Megadeth
The System Has Failed

THE REVIEW

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.