Stooge Among the classic Megadeth albums that spanned the first decade of their recording career (1985-94), this one sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. I’m sure part of that has to do with one of their least stable lineups, with Jeff Young and Chuck Behler now on lead guitar and drums respectively. While not quite the players that Chris Poland and Gar Samuelsson were, the new duo certainly holds their own on their lone Megadeth studio album.

The version I own is the 2004 re-issue, when Mustaine felt the need to tweak with the whole Megadeth catalog. Though I haven't heard the original version in years, I think this version sounds nice. From what I can remember, two of the most notable changes were increasing the volume of horns in the intro of "Into The Lungs Of Hell", and he also added an extended guitar intro for "In My Darkest Hour".

This album starts incredibly with the pair of "Into The Lungs Of Hell" and "Set The World Afire". What energy!! "Into The Lungs Of Hell" is a no-nonsese, let 'er rip-style of instrumental. Spacious riffing pushes the focus on some high-octane leads. Contrasting with that approach, "Set The World Afire" contains some of the coolest riffs in the Megadeth discography. I think it might have been the first song Mustaine wrote for Megadeth, and thankfully it made the cut for this album after being omitted twice. Closing tracks "Liar" and "Hook In Mouth" bring similar levels of aggression, especially in Mustaine's vocal performances ("Liar" being inspired by troubles with ex-bandmate Poland).

With the third cover song in as many albums, Megadeth opt for a more practical choice with the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy In The U.K.". It's very loyal to the original aside from some allowable deviations (swapping U.S.A. for U.K. being one). Sex Pistols' Steve Jones even guests on the track.

I’d say the main difference between this album and Peace Sells is that there is a slight tradeoff in technicality in favor of more melody. "Mary Jane", "502", and "In My Darkest Hour", which may be some of the most melodic songs Mustaine had penned at the time, are good examples of this. Each one is fairly accessible despite still very-much being rooted in thrash. Mustaine sings throughout most of these tunes (as opposed to his normal growl), and does a solid job too.

Excellent thrash album well worth picking up!

UMUR "So Far, So Good... So What!" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Megadeth. The album was released in January 1988 by Capitol Records. After the 2004 re-issue which feature a remixed and remastered version of the album and some alternative mixes of a couple of tracks, the original sound version has been out of print.

...and good riddance to that! The original sound version is probably the main reason why I have always considered "So Far, So Good... So What!" a relatively weak Megadeth album. I have both the original sound version and the remixed and remastered version and it´s like listening to two completely different albums. This is a case where a remix and remaster of an album was badly needed. "So Far, So Good... So What!" still doesn´t feature the most exciting sound production, but now it´s actually enjoyable to a certain extent.

The music on the album is thrash metal with the trademark melodic edge that has always been a part of Megadeth´s sound. Dave Mustaine´s caustic "fuck you" snarl has never sounded more biting. He sounds positively pissed off on tracks like "Liar" and "Hook in Mouth". The album is a bit of an inconsistent affair though. I like tracks like the above mentioned "Liar" and "Hook in Mouth", "502" and of course one of the ultimate Megadeth "classics" "In My Darkest Hour". All 4 tracks are on Side 2 of the original vinyl version of the album. The 4 tracks on Side 1 of the original vinyl version are not as strong though and especially the Sex Pistols cover "Anarchy in the U.K." is an odd and flow destroying inclusion IMO. We´re not talking any bad tracks here I just prefer the 4 last tracks on the album to the first 4.

A good deal of lineup changes has occured since "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? (1986)" As guitarist Chris Poland has been replaced by Jeff Young and drummer Gar Samuelson has been replaced by Chuck Behler. Both replacements are sub par to the quality of the two musicians they replaced IMO. Especially Chuck Behler´s uninventive and stiff drumming style scars some sections of the songs. I guess Jeff Young is allright but compared to Chris Poland´s more unique style, his playing is more ordinary.

"So Far, So Good... So What!" isn´t exactly the follow-up one could have hoped for after the very promising, and in many people´s eyes "classic" thrash metal album "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? (1986)". I´d call it a good yet inconsistent album by the band that I enjoy on occasion. A 3.5 star rating is deserved.

bonnek 1988 and Megadeth is down to Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson. There two other names on the credits but it's hard to tell if they were in the band for longer then the album's 35 minute's duration. Sure is they're contribution is minimal and hardly noteworthy.

The line-up is not problematic on this release but going by the sheer quality of the material this could have been an album of the same allure as the ones surrounding it. In its eventual state it isn't, and certainly not in its original 1988 Capitol release, which was the worst sounding Megadeth album ever (debut excepted of course). Luckily, the 2004 remix/remaster managed to reveal the qualities of the album and my appreciation of it has grown considerably since. I don't care much for the Sex Pistols cover (the original will do thanks) and "502" sounds a bit Megadeth by the numbers, lacking the hooks of the "Peace Sells" material. The rest of the songs are excellent, the last three even brilliant and rating amongst my favorite Megadeth tunes.

A somewhat underappreciated album, which is partially justifiable, but if you haven't heard the 2004 remaster yet you might give it another chance.

The Angry Scotsman Underrated Album.

This album seems to have a bad rep, and was actually why I avoided it for sometime, and eventually forgot about its existence. It's a shame I didn't try it sooner, as this is a very good album.

There is another lineup change for this album. Jeff Poland and Gar Samuelson were kicked out of the band prior to this album for their excessive drug use, (this is coming from Dave!) and replaced by Jeff Young and Chuck Behler, (Gar's roadie). While not big names, they are very capable players and Young wrote all of his own solo's for the album.

The album starts with an instrumental, "Into the Lungs of Hell" which is a blazing and brilliant song. The album is a standard Megadeth production with great riffing, songwriting, unusual song structures, blazing solos and emotional lyrics about politics, bad love life, drugs, his personal relationships and a general shady past. Once again, each song is unique and interesting.

Unfortunately, this time some parts sound a little unnecessary and the album just has a bit of a strange feel. Perhaps this is due to the quickly assembled lineup not really gelling, or a bit to a good but odd production. Regardless, this is a great album. There is no bad song, though some parts do feel wrong.

There is another cover on this album, this time the famous "Anarchy in the UK", by the Sex Pistols, even featuring guitarist Steve Jones on the song. It is an intriguing metal cover and with changed lyrics Mustaine, some on purpose and some due to his inability to understand the lyrics in the original song!

502 is a fast and wild song, quite reflective of the lyrics about driving recklessly.

In My Darkest Hour is a slower, melancholic song inspired by Cliff Burton's death, and written more personally about Mustaine's failed relationship. Well, slower until it really kicks in! Very cool song.

Liar is an angry, angry song dedicated to Chris Poland while the album closes with Hook in Mouth which is a scathing attack on censorship and specifically the PMRC and has some wicked music.

While no masterpiece and suffers a bit from band instability, this is a great album.

Four Stars

metalmillennium Many claim this to be the worst Megadeth recording thus far. The band at this point were abusing drugs and alcohol to the limit and Dave had tried to take his own life away. There's yet again a revolving door line-up which shows Dave may have been undecided in the direction Megadeth were heading. Jeff Young replaces the amazing guitar virtuoso Chris Poland and Chuck Behler replaces the late Gar Samuelson on drums. The chemistry is still not completely there, as Young and Behler will both be fired after this album with better replacements on the way.

"Into the Lungs of Hell" is a damn fine instrumental that showcases some of Mustaine's best set of riffs to date. "Set the World Afire" has a crushingly heavy dual-guitar intro that is one of the album's top highlights. The Sex Pistols cover "Anarchy in the U.K." is better left unlistened to unless you're a punk fan, perhaps. "Into My Darkest Hour," personal top highlight, is a mature, gloomy song about the late Metallica bassist who lost his life during a bus accident on the road in Europe.The addicting rhythm chops of "Liar" flow in an Exodus-like fashion, upping the fun factor quite a bit. Finally, "Hook in Mouth" closes the album out with an interesting view on censorship.

Don't let the bad press/media releases get to you, this is still a great release. Aside from the poor drumming and production, this is still an under-rated Megadeth gem.