Album Review: Megadeth-TH1RT3N

After hearing what their fellow Big 4 members Metallica did with the disaster Lulu, I was excited to see hear what Megadeth's new album would be like. Megadeth was coming off Endgame, which I thought was their best release since Countdown To Extinction. Naturally, I had very high expectations for TH1RT3EN after the greatness of Endgame. The bad news is THIRT3N doesn't hold a candle to Endgame. The good news is that THIRT3N is still a solid release.

Considering that THIRT3N feels rushed (4 of the 13 songs had already appeared on other Megadeth releases), it's still a pretty good record. It maintains the sound that has been found on Megadeth's albums since they reunited in 2002. Dave Mustaine still has it vocally and Chris Broderick is still the best guitarist Megadeth has had since Marty Friedman left. It was also cool to hear Dave Ellefson back in the band. I don't know much his presence contributed to the album, but it's always good to see a founding member come back into the fold. Ironically, the songs that Megadeth had already released are better than most of the material was written for this album. "Black Swan" is a classic Megadeth rager that has a lot more energy and focus than the rest of the album. "Sudden Death", which was originally written for Guitar Hero, is a damn good song as well. Broderick and Mustaine trade off manic solos, which is not done enough on the rest of the album. When it comes to the material that was written for this album there is one problem, it's good, but it rarely reaches great. The songs just never really reach the next level (with the exception of "Fast Lane"). The flare and brilliance of Endgame isn't really present here unfortunately.

THIRT3N is a good, but not great record. It's definitely thrown together, but thankfully Megadeth is such an amazing a band that it's still quality music. It's on par with most of the 2000's-era Megadeth, so fans of albums like The System Has Failed! and United Abominations should enjoy this. At the very least, Dave Mustaine can take pride in the fact that he didn't stoop to Metallica's level on their new album. It's a shame that Megadeth couldn't follow up Endgame with a better album, but THIRT3N is still a respectable release from Megadeth.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Black Swan
2.Sudden Death
3.Fast Lane