MEGADETH — TH1RT3EN (review)

MEGADETH — TH1RT3EN album cover Album · 2011 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
The Angry Scotsman
Megadeth found their way, then got lost again.

Yikes, what happened? After the comeback hit that was "Endgame" and hearing that Dave Ellefson was returning how could a Megadeth fan not be excited?

The title "Th1rt3en" had me feeling a little sick but can't judge by an album by it's title, (Death Magnetic was pretty kick ass after all). Well this album was a let down. At first I thought it was horrid, but listening all this time later, it's really not bad. It's just not that great.

"Sudden Death" kicks off the album in a great way, honestly it's one of the better songs in the whole post "Rust in Peace" era. It was made for the game Guitar Hero, which makes sense since it's filled with solos, sweet riffs and melodies all in the frantic, progressive style Megadeth was known for.

This is the peak of the album sadly. As I said, it's not a bad album. There are some pretty good songs like "Public Enemy No.1", "Never Dead", and "Fast Lane" some not so good songs like "Wrecker" and the pretty dreadful "Guns, Drugs & Money" the rest are either kind of bland, or have some sweet parts mixed with some mediocre parts.

I finally have hit on what is the issue with this album, and it's not the album per se but your personal feelings. "Th1rt3en" is a more straightforward, hard rock/classic type metal album with thrash thrown in. Kind of like their middle material but overall a bit more thrashy. There are still occasional moments of intrigue like light guitar and really good song writing, but far less than their "classic days".

So it depends what you are into. If you prefer the more technical, progressive and intense side of Megadeth with Mustaine's intricate, and often fascinating, song writing then this will be nothing more than an OK album. If you prefer/are fine with the more straightforward, less frills but more rockin' Megadeth then you will surely enjoy this.

I prefer the former, but I can't hold it against the album itself. Few of the songs are truly bad, but most are just unremarkable. That's the best word for this album, unremarkable. Which doesn't mean bad, and there are more than enough moments to satsify a thrash fan, and even a more progressive oriented fan. So take it for what it is and decide for yourself, the quality of the actual album is good, but not essential.

Oh, and if you are one of the stuck in the 80s, worship at the house of thrash, fans...well there was little hope for you here anyway.

Good, not great. THR33 Stars
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