dtguitarfan Oh, do I have fond memories of this one. This was, for me, the quintessential "album I did not want my mother to know I had." I have fond memories of blasting this one on the stereo system while my parents were gone, and practicing my air guitar and growly vocals. There really is not a weak track on this album, but every one seems to characterize what this band, and even really what Metal in this time period, was all about. Another thing I love about this album, and this could merely be a result of the sheer number of times I've listened to it, is the fact that it flows well: each track follows the previous very well, almost like they were part of a single composition. Obviously the track order was planned very well. The dueling guitar solos appear all throughout this album, the tunes are fantastic, and Dave Mustaine's growls, as always, are so unique and characteristic of the darkness of this Metal masterpiece. As I often do, I would like to highlight some of my favorite tracks on this album:

Symhony of Desctruction - of course, the importance of this song is undeniable, being one of the most well known Metal tunes of all time. The ONLY weakness of this track is the countless number of times I've heard it by now. [;)]]

This Was My Life - this song makes you angry with the band. It is filled with this simmering rage, the kind of rage that only comes out in under the breath mutters the party you are mad at can't hear, and in screams behind their back. You will be pounding your fist in the air with the chant at the end: "THIS....WAS....MY....LIFE!!!!"

Captive Honour - this has long been one of my all time favorite songs by Megadeth. It's almost like a Prog epic, in terms of song structure, the music telling a story along with the lyrics of a man committing a crime, being sentenced to jail, and the hell he endures there. The guitar solos near the end are among my all-time favorite metal guitar solos.

I've always considered myself more of a Metallica fan than a Megadeth fan (ducks)...but I will say that I have probably listened to this particular Megadeth album more than any Metallica album. This is absolutely a necessary piece of any Metal connoisseur's collection.

Stooge I hate to do a comparison to Metallica, but I consider Countdown To Extinction to be their personal Black Album. While Dave Mustaine often dislikes comparisons to his old band, I don’t think he’d mind if I give him the upper hand with this one.

This album is filled with several accessible tracks, with perhaps “Symphony of Destruction” being the most radio friendly. We are also treated to “Sweating Bullets”, featuring a great melodic intro, which is driven by Nick Menza’s thundering drums, and one of Megadeth’s most recognizable verses, starting from the popular “Hello me… Meet the real me” line. The songs “Foreclosure of a Dream” and “Countdown To Extinction” also rank up there in terms of radio-friendliness.

While Countdown is quite an accessible album, it is still done on Mustaine’s terms. Most of the songs wouldn’t be confused with something you’d find on Peace Sells or even Rust In Peace, but they stay faithful to the Megadeth sound. Tracks such as “High Speed Dirt”, and “Skin O’ My Teeth”, which is my favorite song on the album, pretty much follow the familiar thrash metal sound, as does “Architecture of Aggression” to a lesser extent.

This album is not without it’s weaker tracks. “Psychotron”, “Captive Honor”, and “This Was My Life” don’t do much for me.

A good album, Just not quite as good as some of their previous efforts.

Stephen Looking at the cover of the album portraying an elevated old man inside a prison cell will probably left you wondering where's their Vic Rattlehead trademark mascot. I suspect its disappearance perhaps have something to do with the fact that Megadeth decided to move away from their thrash platform to incorporate a commercial plant of hard rock and heavy metal, therefore it acted like a silent scream to the fans that please beware of a change in sound. The intention of capturing a wider audience apparently fruitful, spawning four successful videos, nominated for Grammy Awards, and nailed 2 platinums of sales.

I can assure you that despite their departure of early roots, Megadeth still has some astonishing moments with their signature thrashy riffs and immortalized many tracks as classic that almost always included in their giglist such as the suicidal-attempt of "Skin o' My Teeth" that's simply became the best song of the entire album, the addictive chugging hooks of "Symphony of Destruction" that's later covered by Nightwish and Arch Enemy, the circuslike funny riffs with the typical grumpy granny's voice of Mustaine in schizophrenic-based "Sweating Bullets", or the simple but effective "High Speed Dirt". However, the inconsistency of the songwriting is dragging the points down, displayed in the bad hard rock single "Foreclosure of a Dream", or the weird roborock "Psychotron", and the worst-of-it-all-award bestowed on "Captive Honor".

To me, "Countdown to Extinction" is a pleasing album, one of a few that I always spin once in a while for the last 10 years, and I think that "Countdown" is incomparable to "Rust" as each of it has its own sparkling moment but one thing for sure is "Countdown" is a mighty heir to the throne of "Rust" and an obligatory record to buy for all metal fans.

RuneWalsh2112 It sure feels great to finally be able to review "Countdown To Extinction"!

Although I by no means consider myself a Megadeth fan I still have managed to hear most of their career highlights over the years. Surprisingly enough "Countdown To Extinction" is the one album I tend to revisit on regular basis and probably will continue doing so just for its fun factor.

The album kicks off with the raw force of "Skin O' My Teeth". It's probably not the best album opener that Dave Mustaine has delivered over the years but it does show that the material of the album is going in a whole different direction than the extreme Thrash Metal sound that Megadeth are famous for.

"Symphony Of Destruction" is probably the most well recognized composition out of the bunch, although the title-track does come close in that department. It's just a true Metal classic which has to be known by all fans of the genre and, if you are in a band, then I definitely recommend playing it in a band setting because it always lightens the mood after a tough day of jamming.

"Foreclosure Of A Dream" and "Sweating Bullets" returns the music to the setting that "Skin O' My Teeth" was trying to establish by, once again, offering us a light version of the Thrash Metal that we're so used to by now. "This Was My Life" goes even further with this whole concept by showing some of Mustaine's most melodic vocals to date on the chorus sections.

Still it's that famous title-track that I think shows the best performance for the whole band and it almost makes me imagine how this whole direction could have evolved if the Megadeth chose to proceed with this style on the next albums. The lyrics might be considered slightly cheesy but isn't that what Mustaine was aiming for here? I'm not even going to touch on the lyrical themes of "Psychotron"! My personal favorite performance comes right towards the end of the album with "Ashes In Your Mouth" since this track doesn't waste any time by laying down the most memorable intro section out of all these compositions. On top of that the middle section of this song is also pretty brain shattering which I guess comes with the territory.

"Countdown To Extinction" is some of the best brainless fun I've had while listening to a record! Seriously this album is really enjoyable even if you're not a fan of Metal music.

**** star songs: Skin O' My Teeth (3:14) Symphony Of Destruction (4:02) Foreclosure Of A Dream (4:17) Sweating Bullets (5:26) This Was My Life (3:42) Countdown To Extinction (4:16) High Speed Dirt (4:21) Psychotron (4:42) Captive Honour (4:14) Ashes In Your Mouth (6:10)

*** star songs: Architecture Of Aggression (3:34)