead shows that Megadeth still have plenty of gas left in the tank, and that indeed is a good thing.


Track Listing

  1. The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!
  2. Life In Hell
  3. Night Stalkers
  4. Dogs Of Chernobyl
  5. Sacrifice
  6. Junkie
  7. Psychopathy
  8. Killing Time
  9. Soldier On!
  10. Célebutante
  11. Mission To Mars
  12. We’ll Be Back

Added: November 28th 2022
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1107
Language: english

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Megadeth: The Sick, The Dying...and The Dead
Posted by Chris Reid, SoT Staff Writer on 2022-11-28 12:38:19
My Score:

As a long time, die-hard fan of Megadeth I’d been waiting patiently for the release of The Sick The Dying…And the Dead. The anticipation and expectation for this release was high due to their previous album (Dystopia, 2016) being a true return to form for the veteran thrashers. That’s not to say that Megadeth were ever a band horrendously out of form, but I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that the band were sounding a little jaded towards the end of the Broderick/Drover tenure. Many people will say that Risk is Megadeth’s low point, however for me Supercollider is the weakest studio album in the entire Megadeth catalogue. Much of the improvement/revitalisation, from what was dished up on Supercollider compared to what was delivered on Dystopia, revolved around the addition of Kiko Loureiro to the 4 man line-up. On Dystopia ‘Kikodeth’ sounded fresh and formidable again, largely due to the dynamic that is created by adding the Brazilian guitarist’s elite lead playing and song writing chops to the usual Mustaine offering. To my ears the juxtaposition and diversity brought to the table by the pairing of Mustaine and Loureiro creates a dynamic similar to the glory days of the Mustaine/Freidman era. Kiko aside, there have been some wholesale changes in the Megadeth camp since Dystopia was released, with Dirk Verbeuren taking over the drumming duties from the short lived but notable contribution made by Chris Adler, and David Ellefson was dishonourably discharged and replaced by Steve DiGiorgio in the studio, and the returning James LoMenzo in the live setting. Throw into the mix a cancer scare for Mustaine, and it really is no surprise that we’ve seen 6 years pass between the release of The Sick The Dying and The Dead and Dystopia.

I won’t over do this review - I really enjoy this album. It’s nostalgic in places, fresh in others and as a overall offering does a fantastic job at representing the early thrash and more melodic middle-era-Megadeth sound on a single record. I’d be lying to say that this opinion was my original impression though. Given the long wait for new material I was slightly underwhelmed on my first listen through this album. The band had released some absolute top notch, high octane material as the pre-release singles and I was building the album up to be an instant Megadeth thrash metal classic (missing only the presence of Ed Repka artwork!). However after spending more time with the album and getting to know the mid-tempo material more intimately I’ve come to enjoy almost everything the album has to has to offer. Perhaps the only aspect of the album that I’m still not sold on is the ‘wanna, wanna be an astronaut’ lyrics in Mission to Mars. Break neck tracks like Life in Hell, Night Stalkers & We'll Be Back are as good as anything the band have ever released, and the melodic, mid-tempo pieces like Dogs of Chernobyl, Killing Time, and Soldier On! also provide plenty of highlights, no doubt appealing to fans of the Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia albums.

It’s quite impressive to see Dave Mustaine continue to deliver the goods to this extent in what I would suspect is the twilight of his career. Surrounding himself with the likes of Loureiro and Verbeuren no doubt helps the cause. Heres hoping that finishing the album with ‘We’ll be Back” is foreshadowing a 17th album. If the last two albums are anything to go buy there’s absolutely no risk of another new release diminishing Megadeth’s legacy as one of the all-time greats of the genre.




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