- Originality
- Vocals
- Overall Impact
- Production
- Sound
ARTIST: Megadeth
TITLE: Th1rt3n
YEAR: 2011
LABEL: Roadrunner Records
Author: Sam Yakou
Almost a year ago Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine announced the band would begin work on a new album. After retreating to the band’s San Marcos, CA headquarters, Vic’s Garage, the thrash masters are ready to unleash their new disc, TH1RT3EN. Featuring a mix of old and new ideas the album is sure to please fans of all eras of the band.
The band has let a few tracks out of the can prior to release. Opener “Sudden Death” is a feast of guitar play in the vein of Diamond Head with a restrained chorus. First single “Public Enemy No. 1” is reminiscent of the band’s commercial-era albums complete with a contagious chorus. “Guns, Drugs & Money” takes a singular midtempo riff and finds a thrashy groove. “Never Dead” begins ominously before tearing it open with a menacing riff straight out of “Rust in Peace”. Album closer “13” is a cinematic and complex opus that epitomizes the history of the band according to bassist David Ellefson, who marks his return to the band after the better part of a decade.
The album is historical in scope as it moves effortlessly between musical eras of the band. This is not a coincidence. Several of the tracks on TH1RT3EN are mined from unfinished demos from the early 90s. In fact, early versions of “New World Order” and “Millennium of the Blind” were released as bonus tracks on the Youthanasia remaster in 2004. However, the songs find new life here, having been updated by Mustaine and producer Johnny K.
The band itself is as musical as ever. Mustaine and guitar wunderkind Chris Broderick flex their considerable chops with some amazingly complex riffing, straight forward chugging and acoustic texturing. Ellefson and drummer Shawn Drover compliment the guitarists with a solid backbone that provides depth when needed and texture when it’s not.
Mustaine was faced with some pretty lofty expectations for this record. After 2009’s impressive Endgame, the return of founding member Ellefson, a live tour centered around the seminal “Rust in Peace” album and a spot in the white hot spotlight of the Big 4 shows there were certainly those hungry for new material. TH1RT3EN delivers and should please all but hardcore fans of the band’s earliest works. Highly recommended.
