Band:	Megadeth
Album:	The World Needs A Hero
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	May 2001

01. Disconnect
02. The World Needs A Hero
03. Moto Psycho
04. 1000 Times Goodbye
05. Burning Bridges
06. Promises
07. Recipe For Hate...Warhorse
08. Losing My Senses
09. Dread And The Fugitive Mind
10. Silent Scorn
11. Return To Hangar
12. When
13. Coming Home [Japanese bonus]

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Megadeth's career going down the drain.

Where Risk flopped by straying too far from the Megadeth sound, at least it could be excused on the grounds that it was, well, a risk, The World Needs A Hero doesn't have that caveat to hide behind, openly doing a 180 turn and meeting their old sound halfway but coming off far worse than its erstwhile predecessor in terms of quality. Yes, in a back catalogue that includes Risk and Super Collider, it is the oft overlooked (wilful amnesia I'm assuming) The World Needs A Hero that takes the dubious honour of being the worst record Megadeth have ever (to this point) released. Plodding, uncreative, boring and overly long, it was a return to form in terms of sound but certainly not quality, lacking in originality or much that would have you clamouring to hear more.

The album at best only reaches average quality, tracks and passages that are enjoyable but not a patch on what the band has produced in their career up to this point. Tracks like "Disconnect" and "Moto Psycho" are ok but are rarely listened to given that I could use that time to listen to the band's earlier work. As if to make this evident to their audience, the inclusion of "Dread And The Fugitive Mind" and "Return To Hanger" makes it glaringly obvious you are listening to a band who are leagues away from matching their past glories, let alone challenging to exceed them.

The passages of quality are stuck onto otherwise boring tracks that make it a chore just to get to the good bits, leaving you questioning if it is really worth hanging in there to hear them. Take the "Warhorse" part of "Recipe For Hate?Warhorse": it takes until 2:25 before the song gets interesting, and in the meantime you are left with a dirge of what I guess is exposition and ok at best guitar meanderings. Add onto this "1000 Times Goodbye" and you have an album that is sparse on overall good tracks and the few good moments are a struggle to get to; it really doesn't make for a fun listening experience.

As you can imagine, if these are the highlights then the lowlights must really be something and boy, they really are. From the boring ("Losing My Senses" and the first half of "Recipe For Hate?Warhorse") to the banal ("The World Needs A Hero" and "Burning Bridges") and finally the uncreative "When" (which is basically "Am I Evil"). There are?memorable parts, such as the Mustaine pseudo-possessed vocals on "Burning Bridges" or the effects-drenched chorus in "The World Needs A Hero", which will stick in your mind for all the wrong reasons.

The playing on this album is competent but unmemorable, with "Return To Hanger" the only track that could really try and stand up to the band's history, and even then it would likely be the weaker choice if you were compare tracks head-to-head. Pitrelli and DeGrasso are competent and can hold their own, but they are hampered by a lack of opportunities to really flex their talents, often sitting comfortably in the pocket rather than springing out like a jack in the box. As for Mustaine? He is a very subdued presence for much of the record, with his guitar playing being limited by uninteresting riffing and his only moments of personality coming when he sounds terrible (the aforementioned vocal performances on "The World Needs A Hero" and "Burning Bridges").

The album is also hampered by a very lifeless and staid production; sonically it sounds fine, with everything audible and clear, but it is at the expense of all personality and power, which in a way is worse as you can clearly hear this fact. This sound coupled with the average-at-best song quality means you will find listening to the whole album a chore rather than something to enjoy.

Whether it was the abrupt change in direction, the inability to balance radio-friendly sounds with the band's heavier leanings or Mustaine being burnt out creatively, The World Needs A Hero is the awful result of whatever spawned this turn of events. All the more credit for being able to pull Megadeth back up to the heights the band is now enjoying, but at the same time I have to wonder how Mustaine let the band crater like this in the first place.