By Leo Gomon
Western Sun staff writer
Since Megadeth’s resurgence in 2004 with “The System Has Failed”, front man Dave Mustaine has kept the revolving door of musicians in line to create a series of heavy, progressive, politically-charged thrash albums that truly solidified them among metal’s all-time best bands.
“Th1rt3en” doesn’t have the same political anger and frustration as previous efforts, but here are some points to show that it still packs a solid punch and that Megadeth can still deliver an old-school metal album.
The music on “Th1rt3en” is top notch as always with crushing riffs all around and great lead guitar work from Chris Broderick.
“Th1rt3een” also welcomes back original bass player Dave Ellefson into the mix, though his impact isn’t too noticeable like it had been on early Megadeth albums.
While the band seems rejuvenated and excited about what they’re doing, the general content of the album, such as the lackluster lyrics, is sub-par and almost disappointing.
Titles like “Whose Life (Is It Anyway?)”, “Guns, Drugs & Money” and “Fast Lane” gives off a vibe that Mustaine is reaching for something that he has long left behind or an attempt to stay young and modern, and although fun, makes the band look uninspired.
With remade versions of older songs, like “New World Order” (demo off 1994’s “Youthanasia”) and “Black Swan” (demo off 2007’s “United Abominations”), only about half the album features new, worthwhile material.
“Th1rt3en” shows Megadeth turning to its past to recreate some successful formula, and while they have come a long way since their inception, the artistic ceiling for this effort is set rather low.
Although it seemed like this record was very easily compiled or that the effort wasn’t fully there, it’s still better than other recent metal bands trying to “experiment.”
