| CD REVIEW Megadeth |
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Band : Megadeth Gee...yet another Megadeth “Best Of” compilation? That must be number...four or so? Well, before we start knocking off the idea of a new such sampler, let’s check what’s under the hood of this one...ehrm, I mean, let’s see what’s on the track-list here, shall we? As per usual when it comes to compilations of this kind, you’ll already have most of the material on this double album when you’re the “normal” kinda fan of the band and bought their regular albums. I have to say the material is limited to the period from the beginning years up to and including the 1999 Risk album, the first disc getting you 2 tracks off 1985’s Killing Is My Business... (with “Mechanix” & “Rattlehead”), 3 off 1986’s Peace Sells...But Who’s Buying (with “Peace Sells”, “Wake Up Dead”, and “Devil’s Island”), 4 off 1998’s So Far, So Good...So What? (the Sex Pistols cover “Anarchy In The UK”, plus “Set The World Afire”, “Into The Lungs Of Hell”, & “In My Darkest Hour”), 4 off 1990’s Rust In Peace (“Holy Wars...The Punishment Due”, “Tornado Of Souls”, “Hangar 18”, & “Take No Prisoners”), plus one track off 1992’s Countdown To Extinction. Also on disc one, is “Go To Hell” off the 1994 Hidden Treasures compilation, plus demo versions of “Crown Of Worms” (1992, used as bonus track on the re-issue of the Countdown... album) and the absolutely new “High Speed Dirt” (apparently previously unreleased and from a 1992 demo)...making for no less than 17 tracks for a listening time of 77 minutes and 59 seconds! Disc two continues where the first left off (I mean, regular albums-wize) with 2 more songs off Countdown To Extinction (“Skin Of My Teeth” & “Ashes In My Mouth”), and before goin’ on with 3 songs off 1994’s Youthanasia (“Train Of Consequences”, “A Tout Le Monde”, & “The Killing Road”), you get another Hidden Treasures track (“Breakpoint”) and “Angry Again”, used in the soundtrack of the Last Action Hero movie of 1994 (ehrm...the Schwartzeneggar starred flick, if I ain’t mistaken). In between the Countdown... tracks, you also get a previously unreleased live rendition of “Reckoning Day” (recorded in Phoenix, AZ during June ’97), and after ‘em there’s the remastered version of “New World Order”, as used in the 1995 Duke Numem: Music To Score By movie. Back to the regular albums for a moment, with 2 songs each off 1997’s Cryptic Writings (“Trust” & “She-Wolf”) and 1999’s Risk (“Insomnia” & “Prince Of Darkness”). The disc is further filled with two tracks off 2000 compilation Capitol Punishment & Greatest Hits (“Kill The King” & “Dread And The Fugitive Mind”), a return to Countdown... (“Forclosure Of A Dream”), and two live renditions (“Symphony Of Destruction”, which is previously unreleased in the US, and “Pease Sells”, which was the b-side of the 1993 single Train Of Consequences). Which makes for a total of 18 tracks and 76 minutes 13 seconds listening time (at least when it came down to filling the discs, the label wasn’t too stingy!). In short, if you DO have Megadeth’s regular albums, what are the bonusses here? Two songs off the Hidden Treasures compilation, two more off the Capitol Punishment & Greatest Hits compilation (a darn cheap way to get your newest sampler filled, wouldn’t you agree? And no bonus at all in case you already got yourself those previous compilations), two songs from movie soundtracks, a couple (literally) of demo recordings, and three live tracks. So, IS this latest compilation worth getting? I mean, if you’re the kind of fan who needs to get éverything by this band, you’ve already purchased all official releases anyway (no matter whether they were previously unreleased in the US, or otherwise), so the only “interesting” things remaining are that demo track on disc one, and the couple of soundtrack songs on disc two! So...still interested? If you’re a true fan, of course!!! If you’re just the regular kinda fan? Well...you decide for yourself, okay? Compilation, so no rating! Tony. |