00:00Hi everyone, uh, Megthony Deftano here, the internet's busiest
00:05music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new self-titled album.
00:10From Megadeth, this is the 17th and said to be final studio
00:15album from the legendary thrash metal outfit Megadeth, who started
00:20in LA in the early 80s, with lead singer and guitarist Dave Mustaine
00:25essentially masterminding the band's trajectory through every era. He isn't solely resp-
00:30responsible for all of the band's songwriting over the years, but he is credited with the
00:35vast, vast majority of it, and despite his reputation for being a
00:40little unhinged, confrontational, controversial, and polarizing, he's st-
00:45still responsible for some of the most influential, high-selling, and important thrash-
00:50metal records of all time, be it P-Cells, or Rust in Peace, Countdown to Ex-
00:55Extinction. He really built Megadeth up to be one of thrash metal's- big four as they're called-
01:00even with an active rivalry going with Contemporary's Metallica, a drama that could be de-
01:05detailed in an entirely different video. I digress though, the truth is that-
01:10none of the big four thrash metal bands are putting out their best work-
01:15ever these days. Or, they have at least seen the writing on the wall and have slowed their-
01:20momentum to pretty much a halt. But Megadeth though, have remained pretty active and-
01:25consistent over the course of their forty year career. In spite of numerous lineup changes and-
01:30even recently throat cancer. And while I don't think anyone would argue their final act here would-
01:35be like, their golden age creatively, there have most definitely been much greater and dr-
01:40dramatic falls from grace within the history of metal music. And you could argue Megadeth has done-
01:45an at least somewhat decent job of maintaining their trademark, lively, intense guitar work-
01:50and soloing, and heavy production on Dystopia, and the sick, the dying, and the dead. Compared to-
01:55even if I do like James Hetfield more as a singer and Metallica more as a-
02:00songwriting unit, it was not enough to make up for just how predictable and bland a lot of the-
02:05riffs and soloing were on their last record 72 seasons. So again, Megadeth here.
02:10A final record from a legendary band that should still have some gas left in the tank-
02:15at this point. And given that this is a finale of sorts, I kinda went into it hoping for at least a-
02:20little bit of a blowout, something to really make us reflect on and think about this-
02:25curtain closing here. But all I really got with this record were the dying breaths of a metal-
02:30institution that was clearly on life support going into this project. With-
02:35just a complete lack of creativity from top to bottom. Even the title clearly after-
02:40listening to this record was not chosen as a means of like defining to the audience this is what Megadeth-
02:45is. No, it feels more like a lack of anything else to put there in its place.
02:50I wouldn't say the recordings are a total bust on this thing. Drummer Dirk Verbeeren, who was-
02:55as a standout on the sick, the dying is still here. Though he seemingly does not get as-
03:00much time to steal the show on this set of new recordings, which is also true of newly-
03:05added guitarist Timu Mentisari, who should most definitely be some kind of X-factor on-
03:10this album. Given his time in Winter Sun, a death metal band known for their melodic spins on the-
03:15genre. But at no point on this LP do I get a sense of what his unique-
03:20talents bring to this project, even with writing credits on most of the songs.
03:25I mean, I didn't expect Megadeth to switch up genres or do anything crazy on this-
03:30new album, for sure. But this is still not an excuse for some of the most forgettable rips-
03:35this band has ever laid to tape. And it's almost like they knew this, because what is-
03:40Let There Be Shred, if not, like, the band fully leaning into the cliché, to the-
03:45point where it is almost parody. Instead of using their collective experience to prove they can still-
03:50make thrash metal and Megadeth exciting and interesting. The whole band is basically just phoning it in for-
03:5540 damn minutes. Not just that, but this has to be, like, the thinnest sounding-
04:00Megadeth recording that we have received in recent years with very stiff, very plastic-
04:05performances. The drums sound so dry. The snarl of the-
04:10guitar and bass riffs have been reduced down to this very crunchy, dime-a-dozen guitar tone.
04:15It could most likely be attained by most home producers after a few YouTube tutorials.
04:19It's j-
04:20just not as heavy as Megadeth's past few albums, leaving Mustaine's vocals feeling-
04:25very unsupported and kind of nakedly awkward. Kind of makes me feel like I'm listening to-
04:30a book on tape set to royalty-free thrash metal tracks. And it doesn't help that Mustaine-
04:35after all of these years, he's still writing and inflecting like he's delivering the most-
04:40edgy inner monologues known to man. Like a true 80s Saturday morning cart-
04:45cartoon bad guy who's really plotting a scheme. Or an anime villain making the biggest de-
04:50deal out of nothing. Cause Dave's lyricism through this project never really lives up to the ra-
04:55stage he's performing. Like you named your opening track Tipping Point and you're just-
05:00going on through the song about how you're being pushed to a tipping point. Why don't you just name-
05:05a track Newsflash Buddy? Or a You're Cruisin' for a Bruisin'. Both would-
05:10sound equally as badass. And it gets even worse on the song I Don't Care where it's-
05:15bar after bar of just edgy, lame nihilism. It's like reading a super-
05:20long angry uncle comment on Facebook. This man is 64 and he's still rebelling-
05:25against mommy. And even when Dave is attempting to show a little bit of depth on this record-
05:30he falls miserably short. Like on Hey God where he's trying to sell us on the idea that these are-
05:35things he would be saying in conversation with God? Prayer? He claims-
05:40there are a lot of things on his mind but ultimately doesn't really communicate much of anything other than a vague-
05:45disconnect? I don't know. I don't really get the sense that Dave is worried about his immortal soul. I doubt he-
05:50he's really pondering his loneliness on a deeper level too. A problem that's kinda spelled out on-
05:55the track Puppet Parade. I punch a clock, I play a role, but every day it's the same. The part-
06:00party's loud and the drinks are cold, but nothing dulls the pain. I bite my tongue and sell the-
06:05lie. Pretend that I belong. Another shot, another high. Make it a double and make it strong.
06:10He envisions his whole existence as if it's this falsehood he was trapped into as-
06:15if he has no choice but to just live it out like a puppet. It's a complete-
06:20and total rejection of his own agency and fails to really conceive of parallel exi-
06:25existences where maybe people are struggling with even more powerlessness. The only common-
06:30commentary throughout the record I thought there was at least something to was on the track Made to Kill.
06:35which showcases Dave's continued cynical views on war-
06:40and imperialism, the sort of stuff he's been saying for years at this point, but it's no less-
06:45less relevant in 2026. Still, it feels like he's writing about this topic more from a-
06:50standpoint of shock value than genuine outrage at the military-industrial complex.
06:55but the writing on Obey the Call on this very similar front I would say is a lot-
07:00more smart and nuanced. Though this feels almost at odds with Dave's positioning on the track-
07:05I Am War where he seems almost empowered by this topic and in a very grandiose-
07:10sense envisions himself as embodying things as huge and as-
07:15horrific as misery and sorrow-
07:18which isn't inherently bad writing-
07:20or framing-
07:21it's just a tough thing to sell on a metal album that essentially-
07:25has no mystique or ambiance around it at all because, again, it sounds like a bunch of-
07:30crypt-keeper diatribes, uh, on top of generic thrash instrumentals.
07:34The best track-
07:35on the album, though, I would say is the closer, the last note, where Dave actually does-
07:40reflect quite poetically on, uh, the fact that he is kind of closing the door on Megadeth-
07:45Megadeth's existence, at least in terms of, you know, new studio output.
07:48And there is something genuinely-
07:50thought-provoking about, uh, what Dave is trying to get at here.
07:53Because, again, Megadeth has had a 40-
07:55year plus career that's most definitely worth being proud of.
07:58Even if it's final moments here are not-
08:00not shining super bright.
08:01But, despite Dave actually recording and writing something here-
08:05that's, you know, noteworthy toward the end of the album-
08:08he then immediately spoils that-
08:10that experience-
08:11by ending the whole record off with a cover of Ride the Lightning, which-
08:15again, is honestly quite sad and pitiful-
08:18that you want your band-
08:20the band's final moments spend reminding listeners of-
08:24the band you could-
08:25have been in instead.
08:26Like, I could really envision Dave Mustaine here thinking-
08:29yeah-
08:30this is my last laugh!
08:32HA HA!
08:33When doing this is more comparable to just-
08:35peeing your pants.
08:36Peeing your pants for attention.
08:38Which is why I'm feeling like-
08:39a life.
08:40Two-three on this album.
08:43TRANSITION
08:44Have you given-
08:45this album a listen did you love it did you hate it what would you rate it you're the best you're the
08:48best what should i review
08:50next hit the like if you like please subscribe and please don't cry hit the bell as well over here
08:55to my head it's another video you can check out hit that up or the link to subscribe to the channel
08:59anthony fantani
09:00megadeth forever
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