Megadeth - Dystopia (2016) (Best Buy Edition, B0024164-02)

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Megadeth - Dystopia (2016) (Best Buy Edition, B0024164-02)

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After the palate cleanser that was Super Collider, as well as all of the bad reviews, Dave Mustaine, along with a new lineup, is back and better than ever. Or well, at least quite a long time. Either or, this album is stronger than it deserves to be this far into their career and shows that Dave works best when put in a corner rather than embraced and applauded. For whatever reason, that strife results in Dave Mustaine producing and writing great material. Mustaine’s vocals are back to being angry and pissed off, and his guitar playing is fitting as well. There isn’t much on this album to complain about, especially not when it comes to Dave Mustaine. His solos are also more inspired than they were on the past album or two, and he definitely still has that fire that we all know and love him for. His lyrics are political and pissed off, and there is also some variety in the song topics without losing sight of the objective. Ellefson does great work here and his bass tone is nice and clear, similar to some of his best bass tones, like on Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction. His background vocals also sound like he is more interested in what he is doing. Kiko Loureiro – whom I have the least experience with – does a commendable job here. His playing is great, with an amazing melodic sensibility, and technically precise, but also with a lot of feeling and emotion, which is something Broderick, in my opinion, lacked. Chris Adler, the overly talented drummer of Lamb of God, and perhaps the highlight of that band, shows that he can play technical, precise drum patterns. In Lamb of God, he has a tendency to play very mechanical, which works for that band, but here, he shows that he can also be more instinctual and less mechanical, which is fitting for a band like Megadeth. The music here seems to draw from Megadeth’s strengths as well as draw influence from past Megadeth albums in a way that sounds both reminiscent, but new. Tracks like “Poisonous Shadows”, “Fatal Illusion”, and “Post-American World” are highlights of the album, but even the weakest track of the album is a lot stronger than the few highlights available on Super Collider. An album this consistent is a welcome addition to Megadeth’s catalog and to me stands toe-to-toe with Countdown to Extinction. There’s the fast thrashy stuff Megadeth is known for, a more somber song a la "A Tout Le Monde", a cool instrumental like only Megadeth can do, two covers which are both pretty cool, a couple tunes similar to the post retirement Megadeth, and just about every song has lots of twists and turns to satisfy even the most jaded Megadeth fan. Also, I feel like this album is a grower and what you don't notice at first you will upon further listens, which lead to enjoying the album more and more. The Pros: This is a very consistent album with very little to complain about. The bonus tracks are pretty good as well, with my favorite being “Look Who’s Talking”, though all of them are enjoyable. Even when listening to all 15 tracks, the album never feels too long or like some fat needs to be cut. The Cons: There aren’t many, but there are a few. The PledgeMusic pledgers apparently are getting the bare bones basic 11 track version. Quite a few of those that pledged are not happy about that, and I definitely agree with their side of the debate. Also, it doesn’t make sense that pledgers got a bare bones version while those that stream music on Spotify get a bonus track – Budgie’s “Melt the Ice Away”. Ultimately, it seems obvious that the idea was to get people to buy more than one version, which is fine, but to give the pledgers the lesser version of the album seems like a slap in the face to those that pledged. In all, the album is great and finding negative aspects of the album, at least for me, seems like I’m looking for stuff to complain about, and I am. I think listening to songs here and there is less impressive than listening to the album as a whole, and underestimates its greatness. I definitely suggest picking up a copy – or three – of this album and enjoying it in as full of a capacity as possible. Either way though, whether as the 11 track version, the iTunes/Best Buy 13 track version, Japanese 12 track version, or Spotify version, it’s a great album.

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