The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!

After the powerhouse that was 2016 release "Dystopia" with then new guitarist Kiko Loureiro, I was pretty stoked to hear what they'd bring with this one after a 7-year gap between albums. It hurts to say I'm disappointed. I generally split Megadeth's discography into three categories: the bangers, the middle, and the ones with the least appeal. This one lands in the middle.

It's the first Megadeth album on which Dirk Verbeuen contributes to creating and laying the drumwork. He handles the duty pretty well and does not make it unnecessarily complex. A lot of the parts fit in like butter and bread, along with Dave's thrashing riffs and Kiko's surgically precise and greatly themed solos. Songs like the more melody-based 'The Sick, the Dying... And The Dead!', the energetic 'Life In Hell' or the straightforward 'We'll Be Back' prove the point.

What starts to crumble are Dave' vocals, and by that I mean the way he sings them, sometimes following the melody and failing. At moments, he tries too hard to fit as many words as possible and catch up with the speed of the instruments, and the tune that suffers the most from it is 'Night Stalkers'.

While we're at this one, the part with ICE-T as a guest feels like its potential was wasted - saying stuff that adds nothing of value to the overall song with basic chugging underneath it. I expected a cool crossover between metal and hip-hop genres like Anthrax and Public Enemy did with "Bring the Noise" back in '91. Also, is it me who is deaf or is the bass guitar close to or straight up inaudible on the album? 

Next on the list is 'Dogs Of Chernobyl' and it really drags on and on with slower-paced riffs and drums, and the fact that the intro lasts for almost two minutes and the track overall goes over the six minute mark does not help at all. 'Sacrifice' intro reminds me of Havok's "Prepare for Attack" intro, but I believe it is a mere coincidence. 
The song 'Soldier On!' sounds as if it was ripped straight from the United Abominations era, but with worse production that lacks the depth/bass as if it's some sort of a demo that was not meant to be published for the public yet. The next one 'Mission To Mars' is a flashback to the more-poppy, Super Collider-esque Megadeth that you either love or hate, especially with lyrics like these:

"Open a window for the Seven Sisters of Pleiades
"Hello ladies" ("Hello Moon Man!")
Three hundred million milеs to Mars
It doesn't seem so far away (Yes, it does)
And I wanna, I wanna bе an astronaut
I wanna, I wanna, wanna".

The album closes with the song I mentioned at the beginning being 'We'll Be Back' along with two covers, which will not be reviewed here, and what's to say about this one besides being probably the closest one to classic Megadeth thrashers you could get in 2022, straightforward riffing with multiple solos, a catchy chorus, and even a breakdown. I also like to believe that the title means it's not the last effort we'll hear from them, especially with Dave coming back strong after kicking cancer's ass.

I appreciate the addition of clean guitars and sometimes the parts where it instantly switches to them caught me off guard, as if I was suddenly listening to the Orchid and Morningrise era Opeth on the tracks 'The Sick, the Dying... And The Dead!' and especially felt on 'Killing Time'.

Overall, this one is a mixed bag for me. Some of the songs work in the favour of the band, while others straight up ruin the experience. I'll need to give it some time to dissolve in my head before coming back to listening to it by pure will.

My favourite tracks are: 'The Sick, the Dying... And The Dead!', 'Life In Hell', 'Celebutante', 'We'll Be Back'.