### Megadeth: The system has failed

#### 18/11/11 || Smalley

It just wouldn’t be a Smalley tenure on staff without at least one MegaDave review, right? Feels like a reunion with an old college bud, one that I’ve had a bit of a falling-out with recently, but I digress, as I need to tackle the backstory of 2004’s “The system has failed”, which is more interesting than the album itself; following the disastrous Risk and tepid “The world needs a hero”, records which saw the dissolution of Megadeth’s most popular line-up, eternal frontman Mustaine suffered nerve damage to his arm in a freak accident, which left him unable to play his guitar, and lead to his announcement in ’02 that ‘deth was officially as dead as Vic Rattlehead looks.

However, after almost a year of physical therapy, Dave’s “magic” fingers sprung back to life, and while he started recording “The system has failed” as a solo project, due to contractual obligations, he had to release one more record under the Megadeth name; just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in! Mustainremover tried to get the legendary “Rust in peace”-era line-up started again, but Dave Ellefson & Marty Friedman didn’t feel like putting up with his bullshit again, so we have hired hands Jimmy Sloas and Vinnie Colaiuta filling in on bass ‘n drums here, plus an unexpected contribution of solos from the “Peace sells…”-era Chris Poland (nice of the Ol’ Firecrotch to let Polack back in after “dedicating” the lyrics of Liar to him).

So yeah, it’s a hodgepodge of Megadeth veterans and paid scabs in for a paycheck here, but Dave’s always been the only permanent member anyway, so it’s not like the revolving-door principle is new to him. What really matters is that Gingerboy is still at the creative helm, and while “system” does leave something to be desired, at least it sees him steering the band away from the likes of another “Risk”.

“System” kicks off with “Blackmail the universe”, starting with a needless, “24”-like radio report about Air Force One getting shot down by “rogue terrorists” (aren’t all terrorists “rogue”?), which is backed up by decent, chug-y riffing that calls back to the band’s thrash heyday. Not bad, but the track is soon weakened by awkward vocal melodies from Dave that don’t work with the music, and idiotic lyrics (“I red, white, and blew it”??). Direction-lacking songwriting overall, and some disappointingly toned-down soloing cement “Blackmail“s status as song that, if not bad, still isn’t worth remembering. Meh. “Die dead enough”, on the other hand, is pretty bad, with toothless, poppy riffing and a miscalculated, sing-song-y chorus.

Ugh, sounds like a fucken reject off “Cryptic writings”. Fortunately, “Kick the chair” shows us a glimpse off the album “system” should’ve been, with cooly-disjointed, punchy riffing that kicks you in the gut (hardy har har), and a very nice momentum sustained the entire way. “The scorpion”‘s even better, with its ominous, predatory lead guitar work, and a creepily atmospheric intro & outro. Despite some kick-ass soloing, the middle isn’t quite as memorable, but still, a very nice tune overall. “Tear in a vial” is fine if you don’t mind its poppier approach, while “I know jack” is a pointless, lead guitar-saturated interlude with a sample of the famous Lloyd Bentsen quote in the background (like we haven’t heard it a million times already).

“Back in the day” is a respectable tribute to the revolutionary days of 80’s thrash, but still feels too easy-going, while the acidic, middle-finger-to-Metallica lyrics of “Something that I’m not” actually gives the music a nice impact in this case. “Truth be told” has this weird, Rush ripoff intro, followed by a pussy-power ballad melody in the verses, and a stupid, gang vocals chorus; no thankee. The overly poppy “Of mice and men” is half-catchy and half-draggy, “Shadow of deth” overdoses on the cheese big-time with a pompous, medieval-wannabe reciting Bible verses while campy lead guitar and droning riffing plays behind him, and closer “My kingdom” bores with zombie-like pacing, making for a supremely underwhelming way to cap the record off.

So, the politically-charged, Rattlehead-fronted cover here was an obvious signal of CarroTop trying to return to the thrashier sound and outraged-at-the-world lyrics of his glory days, but the political bent leads to “system” having some overbearing, cheesy touches, and the poppy tendencies that seem left over from “Cryptic writings” keep ‘deth from fully returning to thrash. What we’re left with is an album stuck in a limbo, a middling, middle ground of styles, so it doesn’t break Megadeth’s recent string of decent-at-best records, but there are still a few worthy cuts to be heard, and it’s still a step in the right direction, so I have to give it some credit for that. And, despite all the detraction the new songs are getting, I still eagerly await “TH1RT3EN”, so I have to thank “The system has failed” for making a proper return to thrash possible for ‘deth. Every little bit helps, right?

- Information
- Released: 2004
- Label: Sanctuary
- Website: www.megadeth.com
- Band
- Dave Mustaine: vocals, guitars
- Chris Poland: guitars
- Jimmy Sloas: bass
- Vinnie Colaiuta: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Blackmail The Universe
- 02. Die Dead Enough
- 03. Kick The Chair
- 04. The Scorpion
- 05. Tears In A Vial
- 06. I Know Jack
- 07. Back In The Day
- 08. Something That I’m Not
- 09. Truth Be Told
- 10. Of Mice And Men
- 11. Shadow Of Deth
- 12. My Kingdom