Megadeth bows out.
2026 is the year BLKIIBLK Records will release the soberly titled Megadeth, the seventeenth and final album by the legendary band and member of the Big Four led by Dave Mustaine (guitar/vocals), surrounded by Teemu Mäntysaari (guitars, Wintersun), James LoMenzo (bass, ex-Black Label Society, ex-Ozzy Osbourne) and Dirk Verbeuren (drums, Bent Sea, Cadaver, Savage Lands, ex-Aborted, ex-Soilwork…).
The album kicks off with Tipping Point, an opening track that reminds us that Dave and his band are still at the top of their game when it comes to creating catchy riffs, with the vocals adding to the mix without any real surprises. The captain’s voice has always divided opinion, and although I’m one of those who don’t like it, I appreciate the rhythm and leads, especially during the accelerations that eventually give way to I Don’t Care and its Old School, almost Punk spirit, which is fairly simple but effective. While I feel that the song mainly serves to frame the solos in a somewhat danceable way, Hey God! offers a slightly more melodic touch infused with heavy metal that sticks in your head and will no doubt serve as a bridge between two legendary songs during live performances. We continue with Let There Be Shred, an immediately more vindictive track that also gives pride of place to a highly inspired Teemu’s leads, a real asset to the band, who doesn’t hesitate to slow down his colleagues before offering Puppet Parade and its approach, which is also a little simple, as Megadeth knows how to do. The song sounds almost mid-tempo at times, but picks up a little before the end, then Another Bad Day takes a similar direction, playing on its slowness to add unexpected melancholic touches that ultimately fit in rather well, as does the catchy chorus. After a drum intro, the rhythm picks up again with Made To Kill, a livelier track that doesn’t hesitate to speed up from time to time to get us headbanging like we did forty years ago, using aggressive patterns before calming down again on Obey The Call, whose opening moments easily remind us of a ballad. The track builds up, offering a fairly steady march over which the guitars and vocals settle almost naturally until a burst of energy for the solo that leads to the final chorus, then to I Am War, where we find the band’s characteristic energy, once again infused with Heavy Metal that the audience is sure to chant along to if it’s played live. We continue with the sampled voice of The Last Note, a track featuring dissonant harmonics, but also an acoustic guitar to kick off the solo section of this evocatively named composition, followed by Ride The Lightning, a track that Mustaine co-wrote with the members of Metallica when he was part of the band, and which he felt was a logical choice to include as a bonus track to close this chapter of his life.
The name Megadeth has stood the test of time as both pioneer and heavyweight of Thrash Metal. Its legend is well established, and whether you like its music or not, it is with a touch of bitterness that we listen to Megadeth, the last album, which certainly contains some good tracks, but which brings the band’s adventure to an end.
70/100