Megadeth - United Abominations review
| Band: | Megadeth |
| Album: | United Abominations |
| Style: | Heavy metal |
| Release date: | May 15, 2007 |
| Guest review by: | Auntie Sahar |
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]
In Megadeth's catalogue, United Abominations sits in an awkward place coming right after a great comeback album, The System Has Failed, and right before an even greater comeback album, Endgame. Yet it is better than neither of the two. I have no idea what Dave was trying to do on this album. It's not a failure by any means, but isn't an excellent album either and, as I've noticed, disappointed many old-school Megadeth fans.
First of all, the music on United Abominations is back to a more thrashy style. It's not the watered-down 90s sound of Cryptic Writings or the horrific Risk, but it's not Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? or Rust In Peace either. There are a few memorable riffs on the album, such as in "Gears Of War" and "Sleepwalker." However, one rather irritating thing about the album is the number of solos. Take "Burnt Ice" for example with little guitar breaks after every vocal line in the verses that the liner notes refer to as "solos." To me, a solo is not a 6-second break but something longer and extended. Also, this album is somewhat chorus-centred which, while not being bad, can at times make the songs seem a bit more intentionally catchy and commercial, which is not a good quality in my opinion. The remake of "A Tout Le Monde," is highly unnecessary, worse than the original and just a cry for commercial attention.
The lyrics are probably the biggest disappointment on the album ranging from silly to just outright laughable. Sometimes there are actually random rants in the songs, such as on the title track and "Amerikhastan." Dave has always been one to put his political views into his music, but he ordinarily does so in an intelligent, cynical manner instead of random ranting. The lyrics on this album are also quite a step down from previous releases. For instance this part of "Sleepwalker": "The angel of death is pissed off at me again just because I got to put you out of my misery..." Now compare that to some lyrics from "Rust In Peace": "High priest of holocaust/Fire from the sea/Nuclear winter, spreading disease/The day of final conflict, all pay the price/The third world war rapes peace, takes life." For me, it is quite clear which lyrics are better. It's not a question whether Dave could do better but why he isn't doing better instead.
Other than that, the music is of fairly decent quality, although the bass (James Lomenzo) is definitely no Dave Ellefson. Another disappointment on this album is that the bass is less audible than when Dave E. was in the band. United Abominations has some high points but many low points. If you're a die-hard Megadeth fan who simply must have their entire discography, get this album. If you're someone who's just getting into them and only wants their best releases, then stay away from it.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 5 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by Auntie Sahar | 31.07.2011
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
7.5
7.5
|
Rating: 7.5 |
Here it is, the latest release from the 'Dave Mustaine Experience'. One thing I have noticed is there doesn't seem to be one person standing middle-ground on this album, it's either a love or hate type thing. I'll try and put my sentimental attachments to this album aside and look at it from a rational point of view. Read more ›› |
Rating:
5.9
5.9
|
Rating: 5.9 |
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. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 11
Visited by: 142 users
| Chainer Witch Hunter Gen Posts: 172  |
Was it really necessary to have a third review of this album?
---- Written by Dangerboner on 02.11.2009 at 08:11
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Written by Chainer on 01.08.2011 at 01:22 I was just bored.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Aluminum Alloy Posts: 47  |
Overall a decent review, but i have to disagree with you cherry-picking lyrical examples however, as comparing a couple lines from single songs off albums decades apart makes it hard to give a clear picture of the asserted devolution of Mustaine's writing skills. besides, it doesn't seem clear that the RIP...Polaris lyrics are really all that much more creative (or whatever defines good lyrics), than the other sample, at least Sleepwalker contains a complete sentence.
---- Here at the edge of this world Here I gaze at a pantheon of oak, a citadel of stone If this grand panorama before me is what you call God... Then God is not dead
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| Sepulnation Posts: 111  |
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| Lit. Metalhead Account deleted |
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| Aluminum Alloy Posts: 47 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 03.08.2011 at 04:38 apparently neither are you, since you're flying way off the handle on this one. if you wrote a review and posted it, presumably you wanted people to read it, so I'd hope that you are therefore prepared to receive criticism, whether constructive or otherwise. Either laugh it off or (preferably) learn from it, but freaking out isn't the best response. ps.telling Lit. Metalhead, whose criticism stems from the fact that this is this albums' third review, to then go ahead and write his own, thereby adding a fourth, really doesn't make all that much sense
---- Here at the edge of this world Here I gaze at a pantheon of oak, a citadel of stone If this grand panorama before me is what you call God... Then God is not dead
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| Shadrahk Posts: 23 |
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| Cheez5309 Posts: 2  |
This album is really awesome. It has a lot of awesome solos and riffs and the songs are very deep in the meanings. The songs are memorable and good. I dont know why everyone isn't giving this album AT LEAST an 8.
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| Pap Posts: 50 |
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| Coolingsrock Posts: 228  |
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62002  |
I dont like lyrics, I want songs as putinstand, ruskystan something like that, not anti west. Old school band fans never checks out scene after hight school. They get belly, 4 kids, broken marige, weekend alcohol problems and so on, they dont have a clue what happens in actual metal world. They play 5 bands all the time, if you're open mindet you have 10 000 bands and new albums, join ms comunity you will see  Thats a problem why old school fans dont like this album.
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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