UMUR "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" is the sixteenth full-length studio album by US thrash/heavy metal act Megadeth. The album was released through Universal Music Group in September 2022. It´s the successor to "Dystopia" from January 2016 and there´s been a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as drummer Chris Adler (who was never a permanent member of Megadeth) has been replaced by Dirk Verbeuren. Bassist David Ellefson who was dismissed from the band due to the much publicised case involving a young woman and some internet sex has not been replaced here. Ellefson had actually already finished recording his bass tracks for "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!", but band leader/lead vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine opted to delete Ellefson´s recordings and hire session bassist Steve DiGiorgio instead. DiGiorgio recorded new bass tracks and Megadeth were ready to release "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!". Another contributing factor to the 6 years between "Dystopia" and "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" is the fact that Mustaine was diagnosed with throat cancer in may 2019 and had to spend the better part of a half year being treated and recovering from the treatments. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown is another reason for the long time between album releases.

Difficult births sometimes produce excellent results, and while "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" not always falls into that catagory, it´s overall a good quality release. Stylistically it´s not an album featuring many surprises, and in many ways it´s a natural successor to "Dystopia" as "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" features both fast-paced thrash/speed metal tracks, mid-paced heavy thrash/heavy metal tracks, and some more melodic inclined heavy metal tracks too. Just as the case was on the predecessor Mustaine sounds like he has lost some of his ealier snarling power and grit, and sometimes it sounds like he is talking the vocal lines instead of singing them. Again that was also the case on "Dystopia", so it´s no surprise, but just a fact which needs to be mentioned when describing the album. I´m not hugely bothered by it, but it´s a slight issue. Mustaine never had a pretty singing voice and was already an aquired taste to many ears, so the loss of vocal power is of course not a positive. Then it´s of course great that all instrumental performances are brilliant. Sharp thrash/heavy metal riffing, blistering solo work, and powerful precision drumming from Verbeuren. DiGiorgio is more subdued than usual and stay true to Megadeth´s style. I´m sure that was a good idea, although we all know what the man is capable of when let loose.

The regular version of the album features 12 tracks and a total playing time of 55:06 minutes. The deluxe version features two bonus tracks which are covers of "Police Truck" by Dead Kennedys and "This Planet's On Fire (Burn In Hell)" by Sammy Hagar. The album opens with the title track which is one of the more remarkable tracks on the album, and then "Life in Hell", which is also a great quality track. "Night Stalkers" features one of the fastest thrash metal riffs we´ve heard from Megadeth in a long time, and it´s also a standout track (also featuring a guest vocal performance from Ice-T). But after the first three tracks it becomes a little more so and so with the quality and the memorability of the tracks. Nothing is awful or of a bad quality (although the lyrics to "Mission to Mars" are a little cringe worthy), but quite a few tracks feel like filler material.

"The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" is well produced, featuring a powerful, detailed, and clear sounding production. The drums have a dry artificial quality to them, and they could have prospered from a more organic tone, but other than that this album is well produced. So "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" is another Megadeth album where you get everything you´d expect from a post-2000 Megadeth album. Some days I´m content with what I´m hearing, because it´s what I expected from them, but sometimes when I put my critical cap on, I´m questioning how great this really is. Is this one of the best Megadeth albums in their discography...hell no. Is this one of the worst albums in their discography...nope not that either, so in my opinion it lands in the upper half of the good yet relatively standard quality releases from the band. Therefore a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 Originally released in 2006 for fan club members, ‘Unplugged in Boston’ is a live acoustic album by thrash metal legends Megadeth, recorded in 2001 whilst touring for their album, ‘The World Needs a Hero’. While there’s nothing overly wrong with this, in all honesty, there’s nothing right with it, either. Who actually wanted to hear acoustic versions of Megadeth songs? Anyone? Didn’t think so.

Not that there’s anything bad about them, the performances are good and the sound is fine for what it is, but this is Megadeth. Some bands’ songs lend themselves well to more intimate, acoustic settings. Megadeth isn’t one of them!

At 40 minutes in duration, it’s a harmless listen, and is an acceptable addition to any Megadeth fans’ collection, but really, wouldn’t you rather listen to this songs with distorted guitars, pounding drums, and just a little bit of that Dave Mustaine attitude? I know I would.

UMUR "Hidden Treasures" is a compilation album by US thrash/heavy metal act Megadeth. The compilation was released through Capitol Records in July 1995. The tracks on the compilation first appeared in this collective form as bonus material on a special European edition of "Youthanasia" (1994), but was released as a stand-alone compilation release in Japan and in the US. The Japanese version of "Hidden Treasures" features no less than four bonus tracks, which are all material from the 1995 "A Tout le Monde" single/EP.

All eight tracks on "Hidden Treasures" (minus the four bonus tracks from the Japanese version) were originally recorded for soundtracks and tribute albums except the Sex Pistols cover "Problems", which was unreleased (at least on any release available for purchase) at the time "Hidden Treasures" was released, but had actually appeared on the US promotional single for "A Tout le Monde" (another version of the single, which is different from the version where the Japanese bonus tracks are culled from).

"Hidden Treasures" opens with the Alice Cooper cover "No More Mr. Nice Guy", which Megadeth recorded for the 1989 Wes Craven-directed horror film "Shocker". Megadeth stay relatively true to the original, although they add more power and energy to the track. It´s drummer Nick Menza´s recording debut for Megadeth. "Breakpoint" was recorded during the sessions for "Countdown to Extinction" (1992) and features a similar sound production and musical style to the material on that album. The track was originally featured on the soundtrack for the 1993 "Super Mario Bros." film (featuring Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper among others). "Go to Hell" was featured on the soundtrack to the 1991 "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" film (featuring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter), and judging from the sound production and musical style of the track, it was probably recorded during the sessions for "Rust in Peace" (1990), but left off that album. "Angry Again" was recorded during the sessions for "Countdown to Extinction" (1992) and included on the 1993 soundtrack for "Last Action Hero" (featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger), but it actually features a different sounding production to the material featured on "Countdown to Extinction" (1992).

"99 Was to Die" was recorded for the 1993 "The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience" various artists compilation album, which remains one of the best-selling soundtracks for an animated comedy film/tv-series. The sound production and the musical style of the song (and of course the year of recording) could indicate it was recorded during the sessions for "Countdown to Extinction" (1992) or at a recording session not long after. "Paranoid" is a Black Sabbath cover, which Megadeth recorded for the 1994 "Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath" various artists tribute album. Megadeth nail the the track pretty well. "Diadems" was recorded during the sessions for "Youthanasia" (1994), or at least that´s what the sound production and musical style of the track suggest. It was included on the soundtrack for the 1995 "Demon Knight" film. The original eight track version of the compilation closes with the above mentioned cover of "Problems" by the Sex Pistols.

As mentioned the Japanese version of the compilation features four bonus tracks, which are culled from the 1995 "A Tout le Monde" single/EP. "A Tout le Monde" from "Youthanasia" (1994) appears in a radio edit version and "Symphony of Destruction" and "Architecture of Aggression", which were originally featured on "Countdown to Extinction" (1992), appear here in demo versions. They are both pretty high quality demos, but only of interest to the hardcore fans. The last bonus track is demo version of "New World Order". A track which would be shelved and wouldn´t appear until it was re-recorded and included on "Thirteen" (2011).

Upon conclusion "Hidden Treasures" is slightly less than the title suggests. While the quality of the material is generally high, there is a reason why these tracks weren´t included on any of the standard versions of Megadeth´s regular studio albums. When that is said tracks like "Breakpoint", "Angry Again", and "99 Ways to Die" are pretty great songs, and there´s nothing on "Hidden Treasures" which isn´t worth your attention. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 By 2009, it’d been five years since Megadeth’s “return”, after Dave Mustaine had split the band up and retired following a well-documented injury. Upon their comeback, they unleashed two albums, 2004’s ‘The System Has Failed’ and 2007’s ‘United Abominations’. Both albums were a sure throwback to the bands earlier thrash days, with intense guitar riffs, lyrics full of distain and hatred, spewed out by a voice oozing of political unrest. This was the Megadeth of old!

However, with 2009’s ‘Endgame’, it just feels a tad repetitive already. Like the band are on autopilot and just repeating the previous two albums.

That’s not to say ‘Endgame’ is bad. It’s got its moments. It’s got all the ingredients of classic Megadeth. The playing is insanely fast, and the riffs are as intricate and intense as they were in the ‘Rust in Peace’ days. But after having this on my playlist for what feels like forever, I’m just struggling to really feel like I’d ever come back to any of these songs by choice.

And that may seem harsher than I intend it to, because there are some decent tracks on here, they just don’t, in my opinion, hold up as well to Megadeth’s previous output. ’44 Minutes’, ‘Head Crusher’ and ‘The Hardest Part of Letting Go… Sealed With a Kiss’ are all good tracks, and are worth a listen or two, but personally, I’d rather listen to anything from ‘Cryptic Writings’, ‘Youthanasia’, ‘Rust in Peace’ or even, *gulp*… ‘Risk’.

UMUR "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" is the second full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Megadeth. The album was released through Capitol Records in July 1986. It´s the successor to "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" from June 1985. The lineup is the same as the lineup who recorded "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!", despite cracks in the foundation caused by alcohol/drug abuse and personal differences. While "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!" certainly gave Megadeth a name, it was "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", which made them one of the greatest thrash metal acts on the contemporary scene. The colourful cartoonish looking Edward J. Repka cover artwork is legendary and was a real eye catcher when the album was released. One should not underestimate the importance of cover artwork on heavy metal albums.

The original version of the album contains 8 tracks and a full playing time of 36:16 minutes and while that may not seem like much I´d take quality over quantity any day. Most later reissues feature various types of bonus material. "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" has seen several reissues through the years but since the remixed and remastered version was released in 2004, the original version has been out of print. it´s of course a subjective opinion, but I´d get the orginal version over the remaster anyday. THe remastered version may feature a more fat and heavy tone, but I´m not a fan of changing the dynamics of a mix as much as they´ve done here.

The music on the album is thrash metal with a melodic edge. Dave Mustaine´s attitude filled snarling vocals are definitely an aquired taste, but I´ve never had any problems with his voice on the band´s studio recordings (as opposed to how terrible they usually sound live). The band are very well playing and especially the guitar solos really impress. Melodic shred fests of a high quality and entertainment level. There are a few less remarkable tracks on the album and especially the Willie Dixon cover track "I Ain't Superstitious" disrupts the flow of the album, and it´s simply a sub par track. On the other hand there are strong tracks on the album too like the opening trio of tracks, "Wake Up Dead", "The Conjuring" and "Peace Sells" and tracks like "Good Mourning/Black Friday" and "Bad Omen".

The production is professional and for the time pretty powerful. It´s still very obviously an eighties sound production and there are some minor issues here and there, but overall the sound production suits the material well. And this is of course the original mix I´m talking about. I´ve already spoken of the remaster above.

"Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" is arguably an essential listen for thrash metal fans and the album is by many deservedly called a "classic/seminal" thrash metal album. I still think the band needed to mature a bit more (and lay off the booze and the drugs) before they released their best albums, but "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" is definitely an album worth a listen. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 It’s an alright DVD, the picture is fine, the sound is fine, the playing is fantastic, the set is fantastic, Mustaine’s vocals are a bit naff, but in fairness I’ve never really thought he sounded too good live anyway. The main feature is about 90 minutes long, and interspersed with random clips of Mustaine and Drover playing acoustically. It’s watchable, but a little disjointed. Overall, this release is simply “good”. It’s not mind-blowing, but it’s worth watching, and certainly if you’re a fan, then it’s nice to own. I think previous live DVD ‘Rude Awakening’ is much better though, and has more extras on it too. And what is up with the cover?

martindavey87 The Megadeth episode of VH1’s ‘Behind the Music’ series is pretty much exactly what it says it is; a look at the history of one of heavy metal’s most beloved bands. The VH1 name gives this a bit more credibility and authenticity than your typical unofficial band biography, and as such, this features interviews with band members past and present, as well as other people associated with the band at one point or another.

Looking candidly at Dave Mustaine’s expulsion from Metallica, the bands early days and their later attempts to break into mainstream territory, as well as Mustaine’s endless battles with addictions, other than being a bit outdated now, (being released in 2001), this is overall a very interesting watch, and a worthy addition to any Megadeth fan’s collection.

martindavey87 ‘Rusted Pieces’ was my first music DVD purchase, way back in the year 2000, at the tender age of 13! While YouTube makes any collection of promotional music videos pretty pointless today, this was still an awesome video to watch back when I was barely old enough to shave. Featuring just six music videos and small bits of dialogue in between each song, these are some of Megadeth’s finest early songs, and have some significance to heavy metal history. However, despite that, at barely half an hour in duration, this isn’t worth owning today unless you’re an OCD collector like me, who needs to own everything.