Originally Posted by toretorden

Introduction :

Members on this album :

Dave Mustaine - guitar, lead vocals
Marty Friedman - guitar, backing vocals
David Ellefson - bass, backing vocals
Nick Menza - drums, backing vocals

Most know about Dave Mustaine and have some opinions about his music, but few aside fans know where the guy's really coming from. When he was little, his family was on the constant move, trying to get away from his sometimes violent, alcoholic father. When Dave was 15, he moved away from his mother and violent step-father and financed a flat on money he got for selling drugs. His supplier was a woman working in a record store who would drop by his apartment and give him drugs and albums and also had sex with him. Thus, Dave Mustaine was introduced to the music of bands like Motorhead and Iron Maiden as well as a rather destructive lifestyle with alcohol and hard drugs. In 1981 after seeing their ad in a magazine, Dave went to audition as lead-guitarist for Metallica. He didn't even get to audition as he was hired already after his warm-up on the guitar. Dave saw himself as the frontman of Metallica and eventually, his excessive substance abuse made him hard to get along with as well as a danger for the band. One day in 1983, they woke him up in their tour trailer, said his days with Metallica were over and dumped him at a buss station. Dave was pretty upset about that, especially after Metallica released their debut which had some of his stuff on it. Part as an agenda for revenge on Metallica, he formed the band Megadeth who's lineup for the 1985 debut My business is killing... And business is good had David Ellefson on bass, Chris Poland on second guitar and now deceased Gar Samuelson on the drums.

Megadeth has since been a drugged up heavy metal ride with several line-up changes. They often play fast and have enjoyed a reputation for being technically skilled. Dave's songs are often pessimistic and mistrustful of those in power and themes might deal with large-scale problems like tyranny and war or personal problems like suidical thoughts. During much of his career, Dave has been in a self destructive spiral and has been to rehab 15 times for various addictions including heroin. After a concert in Oregon which ended in a riot, Dave swallowed a handful of valium and was rushed to the hospital where he died, but was successfully resuscitated.

In the late 90s, he managed to sober up one final time and has stayed clean since. In the years after, he has announced his christian faith and now lives on a farm with his wife and two daughters Justis and Electra Mustaine .. Or did, I think he might be going through a divorce. Anways, although he's no longer a rock 'n roll dope-fiend, he still makes excellent music. Countdown to Extinction was Megadeth's fifth album and is the best-selling from their catalogue. It contains the band's most successful singles and was the first time they got massive media exposure like music videos played on MTV.


Song for Song Review :

The album opens strong with the classic Skin o' My Teeth, one of the faster songs on the album. I find it quite catchy and easy to like. In Dave's own words; This song is about how many times I've tried to kill myself but just couldn't get the ****in' job done. The theme is rather gloomy, but it made for an excellent song. Second track, Symphony of Destruction should need no introduction since most metal fans already know it and those who don't like metal may have been exposed to it through the video games like Guitar Hero. Fans may have grown tired of this song because of it's hype, but it doesn't change the fact that it's brilliant. The catchy guitar riff and machine-steady beat works extremely well with Dave's snarling vocals. The lyrics, dealing with the theme of dictatorship, are immediate ear catchers. Pure awesome. Watch the video if you want.

Countdown for Extinction marked a change in the sound of Megadeth as some songs were a bit slower and adopted more typical hard rock structures. The result was a fairly accessible album and it's the band's biggest seller. While diehard fans may be a little turned off by this new direction, there's no denying that it was an extremely important album for Megadeth and resulted in many new fans. Perhaps unfortunately, Metallica's Black Album was popular around the same time and may have stolen some of the potential thunder. I know Dave felt agonized by this after the album's release. It bothers me a bit when people only know of Dave as the guy who hates Metallica. Megadeth is awesome and Dave is an extremely talented musician who, despite all his demons, shows a deep sense of morale in his songwriting. Countdown to extinction, aside from having pushed them to the height of their popularity, showcases that talent and combines it with accessibility, making it a great album and a good entry-point for new listeners.

Toretorden's Treasure Trove score : 5/6

Favourite tracks : Skin o' My Teeth, Symphony of Destruction, Architecture of Aggression, Foreclosure of a Dream, Captive Honour