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Rating: Around the mid-80s, a kid with thick blond/reddish hair decided to leave a band still in its early days. The band was called Metallica. The first album of this band wreaked havoc in the hearts of thrash metal enthusiasts of the time with the name "Kill 'em all." Almost all the lyrics and music had been composed by the aforementioned kid. A guy with guts. Such Dave Mustaine.
Well-regarded guitarist in the thrash metal scene, he has come a long way. And now finds himself in the first half of the second millennium with a career that, in my humble opinion, does not do justice to his talent. He has achieved significant success with "Peace Sells...but Who's Buying" and "Rust in Peace" above all. Many albums have made people frown, but I still continue to esteem them more than Metallica.
It may seem like heresy, but I find that the various experiments from one side (Metallica) and the other (Megadeth) lean in favor of the latter because they are more faithful to the original genre. If Metallica veered towards rock and purely commercial shores with ballad insertions everywhere (mind you, I'm talking about post-Black Album), for Megadeth, I see an evolutionary/experimental phase that goes well beyond denaturing the genre. It's no surprise we're faced with "System has failed".
You have to get into Dave's head to understand what he thought about his long career, but fortunately, he lets us know by releasing this album that has its own meaning. The purest thrash metal. Dave Mustaine wants to return to the purest thrash metal. Only that... Who knows how or why, but it no longer seems like him. The continuous lineup changes may have contributed significantly (the days of the infallible Ellefson-Menza-Mustaine-Friedman combo are long gone), but I believe that time and being labeled as the shadow of a slightly overrated band, in my opinion, like Hatfield's and company, played an even more decisive role. The blame lies with Mustaine, who fell into anonymity when Metallica was pushing to make themselves known to the general public.
"System has failed" brings back Poland on guitar from the early days. The intro of the first track talks about an impending catastrophe, but, in reality, it will be a cyclone that hits the listener. Even the poster brings back the classic lucky mascot from bygone years after a long period of absence, which here seems to condemn the "leaders" of American society & co. as guilty. Setting the scene is an apocalyptic and unsettling scenario... an end of the world.
The intro warns us of an impending threat on Air Force One (the American presidential plane), but what awaits us is a real tornado that hits the listener.
"Blackmail the universe" bursts in with all its fury and its greedy manner. It immediately seems to want to take charge of the situation. Mustaine, with his overly inquisitive voice, immediately sets things straight by criticizing the actions of Bush and his associates, reminding them of past mistakes ("remember that Vietnam thing"). It continues with "Die Dead Enough", which remains the most melodic song on the album. The subsequent "Kick the Chair" continues the accusatory critique from the beginning, while The Scorpion" is very beautiful: it recreates a surreal atmosphere (perhaps because the album was released around Halloween), magical and chilling in a Tim Burton metal style. "Tears in a Vial" I consider a masked ballad, with a very sustained rhythm. The following "I Know Jack" not only showcases the skill of the two guitarists but introduces the album's best track that pushes the pedal to the metal. "Back in the Day" seems to bring back the memory of that old school thrash metal style with a look at how such degradation could have happened and how nothing can be done to revive the true meaning of metal (the real one). Really powerful "Something I'm Not" and "Truth Be Told". Quite subdued in my opinion appears to be "Of Mice and Men", which gives way to a sinister announcement in the style of "Prince of Darkness" with an appropriately eerie atmosphere (I think that's how you write it). The concluding track, "My Kingdom Come" is stylistically well-done but clashes too much with the rest of the work.
The class of the "new group" is above average with a convincing performance by bassist Jimmy Lee Sloas and an exceptional Vinnie Colaiuta on drums.
An album that will be one of the group's last works and that re-evaluates themselves. But times have changed and the glories of the past will not return, but their commitment is appreciable. I remind everyone that the "opponents," the lamented Metallica, simultaneously came out with that half-baked flop that is "St. Anger". Which says it all.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Blackmail the Universe (04:33)
(Mustaine)
This is breaking news
It appears that Air Force One was shot down
Somewhere over the Middle East this morning
By a sleeper cell of rogue terrorists firing a Stinger Missile
The Pilot and all passengers are unaccounted for
The President's whereabouts are presently unknown and he is presumed missing
The Vice President, Secretary of State, and principals of the military are assembling
Our nation stands at DEFCON 3
The greatest crisis, will someone come for me?
I "red, white and blew it"
Unleashed revenge, my body is detained
How could anybody do this?
Betrayal, I peel away the days
Medals are useless, Uncle Sam's forgotten me
I'm not important, no one will ever come
I'll never be found, God get me out of this hell
Nuclear battlefields energized
Cold wars are heating up again
The tensions mounting
People lift up your fists in revenge
The stage is set
Who will be the first to blink?
We can't go to war
Remember that "Vietnam thing"
Peace at any price
With a gun to your head, bang, bang
Weakness runs in your family
What runs in mine is death
This is your 5 minute warning
Burn all of your classified documents
And if cooler heads don't prevail
First strike from a political dead man
Appeasement only makes the aggressor more aggressive
He understands only one language - action
And he respects only one word - force
No sign of them stopping, no time for back channel communiques
We need all the help we can get, air strikes and invasions, retaliate, I say!
The will of good men can not counter the terrible strain of war
Blackmail the universe with the greatest of calamities
Awaken those sleeping giants in the dust of the ground
With their skin destroyed, unjust to innocence
Lawful possessor of the world's last 24 hours
Terror and ugliness reveal what death really means
And in hatred you see men as they really are
If chosen over heaven, Earth will have been for them
All along, only another region of hell
03 Kick the Chair (03:57)
Dawn breaks evenly today
On the truth and the lie
All rise, court's in session
We'll hang someone high
Justice means nothing today
Now that the courts are for sale
Pick a crime from the menu; pick a sentence and defend you
And pay the down payment called bail
The system's for sale
Kick the chair, the ropes tight
Just like one quick wrench, the tooth is out
Friend or foe, i gotta hang 'em dead
Or they'll come back around
Kick it!
The court's wrong when it keeps track
Of victories and defeats
The press that never rest just waits
For someone's soul they can eat
Justice means nothing today
Now that the jury's for sale
Guilty or not, the verdict's a lie
You're going to jail
The system has failed
Kick the chair, the ropes tight
Just like one quick wrench, the tooth is out
Friend or foe, ya gotta hang 'em dead
Or they'll come back
*guitar solos til end*
04 The Scorpion (05:59)
My life is everything
That feeds my thirst that causes sin
My wants are all I care
No shame or guilt, there's nothing there
Look deep into my face
I sell deceit without a trace
Fear not what I can do
Unless you want it done to you
Oh oh!
As I climb onto your back, I will promise not to sting
I will tell you what you want to hear, and not mean anything
Then I treat you like a dog as I shoot my venom in
You pretend you didn't know that I am the scorpion
Oh!
My self I'm centered in
There's nothing else, there's never been
And I dream, to be left alone
With the sadness, the madness of my own
Look deep into my soul
It's black as coal like a bullet hole
Fear not, get off your knees
There's no defense, you'll do what I please
Oh!
As I climb onto your back, I will promise not to sting
I will tell you what you want to hear, and not mean anything
Then I treat you like a dog as I shoot my venom in
You pretend you didn't know that I am the scorpion
Oh!
As I climb onto your back, I will promise not to sting
I will tell you what you want to hear, and not mean anything
I will treat you like a dog as I shoot my venom in
'Cause you knew all along that I am the scorpion, ya!
My lies, to reach the shore
I aggrandize and nothing more
My hopes, to steal away
All that you love, I'll soon betray
Look deep into my past
The pain I deal is unsurpassed
I'm not a lowly scorpion
I'm so much worse; I'm the fall of man
(Reporter speaking)
Fighting broke out overnight between rival factions along the
Israeli/Syrian border. Initial reports say Israeli jet fighters
bombed the guerrilla base killing at least 49 soldiers and 13 civilians
A 49 year old unidentified man went berserk last night
opening fire with a 12 gauge shotgun in a crowded downtown
restaurant. 14 people are dead including 3 children
A crackdown on laboratory experiments on animals is expected
to become law today. Animal rights activists have been
pushing for the bill for 9 years and have taken part in mass demonstrations throughout the nation.
Police have smashed a multi million dollar drug smuggling
ring. 22 pounds of heroin was seized along with a small
amount of cocaine, marijuana, and hashish. 25 people have
been arrested and face charges ranging from smuggling to
possession for the purpose of trafficking.
05 Tears in a Vial (05:21)
This may seem all too confusing
How I could walk away from something so rare
But you see it all got too demanding, yeah
And I just didn't care, I just didn't care, if I cared, if I cared
Lately, I've been left wanting, but not wanting you
Attraction that once was is no longer there, ooh
And it sucks to be taken for granted
When the veil is drawn and there's only air
I had to walk away
Give up something I love
For what I loved even more
And save my tears for you
Everything has lost its meaning; I had to let it go
To find myself, myself, and start something new, brand new
Forced to look deep in the mirror, face who I really am
Now it's just me, cause I can't afford you
I had to walk away
Give up something I love
For what I loved even more
And save my tears for you
I gave up something I loved
For what I loved even more
And I saved my tears for you
In a vial and walked away
You were so beautiful to look upon
I could see the light in your smile
Your eyes were the windows into your soul
Your body was heavenly just like the sky
Until all your good looks betrayed you, which ain't much
Counted on your counterfeit smiles for too long
Your eyes are empty windows: broken
The body may be here, but the soul is gone
I saved my tears for you in a vial
From everything wicked thing that you did, that you said
To send away, buried with your love
So many tears in a vial, now that you're gone, and now that you're dead
08 Something That I'm Not (05:07)
Your mind tells you that you've lost your confidence
You're drifting and ya don't believe in anyone
To lose what little you have left to be proud of
Afraid you can't do this again, ah!
You said that nothing come in-between us
The way of getting things we wanted done
Then enissophobia held you under its influence
Until you compromised your style
Everything about you has been one big charade
What will you do now that the well's run dry? Cry?
To sell out all your friends and stab them in the back
It's something that you are; it's something that I'm not
When you forced me into doing what you love
Mark my words no one loves you very much, yeah mark em'
And when you tried to change me and tried to replace me
I couldn't help but end just hating you, hmm!
Being a fraud can only last so long, you should know
Till what ya sensed as a child returns, you little baby
To choke out the voice that told ya "money and the fame"
Would fill the crater that you dug for yourself
Unlike you I'm no vision to myself, lest you forget
You didn't ever make metal, buddy; metal made you
To crush and run over everyone along the way
It's something that you are; it's something that I'm not
A stranger to yourself, ha! ya pissed me off again
I won't be driven by your needs anymore
What you'd become to do or be is clear to see for me
It's something that you are; something that I'm not
It makes me sick to hear you say you "love me"
I know you only love what I can do for you
If you were the one that was leading the charge
Would you notice if I missed a day or two? But that's impossible!
We all laughed at the parodies that you'd become
Now your pain slowly paid back has begun
So, accept my resignation, or in your words "betrayal"
Before it gets much worse, end this self-sabotage
Something that I'm not, something that you are, something I'm not
Something that I'm not, something that you are, something I'm not
Something that you are, something I'm not, yet
09 Truth Be Told (05:40)
This is the first tale of death in the world
When Cain struck down Abel, a family broken
Since then mankind's dominated his own kind
To insult and injure, there's no such thing as peace
Till death do us part, till the last
Truth be told - Sin lies at the doorway
Truth be told - Hell's open for business now
Truth be told - The soil cries out for revenge
Truth be told - And death is upon the ground
All around
The battle ain't over without spoils of war
Just cause it is written does not make it so
When you dance with the devil wait till the song's over
I ask myself, how bad do I want you to live?�
My anger is near, till the last
Truth be told - Sin lies at the doorway
Truth be told - Hell's open for business now
Truth be told - The soil cries out for revenge
Truth be told - And death is upon the ground
All around
Tribulation strikes and we're hit hard
Still you just go on your way
Head in the sand, ignoring the rain
Just like the flood in Noah's day
In his day
Can't punish those ruining the earth
It's suicide to some degree
Because we are all guilty, guilty as sin
There will be no peace, never for you and for me
Before al Qaeda and Bin Laden
Long before Hitler and Hussein
Ever since the first murder was committed
The verdict's always been the same
The cursed future just repeats the past
There's hell to pay and stones to cast
So, there will be no peace, never be peace
Till the last truth be told by you and me
12 My Kingdom (03:03)
The flag that I once planted as a king I abandoned
And now I reclaim this banner by God my sword and my name
In a truce sealed by blood within this metal skin and all that I own
Blood, bone, and courage in my veins and the heart that pumps it
Drink from the chalice and be reborn
And the land with me, it will change and transform
A fighting man sworn to the quest it is the doom of man that they forget
I have awoken the dragon and all around me the mist of his breath
Good and evil, there never is one without the other, his brother
Always there where I least expect it, it will burn me to cinders
The futures taken root in the present sun
Don't look into my heart, least of all your own
No man who is false can win in combat against the truth
When he lies he murders some part of the world, we must find what was lost
Hearth and home, wife and child were not for me, I was not yet done
I never knew how empty my soul was until it was refilled
Mad distemper strikes both beggars and Kings
The Necromancer's hard teachings of war and quest
I am given the right to bear arms and power to meet justice
I have lived through others for far too long,
And carried my guilt, my causes, my sins
I hope in the hereafter when I owe no more to the future
That I can be just a man
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By cliffburton86
Dave Mustaine is a MASTER in handling heavy topics with sarcasm and bitterness.
Back In The Day is the best thing on the album: a very similar start to Holy Wars, lots of solos, lyrics dedicated to metal, and an ending in pure Maiden style!
