**That's it. I'm done using the stupid spelling they gave this album. It wouldn't have been quite as bad if they simply used it for the album cover but then spelled it properly whenever it was written in interviews or news stories. From now on, I'm just gonna write
Thirteen.**
**Now that that's out of the way, onto the review!**
Megadeth has been pumping out quality albums for the past few years now at a fairly consistent rate. Their previous record,
Endgame, was one of the best albums I've heard in years and ranks among the highest in the band's catalog. While it may not be as good as their last few offerings,
Thirteen is a good example of Megadeth's ability to make great sounding modern metal.
Keeping a similar sound to the previous albums,
Thirteen also borrows heavily from the
Countdown to Extinction and
Youthanasia eras. One of the songs, "Millennium of the Blind", is even a reworked version from the remastered edition of the latter record. In fact, several songs are either songs written for previous albums ("Black Swan, "New World Order" "Deadly Nightshade") or have appeared as promotions for other media, mainly video games ("Sudden Death", "Never Dead"). This has no real baring on the quality of the songs or the overall package, but it does contribute to the theory that the band is running low on ideas and wanted to pump something out as quickly as possible. Even if this is true, they could have done a lot worse here.
Dave Mustaine's guitar work is as sharp as it ever was, and he is backed up by Chris Broderick, who is quite possibly one of the best guitarists the band has had. His solo's along with Dave's are part of the reasons you'll be listening to many of these songs repeatedly. David Ellefson also returns, although you probably wouldn't notice right away. One of the things I appreciated most about
Endgame was how everything, including the bass and drums, were loud and heavy. Ellefson definitely isn't muted here, but he also isn't dominate. Still, most bass players would be lucky to get any attention at all. Shawn Drover also provides some excellent drumming and good fills.
The beginning of
Thirteen starts off strong, with "Sudden Death" and "Public Enemy No. 1" being two of the high points. Both the main riffs and solo's prove that Mustaine still has what it takes even after all of these years. Other songs, such as "Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)", "Black Swan", and "Never Dead" are all both heavy and melodic, combining the best elements of the band's early thrash years as well as the later hard rock period. "Wrecker" is another standout track mainly because of its riffs and amusing lyrics.
The albums starts to lose its momentum towards the back-half of the record. "New World Order", "Fast Lane", and "Deadly Nightshade" are all decent, even if they don't stand out as much as some of the other tracks. A lot of the later materiel feels like filler and brings the momentum almost to a screeching halt. "Millennium of the Blind" and the closer, "13", felt plodding and eventually became boring towards the end. It's a shame the album peters out rather than going out with a bang, even if the later songs aren't awful.
Thirteen may not compare as well to the last few albums, but it is still worth a listen by anyone who is remotely interested in Megadeth or metal in general. Its great to see one of thrash's pioneers continue to put out quality material that stands alongside some of the band's classics. The guitar work is some of the best of anything put out this year and Dave Mustaine help makes this band still relevant almost 30 years in. Despite being a bit inconsistent,
Thirteen still manages to capture one's attention long enough to see it all the way through.
