Megadeth: Endgame

Endgame by Megadeth

I'm a big fan of Mustaine and the band and have been for a long time. With that said, if this weren't a Megadeth album, I would tell people that it's only average. It gets a point for being Megadeth, though, so it's a little better than average.

Like most albums nowadays, it has three or four good songs on it, a couple of songs that I won't skip just because they're playing next in line, and a couple that I will skip over every time.

Some of the more political types will note that there is a decided progression in Mustaine's lyrics. Their last album was, well, on the edge of mainstream Republican and heading towards Glenn Beck. Now Dave's definitely in Beck territory, but for those who are libertarians, don't hold your breath that the lyrics are truly Jeffersonian.

All of that aside, the one song I refuse to listen to any longer is the third track, 44 Minutes, which just had badly distorted lyrics and a crappy theme overall. The music is killer, but Dave ruined it with his pro-cop, pro-establishment rant.

The absolute best song here is the title track, which rocks some serious guitars and some great background drumming. It's solid Megadeth the whole way.

The first track is almost just as good, being an instrumental that consists of great drum work and bass fillers and then two guitars (Dave and Chris) trading off on solos. Totally awesome stuff.

Overall, this is a good album and worth getting if you're a Megadeth fan. Otherwise, save your money and just buy the two tracks I've mentioned as digital downloads.