Megadeth - Super Collider
Tradecraft
www.megadeth.com

Rating: B

Another Top 10 debut for Metal Muthers Megadeth is in the books!  And they deserve it too, as this album is one damn fine collection of songs. 

Frontman and founding member Dave Mustaine, despite making insane political comments, subscribing to insane conspiracy theories and doing either insane amounts of acting out, or becoming insanely born again, depending on which day of the week one may encounter him, remains an insanely good songwriter and guitarist. 

The fact that the band can still get albums into the Top 10 without any help from mainstream media says a lot about their fans, though. They are a loyal lot.  Let’s face it; Megadeth, nor any other band from their era, is going to gain tons of new fans at this stage of the game.  Sure, they will always appeal to the next generation of guitar goobers, but other than that Megadeth is riding the wave the created in the 1980’s.  The fact that they do it so well, and keep selling so many albums puts them in a league all of their own.  

So, suffice it to say that they are not overly concerned about making records that will get them an Entertainment Tonight exclusive.  Instead, they are content to remain active in their musicianship and crank out top notch hard rock and heavy metal.  They live by the old rule of attraction rather than promotion and as long as they keep creating music this damn good they will continue to succeed. 

Super Collider is more on the hard rock side of the band’s musical vocabulary, and is not as Thrash as some may like it.  However, the songs are so damn good that this simply works.  They are being true to who they are at the moment. The band is tight and sound great.  Mustaine is kicking ass, and with Chris Broderick as the other lead guitarist, Megadeth are a live force to be reckoned with.  The two men are dangerous with their lead playing.  It is in your face, loud, and even obnoxious at times. Both men are at the top of their game.    

“Kingmaker” is a great tune, up there with anything they have ever done. Their remake of the Thin Lizzy classic “Cold Sweat” is not only the best song on the album, it is such a great remake that Megadeth have taken ownership of the tune and truly made it their own. “Burn” is another barnstormer of a track with great lead playing and vocals. Perhaps one song that needs to be in the live set is “The Beginning of Sorry,” which starts off with Dave Ellefson on the bass and builds into an epic tune.

While this may not be the most bombastic album Megadeth have ever released, it is a very consistent album.  Every song has a strong personality and rocks hard. While the attitude may be more sublime than in the past, the continuity and swagger of this beast more than makes up for it, making this one fine hard rock album. 

Our advice?  Play this one loud and often!

Tracklist
01. Kingmaker
02. Super Collider
03. Burn!
04. Built For War
05. Off The Edge
06. Dance In The Rain
07. The Beginning Of Sorrow
08. The Blackest Crow
09. Forget To Remember
10. Don't Turn Your Back...
11. Cold Sweat

Jeb Wright