It doesn't happen very often in the business of being in a rock n' roll band but, every now and then, it's reassuring to know that things happen on the time line that was originally projected. Such is the case with Endgame's release; earlier this year, Megadeth singer/guitarist Dave Mustaine went on the record saying that his band would have a new release on store shelves in September, 2009 and, lo and behold, Endgame has not only appeared on time, it has the added benefit of being pretty comprehensive as far as pulling all of the musical threads Mustaine and Megadeth have been working with over the last decade together into a cohesive whole.
The different sides of Megadeth's persona (personal and political songwriting, as well as Megadeth's fine-tuned and metallic genre writing) all weigh in on Endgame's first four track alone; after Mustaine's flying fingers lead the opening instrumental salvo (“Dialectic Chaos”), the guitarist gets into volatile sociological personal examination (“This Day We Fight”) and social observations and commentary in the form of “44 Minutes” that rails against police states both foreign and domestic along with the standard-issue and fluffy heavy metal that Megadeth has made its name on with fans for the last twenty-six years. All of these ideas have been tried and tested well by Megadeth before several times over but the interesting part about Endgame is how well they interlock and fit together – in this case, all of those designs work together to present a complete image while, previously, the band would only focus on one particular angle at a time. It's actually a pretty incredible turn of composition because, for the first time, Megadeth offers a single album that could appeal to any and all of the fans they've won over the duration of their career – on Endgame, there is something for everyone.
Of course, with such an all-encompassing effort registered, it brings the question of the record's title to light. It could be that 'Endgame' refers to a sort of obvious sewing up of all possible loose ends that fans could have perceived since Mustaine started stretching out thematically as early as Youthanasia in order to start fresh with new ideas for Megadeth's next album. It's unlikely that 'Endgame' actually refers to the termination of Megadeth. Let's hope not – Megadeth is one of the last of a dying breed. While many metal bands from the Eighties have grown rusty with age, Megadeth still shines because they've proven to be one of the most innovative and interesting of the lot; they've refused to be pigeonholed and have yet to fall in a rut.
Artist:
www.megadeth.com
www.myspace.com/megadeth
Album:
Endgame comes out on Roadrunner Records on September 15, 2009. Pre-order it on Amazon .
