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Megadeth: Youthanasia

02/04/09 || Smalley

I have kind of a weird relationship with “Youthanasia”; on one hand, I would not call it a great album, as there are many heavier, catchier, more complex, more energetic, and just better metal albums out there… but on the other, I feel a strong fondness for it anyway. The songwriting on this record feels so personal (a sharp contrast to its predecessor, the dull “Countdown to Extinction”), and the lyrics have such a strong sense of cultural awareness, covering topics like drug addiction, death, incest, disillusionment with society (wonder why they named it “Youthanasia”?…), and more. Counting the re-master, there are fifteen tracks in all to cover, so I’d better get started on ‘em so you can better understand the bond I have with this album…

“Reckoning Day” doesn’t quite get things off to the greatest start; despite a catchy main riff, some killer lead guitar work (but then again, that’s true of most old Megadeth tracks), and a cool drum outro, it’s ultimately a bit too repetitive for its own good. However, it does introduce us to Dave Mustaine’s newly-expanded vocal range, since the entire album contains some of the Irish punk’s finest vox, and fortunately, “Train of Consequences” turns out to be a complete success, with incredible riffing that resembles the chugging of a steam train, a very cool and unexpected harmonica solo popping up(!), and I can’t forget about the lyrics, which tackle gambling addiction in a clever, meaningful way. Wonderful stuff.

After that, “Addicted to Chaos” gives us some surprisingly emotional lyrics and vocal work, as does “A Tout Le Monde” to a much greater degree, to the point where it is probably the most tender song Megadeth has ever recorded. Yeah, they wussed out a bit on this record, but at least they were sincere in doing it… it’s a good kind of wussing out, darn it. Solid, personal tracks like “Elysian Fields”, “The Killing Road”, “Blood of Heroes”, and “Family Tree” keep up the album’s hot streak, and even though the title track is about as heavy as things get here (which is to say, not very much), that really isn’t a loss, since “Countdown” was Megadeth’s move away from thrash metal anyway. Almost every album ‘Deth made in the 90’s was a little bit less heavy than the last one, so one doesn’t listen to the post “Rust” records to fulfill headbanging needs; but at least ‘Deth managed to add an interesting new twist to their sound here, and also proved that they could do fine separated from their thrash metal roots (something that they’ve mostly failed to accomplish ever since).

Even though there are tracks on “Youthanasia” that are more on-target than others, I’d say every one of them at least pretty good (something I can’t even say for “Master of Puppets”!), and the pleasant surprise of “Victory” wraps up the album proper, with lyrics mostly consisting of old Megadeth song titles! It sounds insane, but Dave, through the strength of his vocals, manages to make it work some how. As for the previously-unreleased bonus tracks on the re-master version… “Millennium of the Blind” is a rather cheesy addition, “New World Order” is a decent, up-beat cut, and “Absolution” turns out to be a cool little instrumental. So ultimately, the extra tracks here aren’t a huge deal, but they’re still nice to have anyway, and don’t hurt the overall package at all. Er… there’s also a (shudders) demo track on the re-master, but I like to pretend that it doesn’t exist, except for when I need a good song to laugh at and I’m not in the mood for Weird Al.

Again, I would not classify “Youthanasia” as being a great album, but I listen to it constantly anyway, because of the more intimate, emotional edge ‘Deth gave to it (a welcome change from the Cold War paranoia they were still carrying around), for Mustaine’s surprising tunefulness on it, and for the solid riffing, solos, and drumming on it, all elements that add up to a very compelling album. As far as I’m concerned, this was Megadeth’s last hooray before losing the plot with “Cryptic Writings”, so I strongly recommend “Youthanasia” to any open-minded metalhead who wants some intelligent metal, doesn’t care much about heaviness, and wishes to hear a group of legends back in their prime. Yeah right Ulrich, Megadeth doesn’t take enough risks with their music, huh?

8.5 clever puns out of 10.

Information
Released: 1994
Label: Capitol Records
Website: Megadeth’s webhome
Band
Dave Mustaine: vocals, guitar
Marty Friedman: guitar
David Ellefson: bass guitar
Nick Menza: drums

Tracklist
01. Reckoning Day
02. Train of Consequences
03. Addicted to Chaos
04. A Tout le Monde
05. Elysian Fields
06. The Killing Road
07. Blood of Heroes
08. Family Tree
09. Youthanasia
10. I Thought I Knew It All
11. Black Curtains
12. Victory
13. Millennium of the Blind
14. New World Order
15. Absolution
16. A Tout le Monde (demo)

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