11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Complete as far as Capitol Recordings go, April 12, 2005
This review is from: The Complete Remasters (Amazon.com Exclusive) (Audio CD)
The Good
Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?
Originally recorded for Combat Records, who released Megadeth's first album, Killing is My Business...and Business is Good. The big leagues came knocking shortly after it was recorded, assigned a new producer, and Peace Sells... became Megadeth's major label debut.
Extra guitar squealing can be heard on "Wake up Dead", and as the song draws to a conclusion the solo sounds a little different. The vocal section at the end sounds different as well. On "The Conjuring" you can actually hear what Dave is saying now. I'm skeptical that this is the original restored and not a new one. The guitar riffs that lead into the bridge of "Peace Sells" hold a little longer than they did before. After Dave exclaims, can you put a price on peace, the guitar solo section sounds extended.
The bonus tracks are the original producer's mixes for "Wake Up Dead", "The Conjuring", "Peace Sells", and "Good Morning/Black Friday". Unless you're an audio engineer, you're probably not going to hear the differences between their mixes and the ones that appeared on the original album.
So Far, So Good...So What?
Coming off their highly successful major label debut Megadeth returned to the studio, totally wasted might I add, and released a musically assault that paved the way for their future notoriety.
"Into the Lungs of Hell" takes on a whole new life with the guitar work less chaotic, although I'm not thrilled about the horn section in the introduction. I've always liked the fact that this instrumental actually feels like you're falling into Hell. I swear there are a few riffs missing from "Anarchy in the U.K." At least the backing vocals were cleaned up. I can't believe Dave took the sound of the car crashing out of the solo section of "502" and added more Police siren in the song. In return he extended the solo breaks. There's a clean guitar section that starts off "In My Darkest Hour" that wasn't there before.
The bonus tracks here are also the original producer's mixes. It seems like Dave never liked his first producers (or his second I guess if he's remastered them). "Into the Lungs of Hell" has a few different riffs thrown in, while "Set the World a Fire" sounds a little rough around the edges. "Mary Jane" has a whole different introduction than it does in its original format. There's not much difference with "In My Darkest Hour".
Rust in Peace
Described by many as the definitive Megadeth album, metal fans ate it up as Rust in Peace became the benchmark for heavy metal music at the time. It was fast, furious, and head-banging loud.
Thank God Dave decided to leave this one along for the most part. All he did was clean it up. Maybe he added a little more chime where "Holy Wars" leads into "Rust in Peace", and he definitely re-recorded "Take No Prisoners". Word was that they couldn't find the masters. Unfortunately, it sounds worse. You can finally hear what the lyrics are to "Dawn Patrol" now. I know you were all scratching your heads.
The bonus tracks are demos of "Rust in Peace...Polaris", "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due", and "Take No Prisoners". It's great to hear how raw the first records of these songs were and how they changed over the years. "Take No Prisoner"s has a much different beginning. It's funny how they found the demo but not the final product. "My Creation" is a track that was left off the album. It runs about a minute and a half with spoken lyrics similar to "Dawn Patrol's" vocal style. It's got a great heavy drum/guitar combination going on as Dave creates the bride of Frankenstein.
Countdown to Extinction
There was no turning back for Megadeth now, their fourth album debuted at number two on the Billboard chart, eventually going four times platinum. Megadeth were now everywhere, a few singles on radio, a few videos on MTV, and a World-wide tour of course. The music was still just as heavy as their past efforts, but you could hear what direction the group was heading.
There's a brand new introduction to "Sweating Bullets". It's basically the same as the opening riff, but without the drums and bass. It leads right into the original beginning. The last verse doubles up on the vocals till the end of the track. On "Countdown to Extinction", there's a new guitar part between the end of the chorus and the beginning of the next verse. The interlude section is slightly altered as well.
Dave includes the highly sought-after "Crown of Worms" as one of the bonus tracks. If you haven't heard it before (and you call yourself a fan!), it sounds like a long lost Diamond Head, and that might have something to do with the fact that Sean Harris co-wrote it. The demo of "Countdown to Extinction" has a twangier guitar section, and showcases an uninspired vocal delivery by Dave. Don't get any rougher than that. The riffs in the chorus are arranged differently too. I hate to say it, but the demo of "Symphony of Destruction" is better than the original. It has a heavier tone to it. "Psychotron" is the final demo. This time around it has a longer, escalating introduction. Dave's a little more manic on this version.
Youthanasia
Megadeth rakes in another two million in record sales with this 1996 release. Overlooked by many, Youthanasia is by far Megadeth's finest hour. Sure, purists will tell you it lacks the rawness of Rust in Peace, but recording technology had advanced leaps and bounds by 1996. The production is slick, the songwriting is intelligent, and the music kicks you in the teeth.
You can hear a more dominant bass line in the chugga-chugga intro to "Train of Consequences". The outtro solo is different too. Vocals are doubled up on certain sections of "Addicted to Chaos" that weren't before. A subtle string section was added to the beginning of "Blood of Heroes", as was a more noticeable guitar lick throughout the bridge section.
On the first bonus track "Millennium of the Blind", a pounding riff accentuates Dave's evil voice over. Marty throws in some melodic runs as well. You get the demo versions of "New World Order", which appeared in full on the Duke Nuke Em' Soundtrack. There's a lot less guitar work on this version. "Absolution" apparently turned into the breakdown section of "Trust", with a heavier section thrown in at its conclusion. After listening to the A Tout Le Monde demo, it's amazing it was ever used. Dave's vocals are really, really rough. Okay, their horrible; a lot less guitars here too. The French lyrics section is different on the demo.
Cryptic Writings
The first nail is hammered into Megadeth's coffin at this point. Dave and company (or Bud Prager) deicide to go for a radio-friendly alternative sound. Not as heavy or fast as previous releases, but just as potent. If Dave wasn't so much against the musical shift, this sound may have worked for them commercially. Yeah the die hard fans panned it, but Cryptic Writings reached a broader audience; an audience that perhaps hadn't heard of Megadeth in the past.
The opening guitar sliding that accompanied the drum section on "Trust" has been replaced by strings. The whirring effect that begins "Almost Honest" extends into the opening guitar riff. The little song sample that began "Use the Man" has been taken out. There's a new effect that starts of "The Disintegrators". Some extra muted riffing was added to "A Secret Place". There's an onslaught of new music sections at its conclusion. I can't skip the harmonica introduction that was added to "Have Cool, Will Travel".
The Spanish version of "Trust" appears as one of the bonus tracks. Now you can compare the two introductions. Only the chorus is in Spanish. "The Evil That's Within" is essentially an alternate version of "Sin". Dave does mention in the liner notes that he had to re-write a lot of his original ideas due to his management at the time. The demo of "Vortex" is another example of that. The music part of it is mostly the same, just rougher. "Bullprick" is an alternate version of "FFF" complete with different lyrics too.
Risk
Yep, this is the final nail in the coffin. An all out commercial, radio-friendly, alternative rock, train wreck. It's called Risk, what did you expect? It had a sports anthem and a ballad of sorts that described the plight of the homeless. Not very Megadeth! Mustaine hated it too. That doesn't mean that there aren't a few good songs here and there.
For album Dave didn't care for, he chose not to change too much. First thing you'll notice is the CD cover is different. Also, the burnt Megadeth logo is replaced with the classic logo. The intro to "Insomnia" is much shorter than before. The outro guitar solo is altered and extended on "Price of Darkness". I wish Dave had eliminated "Enter the Arena" all together. How that qualifies as a full song is beyond me. A more prevalent string section is present on "Time: The Beginning". There's also an added electric section.
A more metal mix of "Insomnia" is included as one of the bonus tracks. An alternate version of Breadline is also included with the bonus material. This version has a heavy guitar intro as opposed to the clean intro of the original. The verses still flow like the original. Techno meets metal on the jock mix of "Crush Em". A lot of electronic effects replace the guitar riffs and solos. Think of every rap remix you've ever heard.
The Bad
MD.45 - The Craving (NOT INCLUDED)
Sometimes a dud is a dud. Even with Dave on vocals this time around, it doesn't save this ill-fated side project. After hearing this version, I have more of an appreciation for the original. It's not that Dave sounds bad, it's that his Megadeth vocal style doesn't synch with the...
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