Customer Reviews

Countdown to Extinction

5 star:		(163)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

THE BAND: Dave Mustaine (lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar), Marty Friedman (lead & rhythm guitar), David Ellefson (bass), Nick Menza (drums & percussion).

THE DISC: (2004) This remixed version contains 15 songs clocking in at approximately 67 minutes. Included with the disc is a 18-page booklet containing a brief intro, band photos, song credits, song lyrics, and thank you's. "Countdown To Extinction" was original released in 1992 with 11 total tracks. Recorded at The Enterprise, Burbank, CA. New producer - Max Norman. Label - Capital.

COMMENTS: Warning - do not trade in your original disc/album for this new remixed and remastered version of "Countdown To Extinction". You need them both! This new enhanced version contains slightly different takes on the songs. Mustaine's vocals appear (on some songs) like he's in a deep echo chamber. Song intro's, song ending's, and some guitar solo's sound completely different. In some songs, it even sounds like Nick Menza is using a different drum kit (from the orignal '92 release). In my opinion - these are classic NEW takes on classic songs (reminiscent of what Deep Purple just did with their classics "Machine Head" and "Burn"). On to the review of the disc... Like Metallica, Megadeth was originally known for lightning fast riffs and steady drums to hold the songs together. This kind of music played to a select group of listeners. Megadeth matured a little bit, got a new producer, slowed it down just a tad... and the result was "Countdown to Extinction". A solid effort from start to finish. The old school Megadeth fans will say the band sold out (like old school Metallica fans said the band did with their 1991 "Black" album as well as "Load" in 1996). I've always believed that you simply can't please everyone. With "Countdown To Extinction" though, I felt then as I do now - Megadeth reached so many more listeners with their new and improved sound. This isn't the band's best selling album for no reason. Mustaine and Friedman's guitars are hard, crunchy and tight. Ellefson's bass playing is thundering in the background. Menza's drumming has been equalled on other albums, but never better than here. The first 6 songs are back to back metal classics. My favorite songs (even years later) are "Foreclosure of a Dream", "This Was My Life", "Sweating Bullets", and "Symphany of Destruction". The bonus tracks are great too - "Crown Of Worms" fits right into the spirit of the album. The 3 'Demo' cuts sound stripped down and crisp - great takes! If you were not into Megadeth because of their trademark speed licks and thrash... I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised by the results from "Countdown To Extinction". In 1992, this was vastly different than anything else they'd ever done. This is easily my favorite release in the entire Megadeth catelog. Classic disc.

Dave Mustaine once admitted he wanted Countdown To Extinction to be Megadeth's "Metallica-Killer." And quite frankly, I think he succeeded. Countdown to Extinction is an excellent Megadeth album and stands as my second favorite by the band. Only Youthanasia is better IMO (though not by much).

Some people felt Youthanasia was Megadeth's "sell out album." Well, what they don't seem to realize is that Megadeth's slight change in sound really began with this album. Its songs are a bit slower than in earlier Megadeth releases, and they have a slightly more mainstream sound to them. And yet, some waited until the later Youth came out to say the band sold out. I guess Youthanasia suffered from what I like to call the "Eb syndrom." It seems that whenever a band tunes their guitars down to that key (also Ab in some songs), people claim their music got "a complete make-over" and the band sold out. As funny as it may seem, this has happened to a lot of bands: Metallica with their Load album, Ozzy Osbourne with The Ultimate Sin, and Megadeth with Youthanasia. Of course, Youthanasia still sounded like a Megadeth album regardless. Just a more atmospheric and melodic Megadeth album, which is what makes it the band's best IMO.

Countdown To Extinction's strongest point is its immense personality. The songs here are very catchy and (as with Youthanasia), are really something you can play in your mind during daily life. This, again, is mostly due to the fact that they're a bit slower than in earlier Megadethers, making them quite a bit easier to remember.

The album also has something many other metal albums don't have: A sense of humor. Mustaine constantly makes humorous references to real life situations and even expresses a lot of his thoughts in a humorous fashion. This is most evident in the song Sweating Bullets, where the verses are spoken in a manner that is likely to make even the most grumpy metal head crack a smile.

Other great songs include Skin O' My Teeth (which has a very catchy chorus and a good solo), Symphony of Destruction (with its neat riff and also catchy chorus), Architecture of Aggression (just an all around great song), Captive Honor (the funny court scene in this song is bound to make you laugh), and the title track (which seems to borrow its riff from a small portion of the Metallica song Ride The Lightning). Ashes in your Mouth is also a plus.

So overall, Countdown To Extinction is a great Megadeth album. If you're at the record store and confused as to whether you should buy Metallica's Black Album or this album, I strongly suggest you choose this one. Once you give it a listen you will see why.

Beware! If you have the original recording of this album, do not --repeat--DO NOT get rid of it. While it's stated on the case that it was remixed and remastered, it's become obvious to me that certain parts have been re-recorded as well. I can't speak for the vocal or guitar parts but the drum tracks, I'm fairly certain, have all been re-recorded. I'm a drummer with incredibly sensitive ears. I'm also intimately familiar with Nick Menza's work on this album (great work, too) and I can say without hesitation that he's not the person who played on this remix. Whoever it was is pretty good at imitating him but not perfect. I'm not sure why Dave would do this--maybe he wasn't able to get the sound he wanted from the original tracks. Whatever. Nice try, Dave. Download the extra songs off of I-tunes or something but avoid the rest of this one and find the original.

Countdown to Extinction was released 8 years ago and still sounds fresh even buy today's standards. By far, this is the best effort by Dave Mustaine and company. This CD was the first release in which Megadeth toned their sound down a little bit....(only slightly though), and the first release that hit the big time. There are so many great catchy songs on this CD that you will end up singing along with: Symphony of Destruction, This Was My Life, and Countdown to Extinction to name a few. Musically, the guitars of Mustaine and Freidman are incredible. The drum work of Nick Menza is fantastic as is the bass guitar of Danny Ellefson.

This is one CD that I never get tired of listening to. Its heavy guitars, crashing drums and excellent vocals combined with well composed songs makes this one Hard Rock / Heavy Metal release that should be in everyone's collection. It is upbeat, and it will get your adrenaline pumping.

This is an excellent CD! Well worth the money spent!

This is a great album. But when I read most of the reviews on here I'm blown away by some of the love dished out.

Best ever? Thrash? Heaviest Megadeth album ever?

My good friends, let's not get carried away. Gushing love is a good thing but let's not overlook something obvious about this album: COMMERCIAL.

Yes folks. The big 'C' word. Ever notice how all these songs (except Ashes) are neat and trimmed for radio length? Ever notice how furious time changes and 18 different guitar riffs have been slimmed down to a mild handful? Ever notice how bad Psychotron is?

Don't profane the past. Listen to Rust In Peace, listen to So Far, and listen to Peace Sells, and then listen to this. You'll notice a huge difference. Don't get me wrong, I love this disc. Best tracks include: This Was My Life, Countdown, Ashes, AofA.

But please don't call this thrash. Please don't call this Megadeth's best ever. And please don't say it's the heaviest 'Deth because that is simply untrue.

There are a couple of good things about the remix, namely the sound is more pronounced, the guitars are clearer, and overall you get more 'Deth in your ears. HOWEVER, why Dave Mustaine made some of the choices he did, I can't explain. For instance, Symphony Of Destruction is missing the harmonized guitars found in the chorus, one of my favorite aspects of the original. What was wrong with the way it was?

If you've never heard the original, then better for you. Its still a great album. Fans of the original with fond memories, be warned.

When I heard that Dave Mustaine wanted to remaster and re-record most of the parts on all the Megadeth Catalog, I always wondered if there was much to change in this album. As I heard I found out that there wasn't much to do.
While most of the other albums, specially the ones before this one, got the loads of reverb taken off, this album actually went almost the other way. The sound is almost slightly thicker. The guitars are slightly more "bass-y", the bass is very slighly more predominant than the original and the vocals sound more mature.
Still with great thrash moments (as in Ashes in Your Mouth), aggressive musical attacks (Symphony of Destruction), and driving songs (Skin Of My Teeth), the sound is very hardly different from the original. The album still features beautyfull guitar moments (Countdown to Extintion, Foreclousure of a Dream).
Since this album was digital to start with the changes are not as easy to notice as in "So Far, So good... So What" per say. Still the little changes make the record better sounding, now is it worth the money? if you have the original, I don't see why spending $15 on something so damn similar.
The extra tracks help, they are fine, the new sleves and notes are interesting, but I still don't think that they are worth $15, buy it used.

Highlights: Ashes in your Mouth, Countdown to Extintion
Lowlights: not worth it if you own the original.

Metallica and Megadeth both did something similar in the early 90's-they experimented with their sound. While Metallica truly sold out(I only like the hard songs on that album) and became mainstream rock, Megadeth experimented, but they were still metal. This CD sounds more like traditional heavy metal than thrash metal, but it's still brilliant. This may not be the insanely complex speed-fest that was Rust in Peace or Peace Sells, but they are still technical(i'm really wearing this word out, aren't I?), even if they reverted to a verse-chorus formula for some of the record. The band's musicianship is top quality as always. Like i've said a thousand times before, there are plenty of nice riffs and solos on here, as well as a little more acoustic work than their previous releases. Highlights on this record include "Sweating Bullets", "Skin O My Teeth", and "Architechture of Agression". While Metallica's only good releases were the first 4, Megadeth's whole catalog is worthy(though Risk may be an exception if you aren't a purist like me.) Get this instead of the overrated black album.

After the huge leap from So Far, So Good...So What! to Rust In Peace, Megadeth came up with Countdown To Extinction...their masterpiece and one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time. There is not a bad song on this entire album. Opening with Skin O' My Teeth, Extinction moves with a speed and a style that frame the entire makeup of Megadeth as a recognizable entity. (In other words: their sound has been perfected to distinction). Symphony Of Destruction is one of the best metal songs ever written!!! Architecture Of Aggression (say that fast a few dozen times) is fast and furious and totally addictive. Foreclosure Of A Dream rules! Sweating Bullets, a Megadeth staple, is revolutionary. If there are weak points to Extinction it is Psychotron & High Speed Dirt and these songs are not all that weak. The title track absolutely rocks and Ashes In Your Mouth is a great ending to one of the truly great metal albums. This is Megadeth's Master Of Puppets if you need a comparison with Dave's old bandmates, Metallica. This is the pinnacle. It can only go downhill from here. Unreal effort. I can never tire of listening to this.

Dig it!

Countdown to Extinction, in my opinion, is Megadeth's best album. I know that many "old time" Megadeth fans look at this release as the beginning of the decline of Megadeth. But that is hogwash!

CTE is Megadeth's best! You know why? Because Dave Mustaine has finally matured as a songwriter. Rust in Peace is good, but it was still a bit rough around the edges. CTE is polished yet maintains the aggression Megadeth fans love. Sure, the speed metal of previous efforts is almost non-existent on CTE. But that's okay. The guitar riffs are still brutal and thrashy, the drumming is still heavy and the vocal attack of Dave Mustaine is still gruff and in-your-face.

The title track, "Countdown to Extiction", is a great mix of heavy metal and semi-mainstream, catchy vocal melodies. "Symphony of Destruction" is a bruising, dark tune that pummels the listener with every chord. "Psychotron" is Mustaine at his gruff and growly best and the chorus soars! "Sweating Bullets" is a nasty, ominous tune that makes one want to beat up the neighbor after listening to it (I'm kidding). Nearly all the songs here are good.

No, this isn't Rust in Peace. Megadeth need not repeat themselves. This is Countdown to Extiction, Megadeth's best.