Countdown to me just felt like Dave was like "Hey Metallica just had a stripped down generic radio metal album. Let's do that." I can honestly say there are 3 songs I think are top tier Megadeth tracks on that album (Symphony Of Destruction, Skin O My Teeth and Foreclosure Of A Dream) everything is else is pretty meh.
Countdown to me just felt like Dave was like "Hey Metallica just had a stripped down generic radio metal album. Let's do that." I can honestly say there are 3 songs I think are top tier Megadeth tracks on that album (Symphony Of Destruction, Skin O My Teeth and Foreclosure Of A Dream) everything is else is pretty meh.
Tbh it's easier to criticize the black album and countdown now. Both came out in an odd period of music between when the hair metal bands started od'ing and/or breaking up and when the grunge bands started taking over. The second time I saw Megadeth, they had Stone Temple Pilots opening. A lot of bands were really confused as to what direction to head in at that time. I don't know how many of you have listened to albums like 'Art of Rebellion' by Suicidal Tendencies or 'Force of Habit' by Exodus, but you can hear the same sort of "where do we go from here?" meandering. People romanticize the Headbangers Ball era, but that show played a lot of dinosaur rock like Aerosmith and Def Leppard. You were really lucky if you got some Testament or Danzig or Pantera in there. Death Metal was almost non-existant. The culture was different. People weren't as open to extreme music. I wasn't really averse to Black and Countdown back then. For all its flaws, at least the Black Album retains the tone of old Metallica. That, and James didn't sing like a twat back then. The Load albums and Cryptic Writings were really what killed Metallica and Megadeth for me. I never really loved or hated Countdown or Youthanasia, I just thought they were kinda boring and stupid ('High Speed Dirt'). What makes those albums by both bands suck now is that you see the influence they ended up having on some really shitty bands. Load pretty much wrote the book for bluesy faketuff wrestler rock. It was music for people that liked Pearl Jam, but wished they weren't such pussies. Megadeth were stupid for trying to go that route at all because they saddled themselves with that name. Trying to get on prime time MTV back then with a name like that was kinda like trying to get a job with facial tattoos. That, and Dace's vocal delivery doesn't lend itself well to pop rock. They should've stuck to their guns like Slayer did. People complain now about Slayer putting out similar albums now, and that's fair to a certain extent, but at least they were still themselves and not trying to be something someone else wanted of them. It also doesn't hurt that for their style, Slayer aren't bad songwriters. Metallica and Megadeth in the 90s was a lot like watching a talented athlete playing out of position, like Tom Brady trying to play wide receiver or Shaquille O'Neal playing point guard. Now Metallica have swam so far from what they were that they can't seem to find their way back while Megadeth come across like recent Schwarzenegger where you want something badass but instead get Just for Men and Botox
Countdown to me just felt like Dave was like "Hey Metallica just had a stripped down generic radio metal album. Let's do that." I can honestly say there are 3 songs I think are top tier Megadeth tracks on that album (Symphony Of Destruction, Skin O My Teeth and Foreclosure Of A Dream) everything is else is pretty meh.
The press release was pretty cringey. I'm guessing this will be their "we're not just a metal band we can rock for hipsters too" album like Y&G for baroness
Comments
Just copped at the gas station up the street
1. I Saw the End
2. Thorns
3. Lie of Survival
4. Dancing in Madness
5. Cruel Road
6. Heartless
7. A Plea for Understanding