Customer Reviews

Youthanasia

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Some people viewed the departure of Megadeth's roots in Speed/Thrash Metal as a sign of selling out much in the same way they viewed Metallica's rise to success. Megadeth invented Thrash along with Anthrax, Metallica & Slayer and they abandoned it! We should get the rope, right? No. Just like Metallica, Megadeth started to finally grow up. Do you want to sit around and listen to a bunch of fifty year-old millionaires bitching about the establishment and the failures of society and blah-de-blah? Do you? You can if you want, but youthful anger is hard to maintain, especially when you are moderately to staggeringly rich. Sorry to tell you this, but all bands, and I say ALL bands, are in the music business to sell albums. That's where the money is. Chicks? Maybe. Creative fusion. Certainly. Megadeth is no different. Mustaine is no longer shooting heroin and going on drinking binges, he's married with children. People change. So do their musical tastes. Is Youthanasia un-metal. F*ck no! It still rocks as hard as anything out here.

"Reckoning Day" Metal, brutal, kick-you-in-the-teeth. A great hate-my-old-girlfriend/ex-wife song. A classic. "Train Of Consequences" another certified rocker. Great lyrics and great riffs. "Addicted To Chaos" a slower, more moody outing. Still very kewel. Lyrically deep. Megadeth has grown up indeed. "A Tout Le Monde" one of Mustaine's greatest songs. There's feeling in there, as opposed to just shredding your face off with a non-sensical diatribe to anger and misery. Greatness! "Elysian Fields" on of my all-time favorites. This is a great f*cking song! What a hook. Great lyrics. Solid. "The Killing Road" where Motley Crue and Bon Jovi were writing songs about the road in the cowboy/rebel Bob Seger sense, Megadeth comes out with the truth about being on the road. Kewel. "Blood Of Heroes" another favorite of mine. There is something very catchy about this tune. A straight-forward riff and cool lyrics, I don't know why, but I love it! "Family Tree" a great song about abuse. Thinking man's metal. The bang-you-head-against-the-stage metal is dead and buried. This is where it is now. Grow up and deal with reality. "Youthanasia" a great underrated song. Talk about poignant. The generation left behind. "I Thought I Knew It All" a little slower than the rest, a testament to realizing that we aren't perfect. "Black Curtains" Mustaine jumps back a few albums back to Peace Sells with this straight-out rocker. Dark and empty and filled with angst. "Victory" Take Megadeth's career so far and put it all together into one song and you have "Victory." Mustaine praises the fact that his is still alive after battling booze and drugs.

Overall, Youthanasia is melodic and menacing and stilll manages to rock better than most albums ever could. If you think that Megadeth sold out then you need to turn around and look at yourself. No one likes a forty year-old rocker walking around with long hair and an overhanging beer-gut wearing faded old Peace Sells shirts and trying to hold onto his past as his future slips away. If you dig that, well...to each his own. The word 'loser' is spelled with one 'o' just in case you needed to know. I'm not saying to forget the past, there are a bunch of great metal albums that I will always love, but definition of attitude needs to be a current thing. The world is ever changing. Embrace it or get left behind. Megadeth f*cking rules! No question about that! Youthanasia rocks!

Dig it!

This is Megadeths most melodic album vocally and musically, some people seem to have a problem with this but they are the one's missing out!. Slowing down didnt hurt the band at all but many of the speed thrash heads were too cool to even give this a chance, but luckily those are the same people who never got over the 80s. It also features there best and most powerfully beautiful song "A Tout Le Monde".... "Addicted To Chaos" has a fat heavy chug without compromising the melody. If you are new to megadeth ( like i was when i first heard this ) its not exactly a generalised DETH sound but it is really really good classic/style melodic metal, and if thats what you are looking for then you wont be dissapointed. Check It Out!

Actual Rating- 4.5 Stars)
Youthanasia(1994). Megadeth's Sixth Studio Release.

In 1994, Grunge, stricken with the death of Kurt Cobain, began to get less and less popular, and with the 1995 releases of Soundgarden's 'Superunknown' and Alice In Chain's self-titled album, that genre sadly went out of style and was replaced with Rap-Metal(god help us). Always in the shadow of things, bands like Megadeth and Metallica, who hit it big in the early-90's, tried valiantly to repeat their sucess, and with the 1994 release of 'Youthanasia', Megadeth once again entered the Top 30. While Metallica's 'Load'(which was released later the next year) has since become a disgrace even if it did go to #1, Megadeth prospered until the release of 'Risk', which effectively saw them "selling-out" too. In retrospect, 'Youthanasia' has been described by fans as one of Megadeth's best, and certainly their last great album. So, is 'Youthanasia' a good listen, or a sorry state of affairs? Read on to find out!

Track Ratings-

Reckoning Day- 'Youthanasia' starts off with "Reckoning Day", an unforgiving, metallic attack that blends thunderous, pounding guitar riffs and demented vocals with the solos and choruses Megadeth fans have come to know and love.

Train of Consequences- One of Megadeth's strongest tracks, "Train of Consequences" starts off with the *spit-fire*(It's undescribable, but amazing) guitar riff, but Mustaine turns the song into an optomistic, melodic look at the possibilities of life. Mustaine's pained vocals and Friedman's wacky guitar work will blow you away!

Addicted To Chaos- A slow thrasher, "Addicted To Chaos" uses a pulsing guitar riff and melodic vocals from Mustaine to create a *slow* rocker not unlike their hit "Almost Honest". Friedman and Mustaine hit all the right notes, and Menza's drumming won't fail to please. Not really a ballad, yet one of Megadeth's more emotional tracks.

A Tout Le Monde- 'Youthanasia's biggest hit, and most unlikely, finds Megadeth doing a ballad about lost love, but what's weirder is Mustaine sings the chorus entirely in French! Friedman and Mustaine spit out emotional rhythm and electric guitar melodies, and Mustaine's vocals(for once!) work extremely well, giving the song a deep sense of emotion. Unless you can't stand French(the language), "A Tout Le Monde" is an emotional ballad you won't soon forget.

Elysian Fields- Megadeth goes back to their Thrash roots on "Elysian Fields", a dark and sarcastic at the death of Jesus Christ(It's not sacreligious at all..). Mustaine's creepy vocals and Friedman's doomy guitar riff go from metallic to punky, and the chorus is something to behold(It reminds me of Alice In Chains). Good song.

The Killing Road- Much like Testament's Death Metal material of the 90's, "The Killing Road" is a dark, dreadfully hopeless ode to going insane, mixed with Mustaine's uncaring(don't worry, they aren't Death Metal vocals) vocals and Friedman's thumping guitar riff. Great musicianship, great song!

Blood of Heroes- Beginning much like an epic from the Boston Symphony, "Blood of Heroes" soon turns into a "kill-or-be-killed" song, complete with amazing solos, riffs, and time signature changes from Mustaine and Friedman's duel-guitar attack. Mustaine's dark lyrics and creepy vocals work well! I like this one a lot!

Family Tree- Although it starts like "A Tout Le Monde", "Family Tree", complete with an emotional rhythm guitar melody, soon turns into a seedy rocker about the government trying to cover up conspiracies. Friedman and Mustaine's guitar antics go well with Ellefson's addictive bassline, and Mustaine's vocals echo back to the good ol' days of "Hangar 18". C-O-O-L!

Youthanasia- The album's title track, "Youthanasia" is an interesting look at the demons of Dave Mustaine, yet the song, which features "distorted" vocals from Mustaine, doesn't really pick up until much later in the song. When it DOES pick up, Friedman dishes out an amazing solo, not to mention some great riffs. If the beginning of this song wasn't so *lame*, "Youthanasia" would be one of the album's best. Good.

I Thought I Knew It All- A Thrash song with a melodic chorus, "I Thought I Knew It All" begins like any other Megadeth song, with a remorseless and dark riff, not to mention "gloom-and-doom" vocals from Mustaine, but the emotional chorus finds Megadeth doing a melodic song not unlike "A Tout Le Monde". Nonetheless, the musicianship is good and the song rules!

Black Curtains- Think of the heavy, dark, Thrash qualities of 80's Metallica and mix that with the duel-guitar attack and creepy lyrics of Iron Maiden and you get "Black Curtains", a dark thrasher that finds every musician playing their heart out. One of the album's highlights.

Victory- A parody of Megadeth itself, "Victory" looks back at all of the songs in Megadeth's career(The lyrics talk about "Holy Wars" and "Countdown To Extinction"), and Ellefson's punchy bassline and Megadeth's punky vocals make "Victory" a very interesting track.

The 2004 'Youthanasia' remaster contains three new tracks, "Millennium Of The Blind", "New World Order", and "Absolution", and a new version of "A Tout Le Monde". These tracks are icing on the cake, and they add to the album even if they are short!


Overall, 'Youthanasia', while not being as good as Megadeth's 80's material and 'Rust In Peace', is definitely an improvement over 'Countdown To Extinction'. It's a very good album, showcasing some of Mustaine's best vocals and showing that Mustaine and Marty Friedman can still spit out solos worthy of honor. While not being a perfect record, it's still a great choice for Megadeth fans, and certainly better than anything Metallica, Anthrax, or Slayer put out around the same time(1994-1995).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO FANS OF THRASH, HEAVY METAL, AND MEGADETH! IF YOU'RE A NEWBIE, GO FOR 'RUST IN PEACE', BUT IF YOU WANT TO WIDEN YOUR COLLECTION, PICK UP 'YOUTHANASIA'!

Killer Kuts- "Train of Consequences", "A Tout Le Monde", "The Killing Road", "Family Tree", "Black Curtains", and "Victory".

Also Recommended-

Rust In Peace- Megadeth
Souls of Black- Testament
The Black Album- Metallica

Why did Mustaine need to remaster this album? I have the original copy of this, but I have heard a few songs from the new remastered copy. Some have the songs have different guitars and vocal tracks (as they might have been rerecorded) in A Tout Le Monte, train of consequenses, And Reckoning day. ThE remaster makes the already great production sound inferior to the original. If you want the better version of this album, then get the original version. Hell, I got mine used in near pristine consition for 1.00 dollar. A way better deal.

Youthanasia is a guilty pleasure of mine. It is one of Megadeth's most commercial-sounding albums - and is one of my favorites. With this sixth album, it is obvious that Dave Mustaine wanted to "open up" Megadeth to new audiences (or markets), and usually I have a problem with that. Not on this occasion.

Youthanasia has some strong pop elements weaving in and out of this album. We see strong evidence of this in the very catchy choruses of "Stream of Consequences", "Addicted to Chaos", "Elysian Fields", and "Victory". I sometimes find myself actually playing these songs while washing my car (you can't really do that with the likes of Exodus or Testament). Also, Mustaine and crew stray away from the hard, thrash-roots sound of "Killing is my Business..." or "Peace Sells..." and opt for a more radio friendly brand of heavy metal. There are some elements of blues-influenced forms and riffs throughout (even a few harmonica appearances!). A word of warning - there are no really fast-tempo numbers on this album. Gone are the days of Peace Sells-esque thrasher cuts like "Devil's Island" or "Black Friday".

The lyrical content is also more mature and serious. No more anthems to insanity, nuclear war, axe murderers, or satanism. These songs address more, shall we say, relevant issues like dealing with mortality, fighting drug addiction, learning from mistakes, and child abuse.

If you're worried about musicianship, don't be. Mustaine and Marty Friedman still take turns shredding on every song. David Ellefson still faithfully thumps away terrific lines on bass, and drummer Nick Menza pounds out some dizzying rhythms.

My choice cuts are "Train of Consequences", "Addicted to Chaos", "Elysian Fields", and "Family Tree". Overall, Youthanasia is a gem. Yes, it is different and it does stray from the formula, but it is nicely done. If anything, this offering proves Megadeth's versatility and willingness to open up and explore.

PS. If you didn't like this album, then DO NOT get "Risk".

PPS. Megadeth's latest album, "The System Has Failed", is excellent.

In retrospect, if Dave Mustaine ever had a shot at getting that #1 record he desperately wanted, this was the album to do it with. A shame it came a year or two too late. This is an album that finds Megadeth embracing an even more "pop" sound than Countdown; it rocks in a more straightforward way than any of their previous albums, but the band maintains it's artistic integrity. A rare feat, especially in metal. Youthanasia is a great album. Different (compared to Rust or Peace Sells), but great.

I think this is a good album, but try to avoid getting a REMIX - REMASTERED copy it sounds totally different from the original album.
The original sounds better and you can actually tell what he is singing about.
If DAVE would have just remastered the albums that would have been cool, but he remixed them too.
Stick with the original it's always the best!!
I rate this CD a 5 of 5 stars!!

I love this album. My original copy of Youthanasia got scratched, so I bought this remixed and remastered version. I'm very dissapointed.
Yes, the songs are on this, but they don't sound as raw as the original. Vocals are hollow, and the snare drum sounds as a cheap sample. The mix is very muddy in the lows.

And because I'm so used to the original this sounds soooo wrong. It makes me hate the songs. No, I will never listen to this again.

I'd buy the original.

- Haico

While Youthanasia isnt considered by many as an influential album or a classic, it is still an important chapter in metal and music history. Megadeth had just released "Countdown to Extinction", their "Black Album" according to many. That album would be the peak of Megadeth's career.
So you would assume that Youthanasia would have signaled the beginning of a downward slope for the band. This is not the case. Youthanasia is just as good as, if not better than, "Countdown". While the track "A Tout le Monde" is a slower rock ballad, the rest of the album maintains Megadeth's raw, dirty, speed metal roots. The playing isnt as fast as it was in Megadeth's early years, but thats not necessarily a bad thing. If anything, the slowing down of the music helped Megadeth explore new grounds musically and they did so masterfully, as evident on this album.
I gave this album only 4 stars because I dont feel the remix was necessary. The album came out 10 years ago but there is very little improvement in sound quality. Remastering the band's first 5 albums was a good move, but by this point (1994)it seems that the recording quality was almost as good as today's. The extra tracks are nothing special in my opinion. The real magic of this album lies in tracks on the albums original release such as "Train of Consequences", "A Tout le Monde", and "Elysian Fields", among others.
If you dont already own a copy of Megadeth's Youthanasia, then I would strongly recommend picking up the remastered version. However, if you already own the original release then you arent missing much here. Certainly not another $15 worth.

When I went to check out the remasters of all Megadeth albums, there was little to be done with the digital records (other than Risk this is). Let me explain this one.

This record was better produced than any Megadeth record that preceeds it. Still Dave decided to re-do-it. Yeah it sounds slightly more polished, but you gotta pay a lot of attention to the instruments in order to get it.

Youthanasia is still a thrashy album in parts such as the tittle track, the opener "Reckoning Day" and the closer "Victory" ( and even better the newly added track New World Order which kicks a$$ and also kinda previews the sound that bands like "In Flames" would use later). This record posseses great "Metal Grooves" like in Train Of Consequences, The Killing Road, and Black Courtains (which sounds like a Megadeth version of "sad but true" by alternica, oh sorry, Metallica, but better). Also features the majestic pseudo-metal-ballad and masterpiece "A Tout Le Monde" which alone is worth the whole album.

The original version was produced digitally but with reverb added, with this new "recording" of it, we get a much clear sound (hardly different from the orignal though), while still sharing the poisonous attacks that the guitars, and vocals of the original version featured.

Is it worth buying? if you own the original print, specially the non-american one... no it's not worth it. If you didn't, stop reading this and buy it now.

Highlights: A Tout Le Monde, Reckoning Day
Lowlights: Family Tree and Blood Of Heroes are not as memorable, yet still kick ass.