Sunday, December 6, 2009
Round 3- Megadeth
In the most recent stage of Megadeth and Metallica’s careers, Megadeth has done something never thought possible… surpassing Metallica. Now I’m not talking record sales or total fan base just simply the quality of the music produced within a set amount of time. Now over these past five years Megadeth has composed three new albums each with its own style and feel while Metallica has only made one which only tried to mimic what they use to be in their former days. This major fact surpasses all fact and figures on revenue. This only takes into account music quality and during these past few years Megadeth has surpassed Metallica. Some people may disagree with this statement but overall Metallica reached their prime long ago it’s as simple as that.
2009- Endgame
Endgame is the prime example of where small but sturdy steps can get you. After fallout in 2002, Megadeth came back together with new people and was able to get their act together once again. This album was the first successful hybrid album that incorporated the good of new and old Megadeth. These hybrid elements are bringing the old fans back to the stage as well as influencing the younger generation of metal heads.
Friday, December 4, 2009
2008- Death Magnetic
Metallica finally got their act together. After 17 years of waiting Metallica fans finally have an album they can be proud to listen to. Death Magnetic was a huge jump in popularity from the 2003 release of St. Anger, which totally sucked. But this album is not without its flaws. The more you listen to it the more you realize that Death Magnetic is simply Metallica trying to mimic themselves from the 80’s and early 90’s. Along with that issue this album has several songs about how Metallica messed up in the past and made some bad albums but it’s ok now since they can magically become good again. You cannot jump from a terrible album such as St. Anger to anything extraordinary. Steps are needed to make this leap into or back into fame and glory. So Metallica you gave it a good shot but one album cannot win back your entire fan base. Keep trying maybe the next one will be better.
2007- United Abominations
After the successful launch of The System Has Failed, Megadeth went right back to work creating another great album. The short disbandment seemed to rekindle the fire that Megadeth had lost in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. United Abominations was a great work that brought back some of the styles that old Megadeth had pioneered many years ago. This is a good, solid album that had been by far the best thing that Megadeth had made since Countdown to Extinction. If you listen to this album I would suggest the songs Sleepwalker, Washington Is Next and Burnt Ice.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
2004- The System Has Failed
Megadeth is back and doesn’t suck anymore! The System Has Failed took a new path yet again from its original roots but also away from mainstream as well. Megadeth took on a heavy metal style with this album compared to the thrash style in the 80’s and the more mainstream in the 90’s. This kind of change was good for Megadeth and it brought back many of the original fan base that had left due to the poor albums of the 90’s. During the breakup time Dave became a Christian, which it odd to think about. This lifestyle change can be seen in several of the dongs on the album: Shadow of Deth, Truth Be Told. My personal favorites to this album would have to be Back In The Day and Kick The Chair
Megadeth Is Back
After several months of rehabilitation for Dave’s hand, no not drugs this time, he was back to learning how to replay the guitar and start his next album. He hired a new group of people to be in the band and decided to do a solo album away from the Megadeth name, but this was short lived. Once Dave listened to the album he said that is was Megadeth and not his own so he put the name on the label and the world got the first resurgence of Megadeth with The System Has Failed.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Round 2- Tie
Both bands produced good albums but at the same time they both produced very bad ones. Metallica rose to a higher point of fan in the beginning but made up for it by releasing St. Anger. Overall this was a rough time period for both bands.
2003- St. Anger
After six years of patiently waiting, fans were more than disappointed with Metallica’s newest album St. Anger. Only one word can descried this album… Poptallica. Metallica has officially become complete sell outs with this album. They abandoned their roots completely in order to seek out a new mainstream look and identity. This was a disaster of epic proportions. Very few people actually liked this album. It drove away the old fan base along with the potential new younger generation that it was suppose to be marketing toward. This was the lowest point in Metallica’s career. This was a sad excuse for an album but for a great band like Metallica it was unthinkable.
2002 Megadeth Disbandment
In 2002 Dave Mustaine suffered severe nerve damage by falling asleep with his arm over a chair. This caused compression in his radial nerve and caused Dave to lose most of the ability in his left hand; he wasn’t even able to make a fist. Dave made a public announcement about the decision to break up the band. This was a shock to the world but it was the only thing that could be done with front man Dave in this kind of shape.
Monday, November 30, 2009
2001- The World Needs A Hero
Personally I believe that Megadeth needs a hero would be a better title for this album. Overall this was yet another let down for Megadeth fans. The album only had a couple of good songs and was filled in with “filler” songs. The quality of music had also taken a hard hit when lead guitarist Marty Freedmen left the band to pursue his own personal musical styles. This forced Megadeth to create lower grade songs than before which in turn angered the original fan base. This was another failure for Megadeth but it was not as bad as the album Risk.
1999- Risk
Risk was simply a risk that didn’t pay off. This album was the furthest Megadeth ever went into the mainstream community and it was their biggest failure. The vast majority of the fan base left Megadeth for more music to fill the void that they had created. Over all this albums is very bad.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
1997- Reload
Reload was suppose to be the second half to the double album load but was cut off and made into its album. Reload is a sad excuse for an album from Metallica. It would have been fine if an obscure band had released it, but that didn’t happen. Metallica was still held at the high standard in received with its “Black Album” in 1991. This follow up to Load was nothing the true fans wanted from Metallica. Overall the combined albums of Load and Reload did produce some good songs but the majority of the albums were filled with “filler” songs just to eat up time. Song of the notable songs on this album would have to be Fuel and The Unforgiven 2.
Monday, November 16, 2009
1997- Cryptic Writings
One step too far sums up Cryptic Writings. Megadeth had a good thing going for them throughout Youthanasia but decided to see if they could push to go more mainstream and acquire a new audience. This attempt was a not a success. More of the fan base was driven away from this album than new people were drawn to it. This was the first major negative turn that Megadeth had made but would not be the last.
1996- Load
After 5 long years Metallica released another album. It was a huge feat to make an album to be the follow up of the Black Album in the first place, but 5 years seemed to be a little too long. The final product was a completely new style from the original roots of thrash and speed to a major focus of a “heavy” sound. This was the first step in the long road of failing for Metallica. The album drove away a large portion of the original fan base to other more intense bands in order to get their cravings. The simple statement I leave you with is “why fix something that isn’t broken?”.
1994- Youthanasia
To follow up with the successful album Countdown to Extinction, Megadeth decided to continue down the road of concept albums. This was a positive move for the group and lead to attracting an even larger fan base than before. But during these times front man Dave Mustaine was dealing with constant relapses with drug use and deep thoughts about suicide, which can be seen in the lyrics of one of their most famous songs A Tout le Monde. Over all this album was a success and boasted major sales for Megadeth.
Monday, November 9, 2009
1992- Countdown to Extinction
Countdown was Megadeth’s first step down the road of mainstream popularity. This change in style was a direct result of Metallica huge success down this road. But even though Megadeth started down the road of concept albums they retained many of their old trademark characteristics that they were known for. Overall Countdown was a very successful for Megadeth; it was just in the shadow of Metallica and couldn’t propel itself to its full potential.
1991 Metallica "The Black Album"
This is the highest any metal album as every come into the mainstream world and popularity. The album was the only one ever to reach the level of Diamond level by selling over 15 million copies. The Black Album was the first album to branch away from the original style of thrash and speed metal to replace it with a heaver and slower tempo. This concept album was first of its kind for Metallica and sparked several other bands to tweak their styles. The Black Album showed the world that change could be good even in a subject such as metal. This was the biggest jewel that Metallica has ever and probably will ever receive in its career.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Metallica Wins Round 1
Concerning only the first four albums Metallica is the obvious victor. Each one of Metallica’s albums was an instant hit while Megadeth struggled to get its footing. But near the end of this first era Megadeth revealed its potential and gained a new and explosive fan base. This marks the end of the first era for both Megadeth and Metallica… but will the bands stay true to their roots or break away and explore new techniques?
1990- Rust In Peace
This was the best album that Megadeth has ever created by far. Each of the nine songs has a unique style and has its own deep background. This was the first album recorded with the guitarist Marty Friedman. Marty brought a new amount of skill and talent to the band that they had not seen before. His many solos throughout the album only reinforce the truth that he is an amazing musician. The album’s main and overlying message is that the nuclear weapons will never get used and eventually “Rust in Peace”. The album cover also features former British Prime Minister John Major, former Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, former German President Richard von Weizsäcker, former Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, and former American President George H. W. Bush all sitting around Vic Rattlehead inside Hanger 18 around an alien body. This inplication of current, for the time, world leaders gathered together in secrecy shows the band’s feelings toward governments.
All of these key factors allowed Megadeth to create an album that finally showed the world what their full potential was along with showing Metallica that they couldn’t be the best Metal band without a hard fought fight.
All of these key factors allowed Megadeth to create an album that finally showed the world what their full potential was along with showing Metallica that they couldn’t be the best Metal band without a hard fought fight.
And Justice For All with Bass Booster
If you listen closely to the album you can hardly hear the bass line. This is a strange thing for Metallica to do. My guess is that after the death of Cliff Burton they were simply not ready to have they bass back at its formal levels. So listen to the following track and see if you like the enhanced bass line or not.
1988- And Justice For All
This album was a huge success for Metallica, is crushed Megadeth’s so far, so good… so what in sales and popularity, but still lagged behind Metallica’s greatest album Master of Puppets. This was the best way possible to follow up Master of Puppets. Many of songs were instant success while others were not so much .The album also experienced some relatively recent success with the game Guitar Hero 3, that featured the song One in the game. As of so far Metallica had only released solid, well planned albums and with And Justice For All this remarkable trend continued to remain strong.
1988- so far, so good ... so what!
The third album that Megadeth released was a small success but did not compare to the first two major hits. The song entitled “In My Darkest Hour” was a tribute song to Cliff Burton who had recently passed away in a tragic bus accident. This song showed the world that Dave Mustaine stilled could greave with Metallica over the death of a fellow friend even if they kicked him out of their band. Another notable song was the cover song “Anarchy in the U.K.”. This song was last cover song that Megadeth ever did. Overall this album is very good and seemed to be underrated.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Death of the Legendary Bassist- Cliff Burton
In 1986, while Metallica was touring in Europe, the tour bus hit a patch of black ice in Sweden causing Cliff to be thrown out of the bus’ window and then crushed by the bus. This tragic event was a gigantic blow to the band that had risen so far so fast. In respect for Cliff, Metallica didn’t play the song Orion, track 7 on the album Master of Puppets arranged by Cliff, until the twentieth anniversary of the album release and Cliff’s death.
1986 - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying
Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying is an excellent album that combined both the new constant drive for speed and energy with the brutality of the band, Megadeth. The album had eight songs and lasted only 33 minutes. The album also featured another cover song, mimicking the first album’s “These Boots”, entitled I Ain’t Superstitious. Even though the album was a success within the underground metal community it was simply left in the enormous shadow that Metallica left them in with Master of Puppets.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Metallica Concert-Charlottesville October 17, 2009
Over the weekend I traveled to Charlottesville to see Metallica at the JPJ Arena. This show was amazing. The opening bands were Gorjia and Lamb of God. They did a good job but the style of music that they play, vocals especially, resembles screaming and growling rather than actual singing. After they finished their warm up acts the concert opened with a mind blowing laser show. The song choice was relatively good; personally I think it focused a little too much on the new songs from the album Death Magnetic. They played seven out of the ten songs features on the new album along with eleven classics like Master of Puppets, Blackened, Enter Sandman, One, and Seek and Destroy. I was a little disappointed that a large portion of the crowd was not “getting into” the concert and just ended up standing in their seats with their arms folded. The only slight downside to the concert is when Metallica would seg-way between old songs and new ones. You realized at this point how great the classic songs were and how much you wanted them back. Overall the concert was a huge success I encourage you all to try and attend a concert.
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