Band:	Megadeth
Album:	United Abominations
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	May 15, 2007
Guest review by:	Mindheist

01. Sleepwalker
02. Washington Is Next!
03. Never Walk Alone... A Call To Arms
04. United Abominations
05. Gears Of War
06. Blessed Are The Dead
07. Play For Blood
08. À Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free) [feat. Cristina Scabbia]
09. Amerikhastan
10. You're Dead
11. Burnt Ice
12. Out On The Tiles [Led Zeppelin cover] [Japanese bonus]
13. Black Swan [Special edition bonus]
14. The Bodies Left Behind [Special edition bonus]
15. Special Live Track[Special edition bonus] [live]

Who thought that Dave Mustaine, after being kicked out of Metallica, would be able to unleash one of the best known and most successful thrash acts in the metal world? Who thought that Megadeth would succeed to get a rightful place in the "big four" of the thrash metal bands along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer? Well I personally think that all the credit goes to those three words " Rust In Peace ", the band's 1990 landmark album. No matter what Megadeth produce, if it's good, we will obviously love it and if it's bad we will eventually end up making excuses for it, simply because Rust In Peace is a masterpiece from the past which permantly continue to cast a shadow over anything Megadeth have done or ever will do. Oh yes, 1990 is a year to be remembered, 2007 is a year to be forgotten for who's claiming to be the Uncle Sam of metal.

The album starts off with "Sleepwalker", an instant classic that could have easily been on the Rust In Peace album, great riffs, pummeling drumwork and blazing solos, probably the album's best song. "Washington Is Next", the second track, it gets better each time I hear it. By keeping the same previous song's upbeat pace, it retains the heavy and menacing riffage before returning to a killer mid paced tempos. And that's all folks, the majority of the remaining tracks is for me a total waste of space and time, some of them don't quite keep up the standard?I mean why the hell did Megadeth re-release " A Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free) " ? What's wrong with the original? Unfortunately, in comparison to the old version it pales and doesn't fit well on the album. Cristina Scabbia, as lovely as she is, does nothing special with her appearance. Dave Mustaine on the other hand seems to have the Linkin Park syndrome going on. Don't get me wrong, it's still a Megadeth album, but it's too safe, too commercial and too far away from Rust In Peace. But you know what, we shouldn't compare Megadeth's new effort to RIP or Metallica's Death Magnetic to Master Of Puppets or The Black Album. Each album has its own signature and that's exactly what makes " the big four " the leaders and after all, diversity is good isn't it ?

Overall, United Abominations is average comparing to Megadeth's previous efforts, but again I remind you it's worth picking up, at least to decorate your room, but I ensure you, it has its own memorable moments and it would be a shame to miss it. However, Megadeth should take some rest and stop releasing albums for a while. I remember saying this somewhere, Dave is a good composer and a great guitarist but when it comes to singing, he should think again because if he thinks that he's a singer, not a good singer, just a singer, then Palestinians and Jews are dancing arm in arm in the streets of Hebrew?So do yourself a favor, look for a new vocalist and run for president.