Megadeth – The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead: A Review

So MegaDave is back with another album, his 16th studio album and first in six years.

Now I’ve been a fan of Megadeth’s music since 1988’s So Far, So Good… So What! That is one of my favourite albums, of all-time, yes I know Rust, Countdown blah blah blah blah blah Shut Up! This is my review.

This album has had a bit of a troubled time of it, back in 2019 Dave got throat cancer and had to undergo radiation and chemo-therapy. Then there was this thing called Coronavirus and of course there was the whole horrible Dave Ellefson business which meant all his bass parts had to be re-recorded.

All of this would stress any band out so have Megadeth stood up and given us another quality album? Is a 60 year old cancer survivor MegaDave going to still be angry? Can he still write a riff and blast out some gravely vocals? Read on to get my thoughts.

The Review

Right from the off, this feels like Megadeth. 

The opening track starts with a bell tolling and a chilling “Bring out your Dead” then once the title track starts in earnest, it is Megadeth through and through. and throughout the album, that doesn’t change. This is very much a Megadeth sounding Megadeth album. That sounds like a weird thing to say, but when you listen to it, you’ll see what I mean.

The opening track has a great riff and is really catchy. Dave knows how to write a riff and he doesn’t disappoint. Thankfully, despite the cancer Dave’s voice sounds absolutely fine and dandy. 

The title track gives the entire album a dark and sombre feel, with songs later on like Dogs of Chernobyl and Night Stalkers carrying on this theme. Whether this comes solely from Dave or whether Kirk Loureiro, on his second Megadeth album, influenced the songs, given he co-wrote half of them, I don’t know. But I like it.

Talking of Dogs of Chernobyl, I really like this song. There is a section in the middle with chunky guitars and Dave almost rapping. Such a dark, moody song that just works and finishing the track with clicks from a Geiger counter is genius.

There is a lovely phrase in Killing Time, “And your alibi was a lie  it was all just an act and that’s a fact. When you start moving your lips I know that you’re lying.” Classic Mustaine. This song has a nice chorus and is really catchy, Dave does a superb job and you can just feel the sneer through your speakers.

The shortest song on the album is track 7, Psychopathy. A banging drum intro, heavy chunky guitars. I just wish it was longer.

I’m not going to sugar coat it, this is very much what Dave and Co do with music. Celebutante has that fast thrashy sound, choppy guitars clever lyrics ” You want people screaming out your name.” Good tune. But it is absolutely firmly in the world of Megadeth.

No-one else sounds like them.

There is a section in Mission to Mars from 3.30 onwards where you have really precise riffage and quality drum rolls. This part is just banging. Oh and the phrase “Why don’t we just return to Earth and let it Rust in Peace out here?” Yeah Boy.

For the thrashiest track on the album, harking back to “the good ole days” I think you have to turn to the final song on the album We’ll Be Back. It is just full on from the start and with the trade mark solo’s going off. It’s a good one.

Conclusion

This is a decent album. It isn’t great, but it’s good. MegaDave knows what he’s doing and he can always write a quality riff. Long may he continue.

Score 7.5/10

Track Listing

1. The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! 5.04
2. Life In Hell 4.12
3. Night Stalkers (Feat Ice T) 6.38
4. Dogs of Chernobyl 6.14
5. Sacrifice 4.08
6. Junkie 3.39
7. Psychopathy 1.20
8. Killing Time 5.13
9. Soldier On! 4.54
10. Celebutante 3.51
11. Mission To Mars 5.24
12. We’ll Be Back 4.29
    Label  – Universal
    Release – 2nd September 2022

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