The System Has Failed

The System Has Failed is not even close to a failure. In fact, it provides all the necessary ingredients for a solid comeback. Coming off their 2nd worst album (according to me), The World Needs a Hero, as well as a 2-year hiatus due to Mustaine's arm disability, a new Megadeth album seemed a bit of an ominous prospect. Moreover, there's no David Ellefson, and the two new guys are gone. Even Chris Poland, a former member, was only brought back as a session musician for solos, alongside a few other rather impressive picks, like Vinnie Colaiuta on drums. Many have called this a Dave Mustaine solo album, and while it is somewhat more of a personal affair, I wouldn't go that far. On one hand, it was made due to contractual obligations with Sanctuary Records, but it still looks like a Megadeth and quacks like a Megadeth, so I don't really see much justification for not calling it Megadeth.

Cryptic Writings was billed as a compilation of different Megadeth eras, (which it pretty much wasn't). Ironically, the System Has Failed succeeds where Cryptic Writings couldn't, without even trying! Thrashy cuts like Blackmail the Universe bring to mind Rust in Peace and Peace Sells, speed metal a la the pre-Peace Sells days can be heard during Back in the Day, and fans of Countdown/Youthanasia can surely find merit in tracks like The Scorpion and Die Dead Enough. This album displays far more of Megadeth's versatility than the past 3 albums could ever hope to. It's not without faults (which we will get to) but I think it's by far the best album they released under Sanctuary.

I have basically no qualms about the first half of the album, but it's worth a quick analysis. The sequencing of the A-side is quite meticulous and utterly effective, with thrashy cuts properly interspersed alongside midpaced material. For an album with such a political cover and name, there are pretty much only 2 songs about that subject, and they're both here in the first half (and also they're some of the album's strongest). Kick the Chair, which is essentially the title track, brings to mind Take No Prisoners especially, but stands on its own as a thoroughly enjoyable thrashy modern Megadeth song with great solos. Blackmail the Universe is another thrashy cut, an anti war song about the potential apocalyptic consequences of putting one's faith in shifty governers. Hold on a sec, anti-war and anti-injustice themes on a modern Megadeth release? Handled maturely, without insufferable Alex Jones cocksucking? Nice!

Further highlights include the most personal and ballad-like track on the album, Tears in a Vial, detailing Mustaine's estranged/turbulent relationship with music during the band's hiatus, using metaphors about an ex lover. This is the first track where I noticed that Chris Poland isn't really giving it his all, but I don't blame him for not being so enthusiastic about playing guitar with the guy who pretty much ended his metal career. The Scorpion, which is based on the Persian fable (later adapted into the more famous Russian version), is another great track on this album, and perhaps its most experimental one. Interesting production choices, sinister vibes, catchy hooks, it's got it all.

So it's all sunshine and roses right? Megadeth is back, baby! Not so fast. My views have softened on the B-side over the years, but it really sticks out as lesser material when compared to the previous half. It starts out promisingly with the NWOBHM-infused Back in the Day and the sneering, hatred-fueled Something That I'm Not, implying a continuation of the great sequencing of the A side, but it just drops the ball so hard with the meh Christian and self-aggrandizing songs (yes, Christian songs...on a Megadeth album). Of these, Truth Be Told stands out as better than the rest, with a convincing switch to thrash in its last few minutes. But boring, midpaced trash like My Kingdom and Shadow of Deth (since when is Vic Rattlehead Australian, and/or a Bible thumper?) can be put straight in the bin alongside needless instrumental I Know Jack (which is not terrible, but has no reason to exist). In reality, these songs are not much worse than the fillers from Cryptic Writings, but at least those songs didn't force religion and autobiographical milestones (which nobody but Mustaine cares about) down your throat.

The System Has Failed definitely has the makings of a great release, but biffs it more and more as it gets closer to the finish line. Regardless, I still like it, and I think it deserves a fair reappraisal, especially since it was meant to be the band's swansong at one point. Chris Poland isn't at his best here, but even baseline Chris Poland is damn fine for any release, and Mustaine's solos are back with a vengeance so there is a nice balance. The production is a little weird, so this is pretty much the only time I'd recommend opting for a 2019 Megadeth remaster, since it actually adds a lot more clarity and punch to the mix. If nothing else, The System Has Failed shows that Megadeth still had something going for it, and while the quality has been hit-or-miss since the band's reactivation, I'll always enjoy this pretty great collage of the band's classic eras.

The System Has Failed has an immediate punching weight to it that grabs your attention, which is all the more refreshing after a decade of doddering, listless albums that might not all have sucked, but could never cross the finish line. Even more compelling is that it's effectively a Dave Mustaine solo album with the Megadeth brand slapped onto it, a slew of guests joining in to fill out necessary roles like keyboards and the 'character' voices that lend some intensity to the subjects through the roles of newscasters, politicians, etc. In retrospect, what would really have been the difference? It sounds a hell of a lot like it could have been a natural successor to Youthanasia, and if I'm putting together a playlist for this band sometimes I pretend it's exactly that.

This one sets up by repeatedly clubbing you over the head with tasty riffs, often on a similar ballistic arc to the 'heavier' bits of Youthanasia, but it also hasn't abandoned some of the poppier sensibilities the band had started to explore 10 years before it. Thankfully, this manifests in some symphonic flirtations which complement a few of the tracks rather than obfuscating the metallic elements, or some smooth vocal harmonies that lend an eeriness to tracks like "Die Dead Enough" or "The Scorpion". The album is never peppered with a bunch of ballads or country nonsense, something you might expect from a Mustaine solo project after he'd previously dabbled with it. No, all the tunes here are varying shades of rock, from the more aggressive cuts reflective of the band's history, to something like "Something That I'm Not" that launches with a Zeppelin-like rhythm, or the moody, narrative "Shadow of Deth" with its melancholic, slow leads and strictly spoken word vocal inclusions.

Few of the tracks can even hope to rival the top tier Megadeth hits of the past, but with the exception of the aimless political ditty "I Know Jack", whose riffs would have been better spent elsewhere, this is one I can sit through in its entirety without much regret. The production is quite polished, but doesn't leech away from the grooves or intensity of the riffs. I actually liked how the synths presented here in tunes like "Back in the Day", they feel like you're sitting at a ball game and the organ/keys erupt and thus amplify the material rather than trying to consistently take over. The leads also sound really great throughout, and I know Chris Poland popped in to contribute which is fun, not only because of his skills, but because you know on some level there was some reconciliation, even if he's serving as more of a mercenary for the recording. The session drums and bass are adequate, though Dave Ellefson's presence is clearly missed, and will stay missed for several more albums.

Regardless of whatever it's original purpose was, The System Has Failed brought a little faith back to me that Dave Mustaine could pen a coherent set of tunes which I could keep coming back for. Don't get me wrong, I am almost never choosing this over the first six, but if I'm willing to reach for something a little fresher from the bench, this one can join the rotation, and it also spurred off a little Renaissance in the quality of the full-length Megadeth studio efforts.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

So, I've been on a Megadeth kick lately. The other night I thought about an album of theirs that not only do I like a great deal, but an album that I'd put in my Megadeth Top Five.....hell, Top Three even. But no, it's not "Rust In Peace" or "Countdown To Extinction" as most probably would, but an album of Dave's I personally feel is his most underrated & least discovered ever within his sixteen total studio albums of his career. And that album would be 2004's "The System Has Failed".

Released during a difficult period involving recovering from a hand injury, as well as for the first time COMPLETELY without a band, including longtime member David Ellefson, Dave Mustaine thought maybe it was time to finally let go of Megadeth & start a solo career. With some songs in mind, he contacted studio musicians, all with the intent on NOT becoming new members of Megadeth, to help produce these songs as that first solo album. Strangely, one of those people was original Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland to add some solos to duel with Dave. And when the disc was done, new & struggling label Sanctuary Records told Dave "We'll release it, but only as Megadeth", and instantly it became the 10th album though there really wasn't any band anymore. But with the tone of it, it became to me the one that represented the band the most "honestly" ever.

This was a group of songs that finally proved that Dave could show true serious emotion without sounding corny or selling-out. While past recent releases like "Cryptic Writings" & the ill-fated "Risk" failed in this, "System" came out so natural while still retaining its edge and precision-point Thrash riffs. While not usually going "speed-for-speed" sake, these songs convey true song-writing skill & emotion, featuring a Dave that wasn't just angry & paranoid like we were used to, but remorseful and dare I say it, hurting. Not that this is a ballad-bore, just the opposite, with heavy duty, catchy riffs, incredibly sang choruses, and atmosphere that just plain excels here. And the harmonic solos between former bandmates Poland & Mustaine just stick & blaze with precision like a sequel to "Peace Sells" that we sadly never got, till now. Even the two quick intro instrumentals, complete with keyboards, just add to the ambience without sounding forced. Overall, it was the first album since "Sells" that to me was a winner from start to finish. Not one throw away track, a masterpiece.

Sadly though, while the album came out strong, followed by videos & a new touring band, Sanctuary Records was on the brink of demise & because of this, couldn't promote the album to what it deserved, and it just simply came and went. In fact, shortly after Dave signed with Roadrunner Records, did the album "United Abominations", though a good record but not as good as "System", and IT became known as Megadeth's comeback-to-form record, leaving "System" buried & forgotten. And what a shame. You'd figure over time it would get more fan-discovered, like say Kiss' Creatures Of The Night or Black Sabbath's Born Again, but its songs are rarely brought up by fans or even Dave himself. As for me, I will always consider it one of Megadeth's best. The stars aligned with this one, it's just too bad no one at the time looked up to see it happening.

Originally devised as a Dave Mustaine solo album, ‘The System Has Failed’ eventually became Megadeth’s comeback on multiple levels. Not only did it feature Mustaine returning to activity after an intense arm injury sidelined him for at least a year and a half; it is also more or less unequivocally seen as the first great Megadeth album since 1992’s ‘Countdown To Extinction’. Personally, I think that seriously sells ‘Cryptic Writings’ short, but it is a fact that ‘The System Has Failed’ is the best thing Mustaine had released in a long time and still stands as the best 21st century Megadeth record.

Despite bearing the Megadeth name, calling ‘The System Has Failed’ a Mustaine solo record is not a stretch. This is the first Megadeth album that does not feature bassist David Ellefson and all the compositions are solely credited to Mustaine. In addition, the album was recorded with a lot of session musicians, though there is a consistent core of bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas, Zappa drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and – perhaps most surprisingly – lead guitarist Chris Poland, who played on the first two Megadeth records. Mustaine being who he is, however, this sounds like a reinvigorated version of Megadeth, with a few exceptions.

In a way, ‘The System Has Failed’ sounds like an anthology of all of Mustaine’s songwriting tropes. The riffy opening track ‘Blackmail The Universe’ bears a passing resemblance to ‘Set The World Afire’, the intricate, yet aggressive speed metal of ‘Kick The Chair’ is highly reminiscent of ‘Take No Prisoners’ and the rocking ‘Something That I’m Not’ feels like an improved version of ‘Architecture Of Aggression’ at times. The nostalgic heavy metal of the surprisingly melodic ‘Back In The Day’ doesn’t necessarily sound like any previous Megadeth tracks, but does highlight Mustaine’s love for the NWOBHM movement prominently.

That does not mean that Mustaine is going through the motions here. ‘The Scorpion’ is one of his most experimental tracks to date, marrying the atmosphere of OverKill’s latter day midtempo tracks with a progressive, at times almost symphonic arrangement effectively. Even better is the following ‘Tears In A Vial’, an epic heavy metal track with a dramatic feel that has familiar sections, but also a bit of a fresh approach. The melancholic and melodic majesty in the chorus of ‘Die Dead Enough’ may be more controversial, as Megadeth’s hardcore fans prefer the band less chorus-driven, but it’s an extremely well-written song that works very well within the context of the album.

Ultimately, the only problem with ‘The System Has Failed’ is that it ends relatively weakly – like most Megadeth albums. ‘Of Mice And Men’ is good enough, though a bit preachy, and ‘Truth Be Told’ has a bunch of cool ideas that don’t really transition into each other all that well, but listeners will eventually mainly remember the album for its first eight tracks. Those feature all the tight riffs, wild lead guitar parts and snarling lead vocals one has come to expect from Mustaine. Compared to the rest of their discography, it would fit nicely between ‘Rust In Peace’ and ‘Countdown To Extinction’, as it is more streamlined than the former, but infinitely more metal than the latter.

Recommended tracks: ‘Kick The Chair’, ‘Tears In A Vial’, ‘The Scorpion’, ‘Back In The Day’

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog

The System Has Failed is what I call an overlooked record that doesn't receive much praise like Rust In Peace does, yet doesn't receive too much hate like Risk does. But, whether you lean one way or another, this is a substantial step up from The World Needs A Hero in my humble opinion. Indeed, there are some songs that hold little to no value, and the majority of this is one sided in the sense that most of the gold lies within the first half. To break it down, if a couple of songs were tossed in the trash, and certain areas were cleaned up, this would make for one cosmic release. There are new approaches in composition taken, layering in atypical metal instruments and effects, as well as thrashy riffs being scattered throughout. Megadeth do continue on with the production and over crystallization of the guitars that was started on the previous release, but that's something that you can grow to overlook, seeing this trend doesn't die even up to Dystopia. Can we blame the far better song writing on the return of Chris Poland? Doubtful, since this was supposed to be a Mustaine solo effort, but his stellar playing certainly spiced it up.

Now, in defiance of the first half of the album being the best, the exception is the first track "Blackmail The Universe". There's a whole lot of sampled spoken word and corny effects that really don't do anything, which has been a problem in the past. This layered on a hardly memorable piece of music makes for a weak opening, and I'm oh so grateful that this trend doesn't stick. However, other earlier tracks like "Die Dead Enough" and "The Scorpion" redeem every weak quality by implementing symphonic elements and soft string plucks to coat the songs with a nice layer of cleanliness, and really, it sounds ecstatic for a band of this sort. "The Scorpion" takes the groove to another level by basing its rhythm on staccato chugging without a super heavy bottom, and the way it comes through is surprisingly good. The only flaw? The damn spoken word at the end. This shit just does not jive with this record! All of this softer coating may turn you off, but the heavier tracks are still there. Take "Kick The Chair", with its dual solos that combine fret tapping in a melodic way and darker undertone, making for one of the best tracks on this record. So there's quite a few gems to be found within this disc, despite some of the insipid drag on moments.

On the other hand, the majority of the second half of the album does little to stand out and certainly isn't horrible, but it falls far below the offerings found in the aforementioned tracks. The song that takes from the bible "Shadow Of Deth" is another dull track entirely made of spoken words, which could have been left off (man, are we starting to notice a pattern in the main flaws this album has?). Others like "Something I'm Not" are just flat out boring and act as a shell with no bullet in it. I'll give the closer "My Kingdom" some credit for being better than most of the second half, and a dense enough track to be worthy of finishing this beast off. Another thing noting that saves the second half is the epic heart of "Back In The Day"; while not necessarily a super strong track, the atmosphere in this keeps this record from getting to stagnant.

By and by, besides all of the spoken word tomfoolery that litters this album, the only issues are what isn't there, as opposed to what is there; in other words, there are a few too many fillers that serve little purpose. No overly large gaps of time without even a hint of interesting tunes. No ten minute "epics" that deliver nothing acting as a gun with no ammo. No resorting to rehashing a classic hit that barely seems fundamental. And for Christ's sake, no fucking breakup songs that are meant to be emotional or vengeful yet falling flat on its face and sounding nothing short of silly. Just a solid and slightly experimental record that definitely has its blemishes, but is an overall worthwhile treat. For those who let this fly under the radar and don't have much of an opinion on it, I strongly recommend revisiting.

A lot of things happened to Dave Mustaine between 2001 and 2004. Of course, a lot of things happen to Dave Mustaine every year, but these are pretty big things, even in the context of a man who self-supported as a drug dealer at age 15 and has possibly (if he can actually keep count) been to rehab 17 times. One of the things that happened during that three-year period is that Mustaine allegedly took a nap, slept with his arm hooked over the back of a chair, then woke up to find he couldn't move his fingers or make a fist. He couldn't play guitar, which is rather a problem for a man better known as a guitarist than a vocalist. He was also getting sick of his band (a recurrent theme in Megadeth history), so decided that it would be better to break up than go on. During this time, Mustaine became a Christian, which seems to be a product of one AA meeting too many - or too few, who knows. In any case, his arm recovered, but by that point he had decided that he didn't want to play 'The Conjuring' live anymore. And then, Mustaine got it back together and thought that maybe making a solo album wouldn't be such a bad idea.

That context both does and doesn't explain why The System Has Failed sounds the way it does. On the one hand, this is slightly more focused than the sprawling The World Needs a Hero from three years earlier, yet it also experiments with the sound of more traditional rock and non-specific heavy metal, a trend which Mustaine began in the late '90s with Cryptic Writings. Therefore, this doesn't go off the beaten track as one might imagine from a solo album (the label urged a release under the band's name to fulfill a contract) despite the fact that Chris Poland was the only memento of days past. Barring the excerpt from Psalm 23 in 'Shadow of Deth', the Christianity doesn't make itself felt very much, since Dave is still sceptical about the government and imagining ways for them to get killed: the opening news snippet about an Air Force One disaster doesn't seem to be a very charitable sentiment, although there are different kinds of Christian I suppose. Basically, this just seems like a natural step on Megadeth's wandering path from '90s success back to '00s relevance.

As for the radial neuropathy, it doesn't impact very much on the guitar style. Perhaps Chris Poland was relied on more than usual for solos, though there hadn't been much in the way of shredding or melodic mastery in the preceding 10 years anyway, while the absence of thrash metal in any form is an accurate indicator of the complexity of the riffs. Many of the songs take a relaxed approach to metal, some like 'Of Mice and Men' and 'Die Dead Enough' falling closer to hard rock with a steady drumming pace, some nostalgic and inspiring vocals respectively, plus a couple of gently winding riffs that aren't too difficult to play. These two were released as music videos, so are fairly representative of what the album was aiming for. There are heavier songs that go some way to suggesting that there were still the smoulderings of Rust in Peace lurking under the surface, though 'Kick the Chair', 'Back in the Day', and 'Blackmail the Universe' are only the MTV versions of thrash metal rather than anything approaching the real thing. However, despite 'Back in the Day' proving a creditable take on melodic speed metal, I suspect that the purpose of that song and the whole album wasn't to excite fans of late '80s thrash but just to play something Dave likes, which - quite clearly - isn't all about thrash metal.

One of the interesting feelings I get from this album is a sense of nostalgia from some of the songs. It was a definite feature on two highlights of the previous album, '1000 Times Goodbye' and 'Promises', and a positive idea to return to that atmosphere with the strings at the beginning of 'The Scorpion', the keyboards and Hammond organ that crops up at times, plus the lyrical themes prevalent in the second half of the record. In fact, the solos Poland peels off are wide of the mark on some of these tracks, seeing as they are slightly too technical and attacking, meaning it might have been a plan to tone down the guitar work in order to match the moods of 'Something That I'm Not' and 'Truth Be Told'. It's also a matter of instrumental settings, the tone of the guitars being too aggressive for that reflective vibe, while I'm not convinced that the band knew where to angle their energy because making a truly different album would have alienated too many old fans. On that score, 'Tears in a Vial' gets perhaps the most distance out of the "ponderous Megadeth" style, while 'Die Dead Enough' is just a catchy song on its own terms.

I feel it's somewhat of a shame that Mustaine didn't allow himself to make the album he wanted to with The System Has Failed. This feels like there was a novel direction prepared, but then label pressure and considerations of income caused it to be shoehorned into a more typical set of songs to appease all parties. In the end, this is a fairly poor effort because of the mismatch of styles impeding total enjoyment, though it does have its moments and isn't a redundant recording by any means. It would be inaccurate to say that the system had failed - this is more like a reboot.

Is it bad that I thought the woman voice over that started this album was Dave Mustaine?  I mean they sound very similar...

Anyway, let's take a look at Megadeth's 10th album.  Over the course of nine albums, Megadeth took us on a roller coaster of sounds, most of which were shitty.  This album is pretty terrible.  It isn't Risk, but it isn't quite up to par with The World Needs a Hero, an already shaky album.

Since The World Needs a Hero, things have been looking pretty good for Megadeth, however, this album, like I said, is pretty terrible.  One of the only promising tracks is "Blackmailing the Universe" because it actually has thrash metal riffs.  Also, the fact that the first track is one of the better tracks isn't a very good sign for the rest of the album (and, trust me, the rest of the album isn't great).  Everything after this is pretty much 90% Countdown to Extinction and 10% Risk.

The riffs are mostly terrible.  Exhibit A: "Die Dead Enough."  What a terrible song.  These riffs sound like something I would write when I first started learning how to play guitar.  They eminate that cringy phase of pseudo-thrash metal riffs that I used to write and think they were so cool and "Slayer-like."  Also, one of my favorite parts about the album is that stupid drum part at 1:20 of this song where Dave Mustaine is like "My heart's beatin' like a drum" and then there's this atrocious echo where the backing vocalist is like "DRUM" and the drummer (you guessed it) hits a drum.  That, folks, is the pinnacle of thrash metal.

Everything about this album is disappointing.  The previous album built up for some promising stuff, but this is not what I nor any other Megadeth fan wanted.  It's an abomination.  Exhibit B: "The Scorpion."  The beginning lead guitar is promising, but like this album, it is a disappointment.  Why?  Because the verse riff that comes in right after that cool intro is one of the worse riffs on this album.  It isn't technical, jumpy, thrashy, groovy, or good in any way.  It kills all flow built up.  Oh, and they do it again.  Yeah, after the chorus (which I regrettably admit is catchy), they play this really cool interlude with even more eeriness than the intro had!  Then they ruin that flow as well with the same insipid riff.

Another example of terrible songwriting is "Back in the Day."  This is actually one of the more promising songs on here, until the end of the song where there's this great build up, only for the song to abruptly end.  The next song, "Something that I'm not," I feel is about Metallica and how Mustaine was happy to have been kicked out.  It's a very edgy way of saying he's happy to be in Megadeth.  I mean the backing vocals on this song are just so cringy.  Then at the end of the song, Mustaine is like "something I'm not... yet."  Which is really funny because earlier in the song he says "You never made metal, metal made you."  Sorry, but what was everything between Countdown and Dystopia? 

The lyrics on this album are absolutely terrible.  "Die Dead Enough" is a song whose title should do enough to let the listener know that the lyrics are bad.  The title literally screams "my lyrics are terrible."  And they are.  It sounds like a Bon Jovi ballad.  "The Scorpion" isn't any better.  The catchy chorus builds up to Mustaine saying in his nasally voice "I am a scorpion."  Track three is a clear throwback to "Peace Sells" as Mustaine says "The system's for sale!"  But all of that is ruined once he shouts "Kick the chair!" right afterwards.  I just strongly advise against reading the lyrics to any track on here if you would like to spare a few brain cells.

Some other things I would like to point out that I think are terrible:

- The slam riffs of "Shadow of Deth" that are behind a spoken-word Bible verse... but  with bagpipes!
- The industrial influences on "My Kingdom"
- The chugging on "My Kingdom" that painfully doesn't lead anywhere
- The utilization of backing vocals

Among all of the chaotic shit that dominates the run time of this album, there are a few redeeming factors.  "Blackmailing the Universe," like I said, is a good track.  "Tears in a Vial," although it's cheesy and, like every other track, has terrible lyrics, the riffs are much better than anything else on this album, reminiscent of the good parts of So Far, So Good... So What?  "Truth Be Told" is another song that shows potential with fast riffs and nice leads.  Also, the lyrics on this song aren't terrible.

I could go on and on about how many bad lines are on this album.  I could write several more paragraphs about the shitty riffs on here, but I won't because I think you get the point.  This is a pretty bad album with only a few redeeming points.

Overall Rating: 38%

Originally written for themetalvoid.wordpress.com

This is kind of like... maybe all of the cut content and material from their 90s output with a modern twist on it all. Another half melodic thrash half melodic hard rock album. This would be nice and all except that as I already said it sounds like all the CUT material. Just not as strong.

You have no lack of melody spilling forth from the guitars (intro of I Know Jack). Between the solos and the riffs anyone looking for melody will be pleased assuming thats all you wanted. There is a lack of complexity, and all of those screaming guitar solos and break neck riffs have gone with it (something that I'm really starting to miss from their 80s days). Unfortunately though, there is a lack of any serious riffage, the guitar needs a bit more edge and power for that to work. The overall guitar lacks any serious aggression, which is unfortunate as the album seems like it was meant to be a return to an angrier more aggressive sound.

The drums have been reduced to nothing more then the keepers of time (putting it in much cooler words). More of your bass/snare patterns, which seem to be on their way to becoming Megadeth's norm. Not much complexity... correction, no complexity. The bass is basically inaudible. Another perfectly good bass player who's talents have gone to waste. He pokes through just enough to round it out and show that he isn't doing anything to really make it better.

Dave's singing lacks energy and enthusiasm. His energy has always been an important piece of his charisma and his singing isn't particularly strong. You can bet that really did a number on his performance, you would have done better to replace 2 of these tracks with instrumentals (something that they have had a lack of in this era), not bad (not really good either) but in desperate need of improvement. His lyrics this time around revolve around politics. Maybe political paranoia and conspiracy would be a better description.

After hearing this, The World Needs a Hero and Cryptic Writings I must wonder if old Carrothead is scrambling for ideas. It would certainly make sense. These last two albums are clearly attempts to get back to the days of his greatest record sales but they don't exactly scream out with new ideas. Some of these riffs sound very alike (intros of I Know Jack and Back in the Day sound like the same idea, concept and rhythm but with different notes).

Nothing really special here, just another Megadeth record. Its not as heavy as past works, not as fast, the melodies aren't as strong, the songwriting isn't as good and it certainly isn't as enjoyable. Minus a few bad ass solos I imagine only fanboys will find this to be worth anything more.

Megadeth's legacy needs no introduction. A band that put out such thrash classics as Rust In Peace and the immortal Peace Sells surely could not sink into an abyss of mediocre to crap albums, could they? Well, actually, they can. Megadeth proved it with their middle of the road commercial rock/dance attempt, Risk.

In 2004, Megadeth released The System Has Failed. This album was supposedly their comeback, and had initially been intended to be a solo album by Dave Mustaine. However, due to contract obligations, Megadeth had to reform to release this. Supposedly. In reality, all that happened was that Dave got together a group of session musicians including former Megadeth lead guitarist Chris Poland, and used them to release his solo project under the Megadeth banner.

Musically, this album is a combination of all their previous body of work, taking some elements from each. It includes some thrash elements, although rarely, it includes the soaring choruses of the Youthanasia/Cryptic Writings era, and the commercial friendly structures of Risk. The resulting album is a 12 track, 48 minutes affair that is severely unbalanced and contains a number of glaring flaws.

The first would be the lack of riffs on display here. Megadeth are not a band known for slacking in the guitar department, so this should not have been tolerated. How can Dave go from writing shred-fests Good Mourning Black Friday and Poison Was The Cure to releasing 2-riff songs that follow the traditional verse-chorus structures that bore the fucking life out of the listener.

The main deviation from the verse-chorus format would be Blackmail The Universe, the opener. This has a number of slight changes in tempo, and a few nice riffs to propel it forward, with several well constructed solos to boot. This really is one of the best songs on the album, and is actually rather interesting to listen. However, this leads me into another one of the flaws of the album.

This song, and many of the others, are too fucking long. Knock a minute off some of them, or, in the case of a couple of songs, knock two minutes off, and they would be fine. The riffs would not get tiring, the song overall would not feel like a marathon to get through. The songs that would benefit from this are Blackmail the Universe, The Scorpion, Tears In A Vial, Something That I'm Not and Truth Be Told. The only song that is over 4 minutes that manages to make full use of that time is Of Mice And Men.

Of Mice And Men is my personal highlight of the album. It is a good song, i enjoy the vocals greatly from Dave Mustaine, and it never sounds forced. However, on this song it is the lyrics that make it as good as it is. The lyrics deal with Dave Mustaine's faults to date, and are emotionally written. His voice complements these lyrics perfectly. There is literally nothing wrong with this song in my opinion.

I Know Jack is a song that should just have been plain cut from this album. At 40 seconds long, with no real vocals to it, just some drumming and one long solo, it is nothing more than a distraction from the album as a whole. This song is a poor attempt to display Megadeth's shredding power alone, instead of using the whole band to full effect. Endgame would later prove that a wankery session could take place in Dialectic Chaos, without resorting to being grindcore length.

The real problem with this album becomes apparent after around five tracks. The band is trying too hard. This is one of the real problems with The World Needs A Hero as well, and they failed to fix it on here. Both albums show a band known for their ingenious thrash attempts that had dropped off the radar with mediocre releases, that just wanted to return to that style and mimic it. And they both fail. The System Has Failed really has got some great moments on it, but they are underpinned by the fact that much of the album just reeks of them trying too fucking hard.

Overall, this is probably tied with Risk as my least favorite Megadeth album. However, it is not utterly abysmal. In fact, there are four great tracks, Blackmail The Universe, Of Mice and Men Kick The Chair and Die Dead Enough. But the ratio of good to great songs is far too one-sided for this to be considered a good Megadeth album. Megadeth are a band that it is impossible to accept mediocrity from, and this album just shows why.

Originally published in "The Wormwood Chronicles."

Whew boy, where do I start with this? Um, ok I guess for those of you serious headbangers that haven't at least been giving Megadeth the time of day since about '95 or so...Megadeth has been putting out some crap for about the past 7 or 8 years leading up to this release . "Cryptic Writings," although blessed with tunes like "She-Wolf," was tainted by country superstar picker Dan Huff being tapped as the record's producer. There's a lot of crap on there. Even songs like "Disintegrators," which was an all-out thrash attempt, was lacking in balls. That album's follow-up, "Risk," was more of the worst, spewing out vain attempts at radio-friendliness and mellowed-out heaviness (what a concept!) that to be honest, just didn't sit well in my gullet. Finally, even though my buddies tended to love it, I thought that "World Needs A Hero" was a bland and boring attempt of Dave saying "Sorry everyone, I fucked up on the last two."

Now, fast forward to 2004. Dave Mustaine is back in action after sidelining Megadeth due to an arm injury that prevented him from playing guitar. Dave Ellefson is no longer in the band, and Mustaine seems content to use session musicians (among them former Deth head Chris Poland on lead guitar) on this new disc. As far as the songs go, they are still suffering from a bit of blandness that goes along with Dave thinking that he is radio-friendly...but...the majority of these songs could kick the ass of most of the "World Needs a Hero" material. I mean, the opening track, "Blackmail the Universe" is stellar, perfect for any old school Megadeth fan, as is third track "Kick the Chair." First single "Die Dead Enough" is what happens when Dave tries to be catchy and does it right. Simply put, the track is pure Megadeth through and through as well as being so infectious that I still would crank the local rock radio station when it came on, even though I'd been hearing it for months and months.

After that, it's fairly hit or miss, with Mustaine and co. rolling out every trick they got and trying desperately to make a great album out of this. I don't think they succeeded in making it a great album, but I do think it's a "better than average" album. In other words, I feel that this album is a step in the right direction and I am looking forward to hearing more. My worst gripe though, is that there really needs to be some thought put into the idea of a new guitar tone...the sound of the axes is just too damn soft. They need something chunkier and more brutal than what they currently are using. Dave used to be the heaviest fucking guitarist on the planet, and that throne belongs to him, but he needs to prove that he belongs there. He's been gone too long.

I remember back in 2004 how excited I was to hear about this album. Like many, I was hoping this would be the return to form for the band we'd all been hoping for. While 2001's The World Needs A Hero was a big improvement on Risk, it was nothing special. Fortunately, The System Has Failed is a substantial improvement.

By far the album's best moment comes in the form of Kick The Chair. This song kicks your ass right from the moment it starts and does not let up once thorughout it's length. It has rightfully become a mainstay of the band's set list and I hope it stays there for years to come.

Other highlights include opener Blackmail The Universe, Back In The Day and Tears In A Vial. Back In The Day in paricular is a very good power metal song celebrating the glory of metal. Mercifully, the song is nowhere as cheesy as similar opuses by other bands I can think of (I'm looking at you, Manowar!) It comes off very well live with the whole crowd singing along.

Unfortunately, this album has quite a bit of filler. The worst examples are I Know Jack and Shadow Of Death. These can barely even be called songs. If sections of these were used as intros for a couple of the other tracks on the album, I perhaps wouldn't mind so much. But they do not warrant album space of their own!

Most of the other songs are pretty mediocre particularly Something I'm Not and Shadow Of Deth. Truth Be Told is quite decent once it speeds up but it does not mesh well with the song's first half. The Scorpion and Of Mice And Men have potential to be good but end being up plodding and lacking in speed.

I would also like to mention the return of Chris Poland on lead guitar. It's nice to have another previous member of the band on this record. Although Glen Drover has proven to be an excellent guitarist in his own right, it's a shame Poland was not on the accompanying tour for this album. At least there would have been some consistency between lineups since the tour lineup for The System Has Failed was completly different from the studio one!

Despite its flaws, this is a solid Megadeth album. Anyone who enjoys albums such as Countdown To Extinction, Youthanasia and Cryptic Writings will find much to enjoy here. Even those who crave for Rust In Peace 2 are likely to find at least a song or two they are fond of.

Megadeth are back (well Dave Mustaine is anyway) and the band is sounding more metal than they have in a long, long time. I have been a long time Megadeth fan so this review does contain a little bias – that in itself is not that uncommon in unofficial reviews. The System Has Failed isn’t a return to form or a return to its roots. Simply put – The System Has Failed is modern Megadeth with thrashier tendencies. Don’t expect Rust in Peace 2 or anything like that.

Musically, The System Has Failed is varied in its form and presentation. There are tracks that feel more hard rock than metal and there is also tracks that sound thrash more than what we are used to from newer Megadeth. The guitar parts are definitely leaning towards a thrashier form than found on the last few albums. Part of this is the return of Chris Poland for the recording sessions. His presence is felt considerably when one listens to all the leads that are present in the guitar work. Dave Mustaine’s guitar work is well constructed and the structure of the songs has taken another step up since Megadeth’s last album. More of a modern thrash sound for the guitars, if you will.

One element that The System Has Failed lacks is phenomenal drumming parts. Now that Dave Mustaine is writing almost all of the music himself (not that he didn’t do it for the most part prior) the drums don’t feel as expressive as they previously did. Neither does the bass lines – although the bass parts do feel a little more natural than the drum parts.

Another aspect musically that I found confusing was the use of keyboards on the song “The Scorpion.” It really threw me off my rocker because I thought Dave despised using keyboards. It’s a interesting addition – as far as I can hear it’s only on one track and it makes it stand out. I like it, personally. I find it adds a little variety to the album.

Vocally, Dave Mustaine is still the same old gruff and spastic singing. Either you like his singing or you don’t. It can grow on you (it did me) but on first listen it may sound a little strange. It’s an old school thrash idea of singing and he has kept it for a long time.

There are a couple of moments in the song writing I would like to make comments about. First of all, I personally don’t like it when a band takes a full on political stance and blurts it out into the open. I think Megadeth are one of the best politically influenced bands that avoids this. They make political statements that are ambiguous enough that the listener has to put forth a little thought and opinion. It makes you think about politics not just follow politics. I also love the personal issues that are brought up in songs like “Of Mice and Men” or “Something I’m Not.” (I believe that song to be a personal stab at Metallica – but who’s to say?)

There are some moments on this album that I went…WHA? “I Know Jack” in particular made me stop – it’s kind of out of place on the album and slows the flow of the album down. It’s a cool guitar line but overall since the first listen I skip it.

Overall this is a particularly interesting album – a modern thrash album of political and personal elements. It is almost a return to form for Megadeth, but not quite. There are moments of great pleasure and moments of disappointment scattered throughout the album. It’s a great starting place for new Megadeth fans – but it’s still not going to thrill the old ones.

Songs to check out: Blackmail the Universe, Kick the Chair, Back in the Day.

Some may laude this as being a monumental comeback, others may condemn it as being a complete waste of CD space, but I prefer to let the music do the talking. One of the things that truly helps to separate this album from the rather unsuccessful resurrection attempt that was “The World Needs a Hero” is the one time return of original axe man Chris Poland. His influence, combined with a more healthy set of riffs and a more rational take on political influences help put this album up there with better works such as “Countdown to Extinction” and “Youthanasia”.

Chris Poland’s soloing style has truly evolved since he left the MegaDeth fold in the late 80s. I’ve delved into some of his solo work and it is highly Jeff Beck influenced, which I regard as a positive. We see a good deal of that influence present in his lead work here, as there is a strong amount of attention to giving every note an almost vocal quality and to methodically place the shred lines where they will have the most punch. Highlights in the soloing department can be found on “Die Dead Enough”, “Kick the Chair” and “Back in the Day”.

In the riff department, we actually have a solid collection of gems, though they are not quite the masterpieces that we saw out of Mustaine in the 80s. “Back in the Day” has a strong set of inspired guitar lines, many of them suggesting a quasi-power metal approach rather than the thrashing efforts of the past. The intro to “Die Dead Enough” sounds like it was partially borrowed from Hanger 18, the rest is pretty much mid-tempo riffing similar to work on Youthanasia. “Kick the Chair” is the only song that crosses into thrash territory, although I would have liked it if they had ratcheted up the tempo a bit more, and gone for broke on the double bass drum in a few sections. “Blackmail the Universe” and “Tears in a Vial” both have some solid moments on the riff department, though sometimes they are drowned out by the vocals, keyboards, and the news broadcast sounds.

However, we have some songs that just don’t qualify as being up to the MegaDeth standard and sound like weaker moments from “Cryptic Writings” and the last album. “My Kingdom Come” starts off with a nice single note driving line, but keeps it going a bit too long. After the first half of the song, things pick up a bit for the solo, but by then most people would probably lose interest and that slow as hell line comes right back. “The Scorpion” has some good ideas, though they are a bit under-developed and the song tends to drag a bit. “Of Mice and Men” has a stupid sounding vocal intro that is right out of the “Cryptic Writings” dumper, and what follows is catchy but way too repetitious. The rest of the album is too rock and not enough metal, or pointless interludes that don’t really go anywhere.

On the lyrical end, UltraBoris pretty much covered the problems with the news broadcast sections. But I would also like to point out that although Dave Mustaine has still not proven himself to be very apt at articulating political opinions (something that Maiden has proven to be the best at), he has evolved from the rambling moonbat that he was one previous works. The world issues that are presented in this album are not the fault of one man, but a product of an entirely self-contradictory system, one that seeks to be a humanitarian leader and yet simultaneously compromises with or makes sacrifices for evil men and governments. Bill Clinton is as much, if not more to blame as Bush for the mess that currently exists in the Middle East. His presentation of the facts may not be lyrically savvy, but at least now they aren’t hypocritical.

In conclusion, this is not a great comeback, but it is not a complete throwaway. I recommend this to fans of Youthanasia and Countdown, but I also recommend getting a second hand copy of it as I can’t justify paying full price for an album that only has 6 truly great songs, though many of the other songs do have some excellent lead breaks in them.

First of all before I start this review, I’d like to say this album isn’t too thrashy and isn’t an R. I. P 2.Anyone who expects that is coming in for another disappointment. Here is my view though, I think if Megadeth made let’s say, 100 Rust in Pieces then that would just bring down the brilliance and utter beauty of the original! So Deth move on to a more mainstream though still pretty much heavy and entertaining sound, this doesn’t make me unhappy (even though I liked their thrash more)! I don’t find anything wrong with this album. There’s a lot of diversity here and its more straight-up metal than anything Deth have done. You just have to be open-minded to know how good it is, it has its low points but come on, most albums are that way! This applies to all kinds of metal whether New or old. St. Anger was pretty bad though I didn't want to compare it with any of their other albums cause that was its true worth! Surely, Deth don’t deserve the same fate. Anyway, I’ll move on to the music:-

Blackmail the universe is a good heavy number that has some news-headliner things in the background. I am not really a fan of these kinds of things but the riffing here is pretty good and goes along with the words spoken by the announcer. Mustaine's vocals aren't exactly top notch but are pretty bearable, a bit too melodic for this kind of heavy riffing and sometimes I cant hear his voice (maybe drowned in the guitar rush?) but besides that the song is pretty good. Next is Die Dead Enough, and I don’t know why the heck people hate this song so much cause I found it to be catchy, nicely melodic and it also has some good solo's. Dave’s vox get annoying sometimes but are pretty good. I don’t like “I, I, I" chant.

Next is Kick the Chair which would qualify as the best in this album, its heavy and Mustaine’s vocals are aggressive on this one, some good riffing present here. The Scorpion is a very quirky, strange kind of song but it grows on you the more you listen to it. Dave’s vocals are bad here but the guitars are still good. Tears in a vial is up next and is pretty boring and un-memorable though the melody is ok, the songs stretched too much and is a very passable tune. I know Jack is a needles little interlude that is far too short and the CD could well have done without it (What was Dave thinking?). Back in The Day gets the CD rolling again, the song is heavy and has a really good tune to it, and the lyrics are glorifying metal, something like Manowar or the likes to show their power metal now.

Something that I'm not is a not-too impressive mediocre number on the CD, Nothing too impressive here and the lyrics are somewhat unconnected. Truth be told picks up and it’s a heavy tune that reeks of Rust in Piece (well ok, not THAT much), there’s heavy riffing here and some good guitar work. Dave’s vox are angry and I love the line "Hells open for business now!” the song though is a bit long but nonetheless stands as another impressive song. Of Mice and Men sounds classic, really nice song on display here (surely no.2). I don’t know why people hate this song because it’s extremely catchy and has some good guitar work and a great solo. Dave’s vocals take the melodic edge here but they are pleasurable to listen to, the lyrics are very nicely structured out.

Shadow of Deth is another needless interlude. It features some good guitar work but just ends up boring the listener; they could have used those riffs on another song instead. My Kingdom provides the finishing touch to the album and is a mediocre song but all in all a good ending to a enjoyable album.

So, that concludes this review. The System Has Failed is a good album, but only to the open minded. A new direction and a varied album for Megadeth and this possibly could be the last (judging Mustaine doesn't go back on his words!).

I’ve never really been a fan of Megadeth’s middle age stuff (read: after Rust In Peace). That stuff was easy to dismiss after just a few listens – records should have more to them than just some inspiring Marty Friedman solos. The System Has Failed kicked back from the far side of the grave, slaying most of the previous albums – still it’s not that good. I mean I listen to the album, thinking this song isn’t that great, pressing forward and still I like it. Dave Mustaine has recovered some of his old forms, still keeping the melodic edge the later albums have been filled with.

Dave Mustaine always has been known for/good at masking pop song with a thrash outfit. Now that outfit crackles and the structural skeleton surfaces a few too many times. Die Dead Enough seems to have been shortened in order to fit single length and the four last verses of Back in the Day is pure theft. That melody is stolen (or “borrowed”) from Uriah Heep’s “Lady in Black”. The intro to My Kingdom Come is so close to Virgin Steele’s “I Will Come for You” that Dave probably has to pay them royalties… The song writing just isn’t on top; most songs are no more than decent. The news broadcasts are just desperate attempts to hide this flaw but they don’t really make anything better. Extinction camps for spoken parts should be arranged.

We all know that Dave’s become a sell-out, although he refuses the thought by saying “I didn’t cut my hair”. He went from riff thick thrash to great thrash to pop and now to power metal. He sings about Lars Ulrich selling out, oh the irony. There was a time when Dave stated that no respectable hard rock band ever used keyboards. Now he’s doing exactly that. The System Has Failed is filled with keyboard loops, samplings and other stupid sound effects. Personally I don’t have any problems with the keyboards it’s the other stuff that bothers me.

In his attempt to pay back the debts to his label Mustaine even incorporated a banjo on this album – which was supposed to be a thrash recording. Who’d think that? It works out rather well though, as it’s pretty much inaudible. I mean both the banjo and the thrash. Actually Tad Morose makes thrashier music than Megadeth nowadays. No matter what, The System Has Failed is an incredible improvement after the few most recent abortions.

The thrash has become power metal, the melodies are the basis, harmonies are where riffs used to hang around. Marty Friedman is gone. Back is Poland who does a good job, but both he and Dave seem to have forgotten about riffs. There’s one intro riff to Blackmail the Universe, but they use it throughout the song – and it’s not that good. Fact is, that’s the only good part of that song. I don’t think the number of riffs ever been so low before. Of course leads and solos are great, the way the guitars harmonize with the music is great too, something that never happened before. Still this is Megadeth – we want riffs. Dave said that Metallica would run out of his riffs. He was right. Now he’s not far away from doing so himself. There are more riffs in one song of the Last Rites demo than on this entire album.

Flashiness has won over quality. I don’t mean wankery, but it’s not that way. It’s more like solos, leads, repeat with extended tones – making them gleam somehow. Before I would’ve said Megadeth – good guitars = suck. That’s changed. The melody is a competitor for the attention and the vocals have improved. According to Dave himself it’s because he wasn’t singing for two years, not even in church. That was supposed to strengthen his voice. Personally I don’t know if the improvement should be accredited to resting or the mixing and sound effects. At least his voice is far from its former annoying standards, he hits more notes than ever before and has more power. Lacks the anger, though. But no Megadeth without some jenka dance, two steps forward, and one step back. On Blackmail the Universe Dave sets a new low-mark for vocals. Holy shit, it’s that bad.

It’s sad that most songs start out great – or at least promising, and then nothing more (positive) happens. Scorpion starts interestingly with a riff and then ends the same way, with some annoying ticking clock. The bridges and transitions are painfully apparent; they don’t have the flow they’re supposed to have. Being influenced by your earlier albums is allowed, but Dave, don’t exaggerate. Most of the stuff that isn’t taken from other bands was originally on Youthantasia, Cryptic Writings and The World Needs a Hero. But really, anyone will find twelve catchy, easily digested songs on first listen.

On the other hand one will also find a much slower Megadeth than history awarded us with. There’s much plodding and pure crap. Actually I think this album could’ve been edited down to an EP – but that wouldn’t have rendered enough money I suppose. Without the news broadcasts, without Blackmail the Universe, the pointless 40 seconds long, plodding, useless rubbish with sound effects that is I Know Jack, the dying-after-the-intro, dead boring Of Mice and Men, the prayer that is Shadow of Deth and My Kingdom Come that never ends… An EP would’ve had higher quality, and a playing length that better fitted said quality!

But The System Has Failed was still a pleasant surprise after Megadeth’s recent albums. For the first time Dave isn’t following Metallica, although he still dwells in the radio song land. But Vic is back, and that’s all that matters! My only real problem is that this album is in fact not too good, still I spin it every now and then - with notable pleasure. It's easy music folks, and it's Megadeth. Sure, without thrash, anger or riffs, but Megadeth.

Okay, I've come to the conclusion that this album is not a flop by any means, but neither is it the amazing comeback I was so excited about. The only truly phenomenal moment is the decisive charge forward of Mustaine energies and intelligence that starts us off. "Blackmail the Universe" crosses multiple terrains of past albums. Guitars primed and razor sharp to a degree not felt since the raw and crippling sounds of "So Far, So Good... So What!". Wrapped up tightly in a "Holy Wars..." structure and perfected with Chris Poland's confident, trademark solos bringing you right back to the "Peace Sells..." days. It's inspiring to say the least.

But the brief moment of glory is not shared by the rest of the album's runtime. Our only other heavy track comes in the form of "Kick the Chair", which bridges the gap from "Countdown to Extinction" finding its way to the angry edge of earlier albums, with its rapid back to back solos reminiscent of “Hanger 18”. The rest of the album hasn’t quite got this feel down, but should be generally accessible to anybody with a liking for any album after the barrier breaking “Rust in Peace”. They bridge the vibrant signature sounds of yore with styling that feeds off some up-to-date sources but without going as far as watering down or taking over the Mustaine powerhouse.

The album carries with it a slew of backend missteps, in the form of two wholly irritating songs and two directionless interludes. “Of Mice and Men” is built upon its chorus, which is not good when it reaches down to the lowest cringe worthy depths of modernized harmonies. A miniscule solo is unable to glue this shoddy job together at all. Along with “My Kingdom”, the album ends with hurried and vacuous arrangements. The two interludes are terminally pointless, and even though “Shadow of Deth” threatens to go somewhere interesting, it just can’t be arsed to.

Nothing near a “Rust in Peace 2”, but it does have its special qualities and wraps up Megadeth’s career as a whole, even though it is just Dave with (bar Chris Poland) a band of new unknowns. Long term fans of the band will find something to enjoy here, though anybody who didn’t like anything Dave and co. released into the 90s will once more be disappointed, no matter with what he puts out these days it seems.

Firstly, Megadeth (and Dave as it were), are basically god to me. So, while I like pretty much anything Megadeth, I'm also damned picky. Biased as this may be, as a Megadeth fan, I know what I'm talking about (at least for the most part).

While we'd all like to see another Rust In Peace, we might as well all shut-up and get over the fact that RIP has already happened, no member of any band likes writing the same crap over and over again, they have to grow a little. Unfortunately, Megadeth's growing came in tumor form with Risk (even though I like some of that disk), and let's face it, World Needs A Hero didn't cut it either.

The System Has Failed, however, was a bit more than I expected, and about as good as I had hoped for. Finally, Dave is heard snarling through a couple songs, most notably, Kick The Chair, which thunders by all too quickly with...(could it be??)... RIP-style riffing! Actual Thrash Metal songs pop up through the course of the album, including Blackmail the Universe (although the voice-over story therein lasts too long for my tastes), Back In The Day, and the interludey I Know Jack has decent riffing. These tracks could have come from an album linking RIP and CTE.

The Scorpion (my favorite track here), Die Dead Enough, Tears In A Vial, and Something That I'm Not could've come from Youthanasia. Especially considering how many unreleased (on full-length albums) tracks exist from that era (including Crown of Worms & New World Order). Plus, they'd fit nicely onto that disk.

Of Mice And Men & Truth Be Told are alright, if relatively unnoticable tracks. Almost like they're filler drifting from CTE on through Cryptic Writings. Shadow Of Deth and My Kingdom Come seem like leftovers from TWNAH, and while I like SOD (um, the song just mentioned, not the band--although Scott Ian and company are entertaining, too) for it's overall sound, I feel a tad cheated that it's just a fuckin Psalm from the bible rather than a wholly new song.

Overall, it's better than the last two releases, and as close as I think we're gonna get to a full length album containing a sound similar to Hidden Treasures (which is just below RIP as my favorite release from Megadeth). So it's supposed to be the last Megadeth? Dave could've ended it with something worse. Much much worse. This is the best since CW, containing some surprise riffing and energy (and snarling!!) going way back to RIP. Megadeth, Anthrax, OverKill fans and fans of more "traditional" metal should at least give it a listen. Unlike Suktallica, or Larstallica, or whatever the hell Metallica should really be called, Dave has at least proven that he has the ability to write heavy music without coming off with looking retarded or like he's trying too damn hard. "So in anger with you???!!" I can't believe I used to like that shitty band!

It's been said that people need to stop expecting Dave to put out another thrash masterpiece and accept his streamlined metal for what it is, and I fully agree. This album actually has a few great modern heavy metal songs on it--but there's no real thrash to be found. Those days are gone and are not coming back.

We start off with "Blackmail the Universe," which tries earnestly to be thrashy (or at least some kind of heavy...), but stumbles over on it self from the moment that fake newscast comes on. The idea of Air Force One being shot down by a stinger missile is amusing enough, but come on. The whole thing's kinda lame. Anyway. Next we have "Die Dead Enough," which I, personally, really enjoy. Not extremely heavy, but you can't look at it that way. Like I said, those days are long gone. This is a catchy, mid-tempo metal song with some nice, bouncy breaks ("Ayee-ayee-ayy...") and an awesome chorus. The next cut, "Kick the Chair," is the thrashiest we get here, but... it's not thrash. It’s fun, though–chorus get’s your energy going. This track shows again that Dave can still write catchy tunes, and work wonders with simple riffs.

"The Scorpion" is another highlight... mid-tempo, not old-school in any manner, and yet, again, catchy as fuck. The buzzing riff played on the high-E string leads into some cool organ/pizzicato-string keyboard work, which somehow reminds me of something Fate would have done (intro to "The Oath"?). Dave's lyrical ability has been struggling for a while now (See: "Psychotron"), but the melodrama you see in the verses and the hostility heard in the chorus make for a good time. Again, the fake newscasts at the end are silly, but ha... "...went berserk with a 12-gauge shotgun..." Yes.

"Tears in a Vial" is another one of Dave's whiny "failed relationship" songs, but they never really bothered me. Half-thumbs up to this one, it’s catchy. "I Know Jack" is simply the first of two pointless segues. "Back in the Day" once again teases us by coming mouth-wateringly close to thrashiness, only to promptly back off into wank. Decent song nevertheless, the change-up at about 1:55 gives way to galloping guitar work and lyrical praise of the old-school. Vocals here are fun. The lyrics in this song kinda alienate the younger fans like myself though. I guess I "wouldn't understand".

Oh boy... then we come to "Something That I'm Not". Kill me. Awful groove metal, and the lyrics are annoying. I mean--I hate Lars Ulrich just as much as the next guy, but PLEASE, Dave. Stop fucking whining about it. I find no redeeming qualities in this song. Upon first listen of ‘System’, "Something That I'm Not" is where I truly started to lose faith in the album. Moving on... with "Truth Be Told" we have a clean intro passage, which is kinda nice, nothing objectionable here. Then at about 2:55 ("...'til death do us part..."), the song builds, and you know something good’s coming... but... what's this? What the hell is this? This riff is completely empty, not heavy at all, though it wants to be. The lyrics don’t flow, and the group vocals ("TRUTH BE TOLD"), which once kicked our ass in such songs of mass destruction as "Take No Prisoners," now feel silly and overused. Blah blah, repeat steps 1-2, then at the 3-minute mark we have a little chuggity-chiggity break which would be okay if it wasn't so... pointless. That's followed by some less-than-heavy riffing and decent soloing. Then at about 3:11, things start to speed up, we've got a basic thrash beat and some less-that-inspired speed riffing. Then the song's over. Okay. Next? "Of Mice and Men". Something good could have been done with this chorus. Unfortunately, it doesn't really go anywhere. As for the lyrics, I.... don't want to hear Dave's life story... AGAIN. Chalk it up to his ego I guess. The chorus should have been so good, but those damned vocal effects makes it hard to listen to, and it just... doesn't fit in with the song. The underlying riff during the chorus is all over the place and has no sense of coherence, it really feels like a cop-out--that riff could not have been hard to write, but it sounds complex if you're not really analyzing it. Other than that... well, there is nothing else. Skip. "Shadow of Deth"–the second of two pointless segues. As for the closer, "My Kingdom"... I don't really know what to say. There's nothing exceedingly BAD about it, but there's nothing GOOD about it, either. Boring, slow, uninspired, it's all been done. Kinda makes me think of TWNAH. And then... that's it.

So there you have it, I guess. Upon hearing "Kick the Chair" for the first time on the Deth website, long before TSHF was released, I thought maybe Dave was going to make an earnest return to at least TRYING to sound heavy. But no. We get another feeble attempt to preserve his waning relevancy and to feed his ego. But hey... as much as I'm complaining, I honestly like a few of the songs on here. And those highlights would be: "Die Dead Enough," "Kick the Chair," and "The Scorpion". Those tracks have managed to stay in my playlist rotation for the time being, but the whole rest of the album just does nothing for me.

Mustaine has stated that The System Has Failed will infact be the last album he writes to bear the "Megadeth" name... and when you look at it, it's a fitting final chapter for the band. He has created an album which essentially covers the mid-section of Megadeth's career. No, this is not a thrash album, so don't expect to hear gems like "Good Mourning / Black Friday part 2" on here. However, many songs on TSHF sound like they could have easily been on either Countdown to Extinction, Youthanasia, and yes, even Rust in Peace.

What seperates this album from it's predecesor, The World Needs A Hero, is that none of the new songs sound forced. Dave's music for the first time in about a decade comes off as unihibited. The mid-paced, slower songs on this album (Countdown and Youthanasia esque) have catchy melodies and riffs. Dave's lyrics sound like they have purpose this time around, and in some cases, the music rages on in ways we haven't seen since Rust in Peace.

What prevents this album from being a total sucess is that Mustaine for some reason can't give everyone too much of a good thing. The killer cuts here are : Blackmail the Universe (Rust in Peace era shredder, awesome double kick), Die Dead Enough (A nicely done Youthanasia esque ballad), Kick the Chair (Reminds me a LOT of Take No Prisioners, with awesome lyrics to boot), Tears in a Vial (sweet sounding ballad, with some nice solo work and speed metal outro), Back in the Day (Fast paced song with cool shredding and double kick outro), and Truth Be Told (Starts off slow and melodic, but the last half of the song is a pure Rust in Peace shred fest). Aside from these songs though the rest of the album is meh. No bad tracks, but nothing else stand out. Songs like The Scorpion, Something That I'm Not, Of Mice and Men, and even the album closer My Kingdom Come, all have quality and catchy riffs, but they come of as kind of stagnant. You feel as if these songs should go into a speed break, but instead keep the same tempo throughout. In some cases there is a speed break, but it never lasts long enough for you to totally get into it.

The two interlude songs, I know Jack, and Shadow of Deth both are cool, and have nice riffs, but they end to early. The latter, Shadow of Deth is the Shadow of Death prayer spoken by Vic Rattlehead, which is then followed by a sweet sounding solo... however the song then transitions into the final track, and never really establishes itself. Had Mustaine developed both I Know Jack and Shadow of Death into full length songs with lyrics, they would have been awesome.

But all in all, this album provides a not perfect, but fitting closure to Megadeths' career. If you are a fan of Megadeth's catalog up to and Including Youthanasia (as am I), you will most likely enjoy this album. Just don't buy it expecting Rust in Peace part 2, for dissapointment will surely follow (despite that fact that the album does have it's thrash moments). Pehaps thinking of this album as Countdown to Extinction Part 2 is more appropriate, seeing as it is the best Megadeth album, since then.

Damn it, Dave. Stop. Quit. Die. Do something. The horse has disintegrated into fine dust, and you must stop beating it. For the good of all in the world... GIVE UP.

This isn't really a horribly terrible album, but it is pretty fucking bad, and when one considers which band released it, it is just an absolute outrage. We've got far more shitty interludes than in every album up to this point, and far less triumphant riffage. Look at all the damn entire-songs that are just long drivel passages, like I Know Jack and Shadow of Death... random shit that isn't really considerable as "song" material.

We've also got stupid groove stuff like "Something I'm Not", which is Craptic Writings sewage... dumbass fast stuff with absolutely no punch like Kick the Chair, which tries oh-so-hard to be Peace Sells but really isn't even Youthanasia. Note to Clansman: the Virgin Steele intro to "My Kingdom Come" is "I will Come For You". This is no "I will Come For You". This is just a lot of "Sweating Bullets"-style riffage turned even lamer, with one cool riff section highlighted by an awful-sounding solo. Remember when Megadeth had lots of cool riff sections AND cool solos?

The only really truly memorable highlight of this album is the middle of Back in the Day, which is very good, except for the sneaking suspicion I get that it could've been completely amazing, in that Hanging in the Balance sense of the word. The rest of the album hints at that too, at times, but oh is the execution missing completely!! See "Of Mice and Men", the beginning - that modulation of the main melody sounds like it'll turn into something awesome, but it just keeps plodding along... and plodding along... it breaks into one quick fast section, but even that is no good. Then that multiple-layered vocal chorus section. Too many effects, too much fluff, not anywhere near enough substance.

Tears in a Vial has a decent under-verse riff, and some horrible overmelodic chorus parts. Seriously, Mustaine has no intention to be thrash, but if he just got his act together, he'd be damn good power metal. See "Youthanasia" for example... this is no Youthanasia, unfortunately. There isn't the over-the-top 80s chorusage of Blood of Heroes to be found here - it's as though Mustaine wrote down the first melody that came to mind, regardless of how mediocre it was.

Oh and one final note... the fake news report at the beginning is the DUMBEST shit I have ever heard. Defcon 3 is barely above Defcon 4, and Defcon 4 is "all is well". If the president were missing, it would be at least Defcon 2. Oh and how many asshole buzzwords can you use? Stinger missile, rogue terrorists, sleeper cell, etc... and finally, if the president's whereabouts are unknown, he's not assumed missing... he IS missing.

This album sucks... fucking disappointing, simply because every once in a while a great idea comes through, but damn is it quickly buried in the noise. Get yourself some Rust in Peace, and be happy. Avoid this crap.

Megadeth's comeback album after going through many problems. First off, Mustaine has finally achieved what he's been trying to do since he got kicked out of Metallica; put out better music than them. Metallica's comeback was obviously utter crap. The System Has Failed may not be the best thing in metal, but at least it's listenable and pretty good in many parts. Also, it's not thrash, but it is much better than anything they've put out since younthanasia. In fact, I find this one a tad better.

Opening track Blackmail the Universe has a couple of good riffs and chugs along. Heaviest opening track since Trust back in 1997. Die Dead Enough reminds me of Devil's Island in the beginning but then turns into a mediocre song that could fit on Cryptic Writings or Youthanasia. Kick The Chair is a return to the days of old, mainly Rust In Peace, and it's damn good. But it would seem to fit as a B-side for anything off that album. The Scorpion is a bit like a power metal song in the intro but then becomes slow and boring. Tears in a Vial is another boring song. I Know Jack is alright, and seems to have a build up of some sort, but again doesnt rip and tear like it should and then out of nowhere it just ends.??? Back in the Day is a better song than the previous few, and picks up a bit. This song would probably be better had it had a better main riff, instead of those high notes. Something I'm Not reminds me of Rust in Peace again, but still doesnt have that energy RIP has. Truth Be Told almost got me into it, but then the verse came and completly turned me off. Too damn slow! The build up to the chorus was nice and for a second sounded alright, but it was mediocre, then back to that really dumb verse. Of Mice and Men is again a disapointment. Shadow Of Deth sounds like Dave was trying to make a cliche power metal song, and it sounds stupid. My Kingdom Come sounded repetitive and should have definitly ripped. But alas, it didnt.

Once again, the "this album's gonna be a return to the old days" BS is there. It's sad that the once great thrash bands cannot make anything good anymore. The "top 4" (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax) all disapoint with each release. This is still better than the recent catalouge the band has released. It has all the ingredients for a good metal album, but they're not mixed well, or at least as well as they should. I'd say get this album only because there's decent stuff here. But don't expect to be headbanging like crazy.

This is not the return to Rust in Peace that was hoped and maybe even expected by some. It's not even thrash, though it has some thrash moments. I can catch a good riff here and there on most songs, but so many times a song slows down too much when I expect it to burst in my face. I'm trying to pin down what exactly annoys me so much about this album and it looks like the choruses are a strong contender. The vocals aren't aggressive at all and Mustaine is trying way too hard to be catchy here, even overdubbing the vocals, which comes too often at the detriment of the riffing. A good example of that would be 'The Scorpion': good riffing and soloing entertwined with annoying choruses. I don't remember the riffs ever stopping for the vocals on good metal albums - give me some old Kreator over this any day. Too often a song really gets its thing going on and all of a sudden you wonder "Where did the riffs go? This was about to be good." Every song has its faster parts and better parts, but only 'Kick the Chair' and maybe 'Blackmail the Universe' don't leave anything to be desired. I mean, isn't that "truth be told" part annoying? Am I listening to a shitty pop song all of a sudden? What are all these over-produced vocal effects? Those are questions I don't want to be asking myself when listening to a Megadeth record. I'm not crazy about the "I'm on the news" thing he's got going on either. I love good production as much as the next guy, but let's not go out of our way to ruin otherwise fine parts.

It seems that I've been dwelling on the shortcomings of the album for a while, and I wouldn't want to leave the impression that it's a bad album - it's not, but it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Rust in Peace here, Youthanasia there, or something else entirely? What it is is a blend of good riffs, blazing solos, disappointing slow-downs, a few satisfying songs: 'Kick the Chair', 'Blackmail the Universe', 'Back in the Day', 'Tears in a VIal', some solid ones and others that could have been much better easily - just edit off the few annoying parts.

As nearly all of us know, Megadeth seemed to have been going through some problems recently. For one thing, their last 3 albums ranged from average to terrible. Marty Friedman left the band; Dave Mustaine had some weird arm problem. The future looked bleak for the former excellent thrash bands. But out of nowhere, came this quite good comeback album.

Firstly, this is not a thrash or speed album. There are a couple of thrash/speed songs on it, but the majority of it is power, in the vein of Youthanasia. As Youthansia ruled, this does too. The lead guitar is excellent, courtesy of Chris Poland, the drumming is solid, and the riffs are for the most part, great. Poland is no Marty Friedman, but he is very good and his solos are usually well done. The only main problem is Mustaine's vocals; they are pretty bad when he tries to sing melodically.

The highlights include: The opener, Blackmail the Universe has some great riffs. The vocals during the chorus are a little crappy, but the song contains some of the coolest riffs on the album. Kick the Chair is the best song, with amazing riffs and an incredibly great and genious solo. Catchy vocals too. The Scorpion has superb lead guitar, Tears in a Vial has more cool riffs with another great solo, though you have to wait till the end to get to them, and My Kingdom Come is another excellent song, though the repetition of riffs gets a little annoying.

Some of the worse tracks are Truth Be Told, which is a pretty bad ballad, though it picks up at the end and adds some more good riffs in. Of Mice and Men begins with a very annoying vocal performance by Mustaine, and generic riffs. Once again, it picks up near the end, but Mustaine's vocals during the chorus completely suck.

In total, this is a very comeback album. Its not as good as any of the "glory days" albums (Killing to Youthanasia) , but the band seems to be in the right direction again. Riffs are usually good, solos are good, everything's looking up. Some Megadeth fans might be annoyed by the lack of thrash, but if you enjoyed Youthansia, you'll most likely enjoy this.