Megadeth album vs Dave Mustaine solo album? The jury is out on this one, but the results remain the same. With Mustaine writing pretty much the whole album, the session additions of returning guitarist Chris Poland, Jimmy Sloas on bass, and Zappa drummer Vinnie Colaiuta forming the core of the albums lineup, and a myriad of other guests per song, "The System Has Failed" was Megadeth's rise from the dead in multiple ways. A return to form, a comeback for Mustaine after an arm injury, a string of lackluster material preceding, and the band's overall inactivity/breakup/hiatus/death preceding it. All these factors considered, it's amazing that this record doesn't get brought up more often. It isn't perfect, but it's DAMN good.
First, the good. And there's a lot more good than bad. For the most part, "The System Has Failed" is fist-to-your-face MEGADETH. It's exactly the kind of riff-filled, shreddy, gritty, punchy thrash that makes them who they are. "Blackmail The Universe" is a great album opener, introducing it with politically-charged samples and the classic Megadeth neck-breaking, head-banging goodness. "Kick The Chair" is arguably one of Megadeth's best songs in the past 25 years, if not longer, providing a throwback very reminiscent of the 80's style. "The Scorpion", a complete outlier for Megadeth as a whole, experiments with keyboards, more progressive arrangements, and melancholic melodies, to surprising success. A bold roll of the dice that works out to a very unique result. "Tears In The Vial", a much more traditionally approached song, is a beautiful example of "old becomes new again", recycling very familiar parts of Megadeth's past without being a clone or a mockup of that material. It adds it's own flare while holding fast to the late-80's dynamic. The combination of "I Know Jack"/"Back In The Day" has one of the best sounding riff/tempo combinations on the entire record. "Truth Be Told" is an epic example of Mustaine's innovative spark, putting ballad-esque sections nose to nose with ripping riff work, several time signature changes, and mood swings in a little over five and a half minutes. Compared to a good number of albums of theirs, both before and after this was released, this is a major breath of fresh air.
Now, the bad. Or, at least, the "not as good". "Die Dead Enough" is kind of forgettable, especially nestled in between two of the album's ragers in "Blackmail The Universe" and "Kick The Chair". "Something I Am Not" is almost a radio song, with very little to pull from it compared to what it's surrounded by. The album's ending tracks, "Of Mice And Men", "Shadow Of Deth", and "My Kingdom", are lackluster. Moreover, "Shadow Of Deth" is just Psalm 23 presented "Megadeth-style", and feels unnecessary in the long run. The other two aren't all that bad, but simply don't have the fire that the rest of the album brings. It's as if Mustaine gasses out towards the end. It's not that any of these rob from the album's overall structure, but they seem almost like overflow at times.
Writing and production-wise, it's incredibly streamlined. Personally, I love that in my Megadeth. They've always had the ability to lay down filth, but they do so on polished steel. And this is a prime example of it. None of the instruments sound too drowned or out of place, mixed poorly, etc. Writing-wise, there's some suffering in some spots, but lest we forget that Mustaine wrote this entire album. For example, a guitarist writing drums can be a recipe for disaster in concept alone. However, he nailed it overall. A few spotty, aesthetic opinions from me don't really take away from the fact that this guy wrote out all the parts of every piece, and this was the result. It's pretty fantastic, all things considered. Lyrically, it's a political hellscape. If you know anything about Megadeth, this is their bread and butter, and it should come as zero surprise. I don't have to deep dive on this. It's calling card Dave, calling card Deth.
So where does this leave us? Megadeth/MegaDave put out a killer album in the mid-00's. It isn't perfect, but it's an absolute banger that Megadeth hadn't struck gold on since "Rust In Peace". I fully believe this is Megadeth's best album outside of the that era, and is a hidden gem in their discography, with one hell of a backstory. Mustaine may be a crazy s.o.b. sometimes, but you've got to give it to the guy, he can get down when he's in a zone. "The System Has Failed" proves it. It deserves accolades among Megadeth's fans, as well as metal community as a whole. Is it "Rust In Peace" good? No. Would it have fit in that era? Absolutely. It's the baby brother of the big dogs of old, and deserves a spot at the table.
Track List :
1. Blackmail the Universe
2. Die Dead Enough
3. Kick the Chair
4. The Scorpion
5. Tears in a Vial
6. I Know Jack
7. Back in the Day
8. Something That I'm Not
9. Truth Be Told
10. Of Mice and Men
11. Shadow of Deth
12. My Kingdom
( Poor Quality )
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