News |

Guitar World Column |

Interviews |

Pictures |

Album Reviews |

Gig Reviews |

Release Dates |

History |

Articles |

Setlists |

Upcoming |

Contact

Track Listing: Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due Hangar 18 Take No Prisoners Five Magics Poison Was The Cure Lucretia Tornado Of Souls Dawn Patrol Rust In Peace ... Polaris

This year has been a year of celebration for Megadeth fans the world over. Reason? The 20th anniversary of the Rust In Peace album. But, does anybody know the exact anniversary date? Here we are, on September 24th 2010 to pay tribute to this incredibly stellar album on its 20th birthday.

'Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due' gives the album the blistering start that would go on to bring an unbounded sense of excitement among people blasting it in their music players and car stereos for years and years to come, even to this day. There isn't a single Megadeth fan that doesn't like to play air guitar when 'Hangar 18' starts off. Mustaine and Friedman trade off riffs and solos between them with ridiculous ease and panache, and if you started having a drink for every such variation, you'd be fucking dead.

Although it's not as popular as the previous two tracks, 'Take No Prisoners' is my favorite track on the album. For me it's the epitome of a truly relentless thrash metal tune, not letting up even for a microsecond. Not only Mustaine and Friedman, but Nick Menza on drums and David Ellefson on the bass are going at it full tilt here, the four combining to create a sound that can be described by only one word: Megadeth.

While the thrash elements are present in the next track 'Five Magics', it's a more progressive and technical tune. Songs like these have become Megadeth's forte over the years. David Ellefson's slow bass intro kicks off 'Poison Was The Cure' before Menza sends it into complete frenzy. Every time I listen to this, the relatively short duration, high speed and style of vocals make me feel like I'm listening to a punk song with a Megadeth twist.

The listener gets a chance to relax for the first time during 'Lucretia', which is more like the style and tempo Megadeth stuck to for major portions of the 'Countdown To Extinction' and 'Youthansia' albums . This is followed by 'Tornado Of Souls', which boasts of one of the best guitar solos ever written (in my opinion, of course). Friedman's work on the album as a whole was nothing short of genius, but this solo is simply out of this world. It is worth mentioning that current guitarist Chris Broderick does a perfect job of replicating it in live shows, which is great for fans old and new.

When I heard the short, slow and ominous 'Dawn Patrol' for the first time ever, I got a feeling that it's building up to give way to something mind-blowing. I wasn't wrong at all because sure enough, the final song on the record, 'Rust In Peace ... Polaris' followed. It is a perfect way to represent the album's musical style, and an apt ending.

People that like to take a dig at Megadeth always come up with that one thing, Mustaine's vocals, comparing it to some other thrash vocalist and stating who's the better of the two, to prove their point. Well, so fucking what? Mustaine's vocals suit Megadeth's music to the T, and in the end that's what matters more than anything else.

It's hard to believe that it's already been twenty years since Megadeth's 'Rust In Peace' hit the stores, because it sure sounds to me like an album that was really far ahead of it's time, possessing the superiority in musicianship that most other bands can only dream of, complete with an unmistakably 'thrashy' attitude.

A timeless classic.