Initial Impressions: Megadeth: Th1rt3en

I am a big Megadeth fan. Even through the years the band was putting out subpar material, I continued to loyally buy their music. I have made that fact fairly clear over the years. Even after the band released Risk, an album so bad that I prefer Metallica's Load, Reload, and St. Anger to it, I continued to be a Megadeth supporter. Thankfully, the band never released another album quite like that one. So it should come as no surprise that I picked up the band's latest album, despite the ill-advised title. After Endgame, I thought Megadeth was going to put out another very good thrash metal album.

Unfortunately I am kind of disappointed with this one. I can't really put my finger on it. It just feels off. Most of the songs are medium-paced and reasonably catchy. It is like they just did not know quite what to do on this album. It feels stilted, like they were trying too hard and did not have any real good ideas.

This album marked the return of David Ellefson, longtime bassist for the band. That along with their last album which was very impressive, made me think that they were due for a late-career resurgence. But things just fell flat. This album is not a bad album really, it just is not what it should be. And that is disappointing. All of the elements are there, Mustaine's incredible guitar skills and his trademarked sneer, Ellefson's thundering bass, and some impressive work done by the other members, but it does not add up to a really good album.

I suppose the best thing that can be said is that at least Megadeth did not recruit Lou Reed to provide vocals.