{"id":11608,"date":"2011-11-01T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T00:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=11608"},"modified":"2013-06-01T15:06:32","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T15:06:32","slug":"album-review-megadeth-th1rt3en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-megadeth-th1rt3en\/","title":{"rendered":"MEGADETH – Th1rt3en (2011) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

MEGADETH
Th1rt3en<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nRoadrunner (2011)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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What else could be a more fitting title for Megadeth<\/a>\u2019s thirteenth studio full-length album than Th1rt3en<\/em>?! <\/p>\n

Megadeth have had more line-up changes than I\u2019ve had hot dinners, and although Chris Broderick (guitar) and Shawn Drover (drums) remain from 2009\u2019s Endgame<\/em><\/a>, it\u2019s no surprise that there is yet another change in personnel with mainman Dave Mustaine bringing back original bassist David Ellefson to the fold following an eight-year hiatus.<\/p>\n

Clocking in at just under an hour, Th1rt3en<\/em> boasts, you guessed it, 13 tracks, beginning with the melodic strains of \u2018Sudden Death\u2019 which, despite lacking pace, is a dark, brooding affair with Mustaine\u2019s vocals adopting an even more sinister sneer; the snarls higher in the mix courtesy of producer Johnny K, who also contributed to some of the songwriting.<\/p>\n

\u2018Public Enemy No. 1\u2019 \u2013 an ode to gangster Al Capone \u2013 may disappoint a few, because despite being an infectious affair it\u2019s nothing more than a hard rocker that has more in common with early Alice Cooper rather than thrash metal. Even Mustaine\u2019s smirk conjures up some of Cooper\u2019s early works and suddenly I\u2019m hearing a less lethal Megadeth. To my dismay this continues throughout the album although \u2018Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)\u2019, with its punkoid guitar sound, injects an element of pace, but again we\u2019re still lacking the ferocity of the previous opus.<\/p>\n

I hate to say it but there\u2019s something rather unremarkable about Th1rt3en<\/em>. Ellefson\u2019s bass certainly doesn\u2019t have the effect of James LoMenzo\u2019s spine-shuddering strumming, and while the solos and drum assaults are still crisp, the whole affair is, sadly, reverting back to safe.<\/p>\n

\u2018We The People\u2019 drifts by without effect, although \u2018Guns, Drugs & Money\u2019 does pack a mightier punch, but Mustaine still seems keen to resort back to groove-based metal rather than anything barbed. It seems that Johnny K\u2019s influence is all over this record, and only \u2018Never Dead\u2019 attempts to cross the bridge into thrash territory.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u2018New World Order\u2019, featuring former Megadeth members Marty Friedman (guitar) and Nick Menza (drums) on the writing credits, is a complex affair. Almost disjointed in its melody, it features a catchy, chanted chorus, and while still lacking cutting edge it\u2019s one of the album\u2019s best moments. However, \u2018Black Swan\u2019 and \u2018Deadly Nightshade\u2019 once again wallow in more melodic waters, while driving song (!) \u2018Fast Lane\u2019 rattles by like a runaway train whose impact is mere powder puff effect.<\/p>\n

I am disappointed with Th1rt3en<\/em>, and unsure as to why Mustaine has reverted back to a more simple, less furious sound? It seems that guitarist Andy Sneap\u2019s (Sabbat \/ Hell) involvement in the production of United Abominations<\/em><\/a> (2007) and Endgame<\/em> was more than just a tad responsible for the band\u2019s injection of snarl and pace, because here even the title track fails to ignite; it plods along bringing with it bouts of frustration and perspiration as I ponder just what Megadeth will come up with next. I just hope it\u2019s better than this.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MEGADETHTh1rt3en Roadrunner (2011)Rating: 7\/10 What else could be a more fitting title for Megadeth\u2019s thirteenth studio full-length album than Th1rt3en?! Megadeth have had more line-up changes than I\u2019ve had hot dinners, and although Chris Broderick (guitar) and Shawn Drover (drums) remain from 2009\u2019s Endgame, it\u2019s no surprise that there is yet another change in personnel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-megadeth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11608"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12140,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11608\/revisions\/12140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}