Megadeth - Rust In Peace
1990 Capitol Records

Track Listing:
1. Holy Wars...Punishment Due
2. Hangar 18
3. Take No Prisoners
4. Five Magics
5. Poison Was The Cure
6. Lucretia
7. Tornado Of Souls
8. Dawn Patrol
9. Rust In Peace...Polaris

Line-Up:
Vocals:  Dave Mustaine
Guitars:  Marty Friedman, Dave Mustaine
Bass:  Dave Ellefson
Drums:  Nick Menza

Website:  www.megadeth.com

Horatio's Rating:  A
Overall Rating:  A

Also be sure to read:
Megadeth - Cryptic Writings by Horatio
Megadeth - So Far, So Good...So What? by Horatio
Megadeth - The System Has Failed by Horatio
Nativity In Black:  A Tribute To Black Sabbath by Shev
Soulfly - Dark Age (Dave Ellefson) by Horatio

Horatio's Review:
Obviously there's little that hasn't been said about this before, but it remains one of the greatest albums of the thrash era, perhaps in the top five at least.  Mustaine finally appeared to get his lineup problems right with the addition of journeyman Friedman and Menza, where ever he came from.  Everything gelled for an explosive performance that was the only time Menza lived up to his potential, and the last time Mustaine sounded convincing as an angry bastard.  You can hear it in the music, it's snarling and ferocious, there's so much going on you can't even keep up with it.  It seems like there's fifty riffs at once, the drumming's unpredictable, and when they decide to play fast, even Slayer of 1990 have to take a back seat.  In many ways, this is far superior to 'Seasons In The Abyss'.

So what happened?  After the promise of 'Peace Sells', Megadeth finally proved they had what it took to compete with the best.  The future was bright, they could have been as big as Metallica.  So what do they do?  Abandon thrash with their very next album, 'Countdown To Extinction'.  If there's one thing I could ask Mustaine it would be 'why'?  The thing about thrash was that it was the next step up from traditional metal like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.  It was faster, more aggressive, an alternative to the norm.  But the figureheads of the genre, the 'big four', all went soft, with the obvious exception of Slayer.  It got to the point where Maiden and Priest were heavier than them, which is regression to the point of lunacy.  Compare 'Jugulator' to 'Cryptic Writings' and you'll get my drift.  Even 'Virtual XI' to 'Risk'.  Megadeth could have been legends on an untouchable platform if they had stuck with it.  By the end of their career they had only made four albums which could be labeled thrash, the other five were indescribable.  So they hardly exploited their real thrash value did they?  I maintain they should have changed their name to Megadream after this.  What could have been then.  One of metal's greatest tragedies.

Song summaries include...

1. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due - An epic of some proportion, the lead-up to the 'Punishment Due' segment is almost unbearable, as you can taste the impending thrash!  When it hits, the results could not be finer.  The soloing is deadly, and the drum sound is pure crudeness.  Masterpiece.  A+

2. Hangar 18 - If tension is what you crave, then this is the standard bearer.  The guitar tradeoffs in the final two minutes are all forerunners to the blinding last fifteen or so seconds which is the thrash payoff, maybe the fastest Megadeth has ever played.  Thrash was never so satisfying.  A+

3. Take No Prisoners - Megadeth was so far ahead of unmelodic Europeans like Kreator that it was almost a joke.  'Coma Of Souls' was fast as hell, but they could never fit into a whole album what Megadeth do here in three minutes?  A totally uncompromising blast of anger, pure hatred and speed, with undeniable melody, the element the Europeans missed.  Great tangents, not even Slayer could pull this off.  A+

4. Five Magics - Technical wizardry out the ass through the complicated guitar work mainly.  Not overly fast, but how about the Maiden-like galloping riffs around the four minute mark?  Can it get any heavier?  That puts black metal to shame.  The term 'wall of noise' was designed for this.  Could have been a modern day Who if they wanted.  A+

5. Poison Was The Cure - Startling, non-stop thrasher, with a certain passage that is impossible to keep up with.  Menza was never tested like this again.  This was the last of the real Mustaine, as you hear the brash tones of his vocals throughout.  Textbook stuff.  A+

6. Lucretia - Dave shouldn't have let Ellefson co-write anything here as the speed is lowered to non existent levels, almost a precursor to 'Countdown To Extinction'.  Heavy, but a letdown after the rampant opening.  B

7. Tornado Of Souls - A bit like this.  Some wicked solos, but not quite what was needed, the album losing some steam, even though there are brief flurries of speed.  Great songwriting from Mustaine, he knew how to put lyrics together well once.  B+

8. Dawn Patrol - Something different or inexcusable filler?  Who knows, but this slow, bass dominated piece has never held my favour.  C+

9. Rust In Peace...Polaris - The end of Megadeth after only five years.  Good way to go out, the last minute and a half, a consummate thrash workout.  Riffing never got any more precise than this.  A

Horatio's Rating:  A

Discography (last updated 11.4.05):
Last Rites demo - 1984
Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good - 1985
Peace Sells...But Who's Buying - 1986
Wake Up Dead EP - 1986
Anarchy In The U.K. EP - 1988
Liar EP - 1988
Mary Jane EP - 1988
So Far, So Good...So What? - 1988
Holy Wars...Punishment Due EP - 1990
No More Mr. Nice Guy split 7" with Dead On - 1990
Rust In Peace - 1990
Hangar 18 EP - 1991
Maximum Megadeth EP - 1991
Countdown To Extinction - 1992
Foreclosure Of A Dream EP - 1992
Symphony Of Destruction EP - 1992
Angry Again EP - 1993
MegaBox box set - 1993
Megadeth Live EP - 1993
Skin O' My Teeth EP - 1993
Sweating Bullets EP - 1993
The Story Of Megadeth EP - 1994
Train Of Consequences EP - 1994
Youthanasia - 1994
A Tout Le Monde EP - 1995
Hidden Treasures - 1995
The MegaBox box set - 1995
Cyberarmy Exclusive Tracks EP - 1996
Almost Honest EP - 1997
Cryptic Writings - 1997
Live Trax EP - 1997
The Originals box set - 1997
Special Limited Edition EP - 1997
Trust EP - 1997
A Secret Place EP - 1998
Cryptic Sounds (No Voices In Your Head) EP - 1998
Live Trax II EP - 1998
Use The Man EP - 1998
Crush 'Em EP - 1999
Risk - 1999
Breadline EP - 2000
Capitol Punishment - 2000
Kill The King EP - 2000
Moto Psycho EP - 2001
The World Needs A Hero - 2001
Rude Awakening - 2002
Still, Alive...And Well? - 2002
Blackmail The Universe/Kick The Chair EP - 2004
Die Dead Enough EP - 2004
Hell Wasn't Built In A Day box set - 2004
The System Has Failed - 2004
Greatest Hits:  Back To The Start - 2005
Of Mice And Men EP - 2005