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

Dave is old now, has been for some years. Really old, so old that it's repugnant that he's still shitting out music like this. Nothing here is impressive or new. It's not much more than a plastic and heavily processed version of repugnant early 2010s nu-thrash that ironically tried to copy bands like Megadeth's old selves. There's no innovation to be found, rather, Dave tries to be something he's not here: himself when he was composing Peace Sells or Rust In Peace. I'd normally call an album like this a product of greed, but considering that it's been six years since their last and that Mustaine has all the money he could need for the last few remaining years of his life, that's seemingly not the case. Why this album even exists is beyond me. Maybe the geezer actually thinks he's still got it. I feel sorry for the poor sod who has to break the news to him someday.

The songwriting is so bland and poor that every single song becomes an unredeemable, unrecognizable mush. Not even the better parts of the tracks such as Kiko's leads or Dirk's drumming manage to stand out amidst Dave's horrendously stale vocals and proficiently played but remarkably poorly written rhythm sections. Any hint of emotion is impossible to find and the band's technical aptitude isn't even impressive at this point. Nothing, absolutely nothing, redeems this album. Even Dave's daughter's music is better than this.

Lyrically too, this album is as weak as it is compositionally. Most songs feel like regurgitations of Dave's rage against his retirement community nurse, and the ones that try to be deep fall flat on their face quite pathetically.

The only parts that are worth mentioning would be the intro of the title track, which is a solid start to the album and an uncharacteristically good clean section for Megadeth; and Ice-T's segment in Night Stalkers. I know the guy means well, but from a purely objective musical standpoint, the insane extrapolation of hip-hop in a thrash metal song is seriously uncalled for and a bad idea overall.

As a thrash metal album, it isn't actually as bad as I made it sound. It's music, it's listenable, and it's inoffensive to a degree. It's mediocre, but so what? That applies to almost every single big metal release of the current century.
As an album of the band that gave us masterpieces like Killing Is My Business, Peace Sells, Rust In Peace and Countdown To Extinction, however; this is honestly, truly a sad epitaph. Especially so when you consider this might possibly be Megadeth's last album. I do realize he insists that it won't be in the last song, but I don't think Dave will be able to do those snarly vocals without rupturing his colostomy bag a couple of years from now.