Megadeth, Endgame

Posted on 13th Sep 09 by Jonathan Keane | 3

This year is getting ridiculous. How many more stunning albums can possibly surface? Across the board in both rock and metal, bands (old and new) have been firmly sending our jaws towards the ground. Well, you’ll be glad to hear that with regards to Megadeth’s twelfth studio album Endgame this trend continues, and then some. Ever the provocateur but also the enlightener, Dave Mustaine has delivered an all rounded, all killer, no filler metal record.

Megadeth, Endgame

Endgame wastes no time with intro track Dialectic Chaos firing on all cylinders, setting a grand tone unravelling itself on This Day We Fight!. It delivers splendid heaviness, shredding fret work and a relentless vocal delivery from Dave Mustaine and is just drenched in his inexorable vigour.

The album also sees the recording debut of Chris Broderick. This virtuoso earned his stripes with Jag Panzer and Nevermore, but now on Endgame he truly takes his place amongst the greatest metal guitarists of all time. It may be a bold statement, but Broderick has to be the finest lead player Mustaine has ever recruited for the ‘deth. While the abilities of past players like Marty Friedman and Chris Poland are completely undeniable, Broderick comes up trumps, effortlessly striking the delicate balance between awe inspiring technicality and humble aesthetics.

44 Minutes opens with a grandiose lead which dramatically builds and runs through the uneasy chorus of “baptised in a fire fight, hot blood running cold as ice.” The mood then shifts with the sound of a drag-racing car engine roaring on 1,320 which rips through hook laden choruses and astounding soloing. Following that, Bite The Hand is a contender for hookiest riff of the year.

Endgame is their retaking of the throne that was always rightfully theirs.

Bodies’ lead guitar is positively salivating, maintaining the ever important tastefulness at the 2 minute mark. It’s a brief reminder that though Dave Mustaine is notorious for being a right twat now and then, he’s still a remarkable player and songwriter. This notion’s only strengthen on the record’s title track, Endgame.

Hardest Part Of Letting Go… Sealed With A Kiss is the only song that when written had Broderick’s creative juices flowing over it. A gentle acoustic section gives way to some tasty riffs. Hardest Part… deviates from the typical Megadeth riff-fest giving some welcomed change from the steam train course that precedes it.

You’ve probably already heard Head Crusher by now, the first track released some weeks back. Stunning riffs are exchanged with unremitting drumming as Mustaine spits in your ears – bloody fantastic! Continually flooring you Endgame storms through How The Story Ends and the melodic, but unrelenting maelstrom of The Right To Go Insane.

Is Endgame the best Megadeth record since Rust In Peace? From this vantage point it’s difficult to reckon. In this day and age no album is ever subject to instant veneration; time will tell here. But one thing is certain. If United Abominations was the long overdue return to form of Megadeth, then Endgame is their retaking of the throne that was always rightfully theirs.

Drop-d Rating: 8/10

Megadeth

Megadeth Myspace

Megadeth Wiki

Tags: Chris Broderick, Chris Poland, Dave Mustaine, Endgame, Jag Panzer, Marty Friedman, Megadeth, Megadeth Endgame, Nevermore