Megadeth
Th1rt3en

Talking about the new work by Megadeth is a very particular thing for me, as the American band has accompanied my life for many years now: Dave Mustaine's voice, the guitar work and those rapid gallops, similar to frenzied races toward an exit where only a pale reflection of light is seen, distant and vacant like a mirage in the desert, have often pulled me by the arm and slammed me violently against a wall, reminding me that I had to stand up and fight, because if I didn't win my little wars, who would?

That said, it's easy to understand the state of mind with which I approach each new release by the American band, almost as if it were a ritual, with its timings and gestures: I enter a store, any one, search through the shelves and, when I finally find the album, I look at it for a bit, imagining its sounds, colors, and the booklet's images, then I head to the checkout, pay, and return home to listen to it; all simple and straightforward but at the same time magical and fulfilling like a chat with an old friend that appears now and then for a drink and to tell you a story. Obviously, things are not the same as they once were: now there are samples and reviews on the internet, not to mention piracy, which makes albums available to users even before they hit the stores, so the surprise of putting an album in the player and discovering how it sounds has vanished completely, now we know everything: if it’s slow or fast, with more or less prog influences, if it’s less Thrash and more Heavy Metal, or the opposite, anyway we are all so well informed (a useful thing, mind you, with the times we live in money should not be wasted!) that we know very well what our beloved speakers, or headphones, will offer us once the optical disc is inserted into the appropriate slot.

"Th1rt3en" also hasn't escaped this modern status, indeed on the web opinions and analyses on this work have quickly followed one another, and to my certain surprise, I noticed a certain underlying balance both in judgment and in the critical approach toward the album, highlighting key points that I fully feel like sharing. The first thing to highlight is that this new creation bearing the Megadeth name deviates from its predecessor, "Endgame", with songwriting less focused on the technical aspect and more oriented toward melody and groove, both well expressed through catchy and engaging mid-tempo tracks, accompanied by well-structured choruses, capable of being sufficiently catchy without falling into the banal or repetitive; an example can be tracks like "Public Enemy N. 1" or "Deadly Nightshade", the latter seasoned with a dark and unhealthy atmosphere that recalls, purely thematically, the early Mustaine. The second point, at which many have turned up their noses, concerns the presence of not entirely new tracks, like "New World Order" or "Sudden Death" (the first included, in the demo version, on the remaster of "Youthanasia", while the second was written for the famous video game "Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock"), which might make one think of simple fillers, just to boost numbers, so as to be able to launch the work on the market and close the contract with Roadrunner (a record label with which Megadeth doesn't seem to have renewed the contract). In reality, these tracks have been very well reworked, updated, and presented with a modern look that doesn't make them look out of place for an album bearing the 2011 logo; suffice it to think that even "Millennium Of The Blind" dates back to the "Youthanasia" period and yet it sounds current and up to date.

Based on what has been said so far, it's evident that the roots of this new album by the American band can be traced directly to the period between "Countdown To Extinction" and "Youthanasia", two works from which it draws the melodic attitude and the classic Heavy footprint, leaving aside the more decidedly Speed/Thrash aspect, although, it must be said, the more violent and uncompromising blows are certainly not lacking, like the feral "Fast Lane" and the technical "Sudden Death". Before wrapping up I would like to talk about the track that I consider being the most representative, and in my opinion also the best, of the album, that is, the concluding "13": a quite particular song, described by many in terms of a "power ballad", but which I see more as a "stream of consciousness", a way in which Dave Mustaine has tried to sum up, reviewing his scars and fears; in short, an honest and real song, like I hadn't heard in a really long time. In conclusion, I would like to say that this is a work to recommend to everyone, regardless of the degree of knowledge one has of the band, but honestly, I don’t feel like doing it. Indeed, "Th1rt3en" is an album for Megadeth fans, a kind of best of unreleased tracks (forgive the evident oxymoron), through which the band tells about itself, giving its audience a product that wisely mixes past and present.

Finally, as a final note, let's remember that this work marks the return of David Ellefson, the historic bassist and adventure partner of Dave Mustaine.