Altsounds - Megadeth - Endgame [Album]

Once upon a time, bands such as Megadeth were considered to be “evil” by conservative American parents. The reason being was that they were one of those “rock” groups. More specifically, they were one of those dreaded “metal” groups. Had I have been into the “metal” music during my youth, my parental figures would have surely complained incessantly about Megadeth’s long hair, loud music, and excessive screaming.

As time passed however, “metal” became less evil and more ordinary (e.g. the works of AC/DC are now considered mainstream and appear on classic rock radio stations) -- to which the prefixes “speed,” “death,” and “thrash” were added in an attempt to revive a dead genre and make it “evil” once again.

After 26 years and 11 albums, Megadeth is still around. Their twelfth album, Endgame, makes its way into stores this month. I suppose the question that’s on everyone’s mind is, “Have they lost their touch?”

Despite the given argument that may emerge over whether or not Megadeth really ever had a touch to begin with, I would say “no, they haven‘t lost their touch.” They still haven’t cut their hair, their music is still very loud and they’re still obviously very angry about stuff, too, since they scream an awful lot. Shit, I’m starting to sound like my parental figures now!

Yes, Megadeth is still angry and they have every right to be. Back in the day, when frontman Dave Mustaine first formed the group, the band’s anger was aimed at rival performers Metallica for having axed Mustaine. Of course, now that Mustaine and his gang are a bit older, they’ve focused their energies on that which all aging men seem to do: politics.

The album’s title, Endgame, spawns from former US President George W. Bush’s rather obscure but altogether Hitler-like plan. And the anger that any righteous individual would (or should) feel over such a dastardly scheme is relayed by Megadeth in the song of the same name. Several other tracks, with names such as 'This Day We Fight!,' 'Bite the Hand,' 'Headcrusher,' and 'This Is How the Story Ends,' further reflect Megadeth’s stand on the shadiness and corruption within the American government.

It goes without saying that the thrash metal sounds of Megadeth may not appeal to everyone. Others (most likely the uninitiated) may feel like this album sounds just like the last 11 Megadeth albums (I certainly experience a modest degree of difficulty when attempting to tell one album apart from another) but the fact that these heavy metallurgists are still going strong like they were 26 years ago and still have something to shout about that we can all agree on makes "Endgame" at least worth listening to.