7ftSicilians

Gianca

Megadeth is one of the most prominent household names in heavy metal music. The birth of such a group was caused by the band’s leader Dave Mustaine being kicked out of Metallica, leading him to create a band that would be “more metal” than the beast itself. In doing so, he assembled multiple lineups for the group releasing timeless projects such as “Peace Sells..But Who’s Buying?” and “So Far, So good….So What!” before constructing one of the most lethal metal lineups in history. Picking up Marty Friedman on lead guitar and Nick Meza on drums in 1989 established the group’s most prolific runs ever. This amalgamation of metal prowess released some of their best work to date. The first album this lineup released was “Rust in Peace,” and there was no slowing down from there. Rust in Peace has anyone listening to it looking akin to a bobblehead while shoving massive heavy riffs and solos like my nonna trying to force me to eat on Christmas evening.

Here’s my review of one of my favorite metal albums of all time…

The album doesn’t fuck around; you find out what you’ve gotten yourself into immediately. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due sends listeners into the album going 200 MPH, Dave and Marty showing off their trading of riffs throughout the song, passing the rock back and forth like Karl Malone and Stockton, until the end of the song where Mustaine takes the song by the horns and rips through the ending solo. Just when you believed you had a moment, Hangar 18 comes in somehow faster than the opening song, with ZERO buildups; we are in the middle of Hangar 18, exposed to the horrors and secrets our government is hiding from us. Mustaine, Friedman again steals the show with layered guitar riffs over amazing drums. The Friedman solo goes ballistic as he shows off why he is one of his generation’s most talented guitar players. Unfortunately, once we’ve escaped the hangar, we know too much and have been taken prisoner. 

Take No Prisoners is one of the heavier songs on the album, with deep sinister vocals from Mustaine cutting through a wall of metal riffs from Mustaine, Dave, and Friedman. Following this monstrous track, Megadeth offers us a flawless string-based intro with a killer bass line called Five Magics. The beat switch, which comes up about a third of the way through the song, changes the dynamic from a slow, methodical sting plucking to heavy drums and guitar rifts with blaring solos over them. Mustaine’s vocals sound hypnotic as he articulates the different types of magic and how he wants to become a protégé. 

Kicking off the second leg of the album is a track titled Poison Was The Cure, where we see a more somber side of Mustaine. He dives into his relationship with drugs like heroin and how he thought that the poison was the cure for his issues. The guitar riffs in the background are short and choppy as Mustaine compares the needle to a snake. The outro solo is an absolute masterpiece by Friedman that transitions into Lucretia. The iconic laugh at the start of the track and the impossible-to-miss riffs to open up the song make Lucretia a phenomenal song off the record. Mustaine’s vocals seem to glide over the guitar and drums as he narrates a story about a ghost that he believed used to live in his attic, dedicating this track to the ghost of Lucretia. As much as we can question the ghost being real or not, there is no questioning how insane the solo Marty Friedman drops midway through the track, making the guitar sound like a ghoul screaming throughout the house. 

This next track is my favorite song off the album, Tornado of Souls. The absolute amount of guitar shredding, drum smashing, and thundering bass lines that combine for this masterpiece of a song to exist gives me chills every time. Mustaine’s voice sounds like nothing we’ve heard to date, and the high-pitched, ethereal vocals send shivers down my spine. The amount of raw emotion in Daves’s voice as he pipes the lyrics to this song will hit anyone like a truck. Three minutes into the track, Marty Friedman plays what I believe to be one of the best guitar solos I’ve ever heard as he caresses the neck of that electric guitar to deliver such a melodic guitar solo.

The next track, Dawn Patrol, has Mustaine come in with unique baritone vocals while discussing the possibility of a dystopian world post-nuclear holocaust. The bass line that David Ellefson lays down on the track is ominous while also soothing, creating the perfect buildup track for the next and final track on the album, Rust in Peace…Polaris.

The album’s title track and grand finale is an absolute masterpiece of a song. Mustaine serenades us about nuclear fallout from the perspective of a nuclear missile named Polaris. The lyrics are grim, portraying what the world would look like if Polaris were to hit the ground and “spread disease like a dog, discharge my payload a mile high.” This is a song where Nick is spotlighted on the drums, setting the stage for one of the most remarkable riffs on the album.

Overall, Rust In Peace is one of the best metal records of its generation and all time. The quality of music from track to track is phenomenal. Every single track is intelligently written, and the message conveyed is done with precision. I think this is Megadeth’s Magnum Opus, and I will never stop headbanging on this album. It has zero skips from front to back and is one of the most wonderfully curated metal albums I have ever listened to. 

Verdict: Nonna Approved

Overall Score: 9/10

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