Aaaaaaaargh, I'm about to explode in a huge old-school orgasm! And this is the second time within the course of two months! First there was Anthrax's 'Worship Music'. And now this!
I received 'Th1rt3en' two days ago, and it wants to return to the player constantly! This is easily the best Megadeth effort since 1997, and for a band of Megadeth's artistic magnitude, that says an awful lot. This time around, the right chords are simply struck at the right time by Mustaine and his partners in crime. Let me put it like this: the feeling resembles the one I had when I put on 'Rust in Peace', 'Countdown to Extinction' and 'Youthanasia' when they were released back in the day.
One of Megadeth's forces was always the ability to be fast and thrashing and at the same time so damned rock'n'roll. For me, they were always a bit better when they were more thrashing than rocking, and with 'Th1rt3en' Mega-Dave and the boys really show that their heavy side is still very much alive.
Sudden Dead kicks off the ball with a bang. Public Enemy No. 1 starts off with a melodic intro and turns out to be a rocker with a superb, melodic chorus. Whose Life speeds things up again - but again with a lot of melody. We the People is one of those tracks that for me fits into a long line of Megadeth songs with the kind of scourging lyrics that only Mustaine can write. Fantastic song!
Guns, Drug, & Money is a another fine rocking tune, and with a cool double bass drum infected prechorus. Never Dead starts off quietly - but that's just calm before the storm. What comes next sounds like a left over riff from 'Peace Sells'! Fuck, yeah! New World Order is a more down-tempo rock tune where there's plenty of room for solos. Just after halfway, things speed up. Nice one.
With Fast Lane, Megadeth have created a cousin for 502 from 'So Far' and High Speed Dirt from 'Countdown'. It's about going fast, getting the adrenaline up. And you know what, boys and girls? It's got a little homage to Wake Up Dead built into it - yes, THE cool part of the song! Huhuh!
I don't know if it's because I can't help seeing Nathalie Portman's beautiful appearance before me when I see this title, but I can't help thinking it's a beautiful song too, even if it's actually a fast rocker of a song with a great chorus.
Next is Wrecker, probably the most straight-forward tune of the album, and also the least impressive one (but still by no means a bad song!). All the more powerful an opus becomes Millennium of the Blind which starts out as a ballad, but turns into a grim, snarling protest against those who blindly follow leaders. With an earworm of an intro riff, Deadly Nightshade sets off a cool and heavy tune.
13 concludes one of this year's best releases, combining acoustic guitars, a catchy chorus and heaviness the Megadeth way. And Megadeth have really found their way again! Amazing stuff.
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