MEGADETH – United Abominations

Many people have misconceptions about the band Megadeth. Part of those misconceptions over the years have stemmed from leader Dave Mustaine’s personal demons, numerous personnel changes, and, of course, the wildly publicized undercurrent conflicts of the past with Metallica. What you have today, however, is a band led by a 45-year old Mustaine that is as stable and “together” as it has ever been. With the loyal and workhorse Drover brothers handling 2nd guitar and percussion duties, respectively, and James Lomenzo driving the low end, Mustaine basically has a “happy family” in the Megadeth stable (finally), and it shows both in their live performances and especially in the band’s latest release, United Abominations.

Megadeth has always been an aggressive Thrash band … no arguing that point … but over time, Megadeth has been able to slice in a few Progressive elements into their formula, making their brand of Progressive Thrash, if you will, both unique and amazingly appealing. Couple that aggressive, progressive musical style with the intelligence and wit of Mustaine’s pen, and the end product is really something special.

United Abominations continues Mustaine’s quest to expose and hold accountable government corruption and political abuse. Here, the main target (by title only) is the United Nations (U.N.), and the title track of the album essentially calls a spade a spade via Mustaine listing out many non or “UN”actions in response to world crisis’ and challenges that the U.N. faced – and failed to take adequate and/or appropriate roles. There’s plenty of other political statements of various sorts strung throughout this album too, such as in “Amerikastan” (you can probably figure out the theme here without listening to the song), “Washington Is Next,” “Gears Of War,” “Blessed Are The Dead,” and “Play For Blood.” Interesting jabs in each track … but perhaps just a bit too much, eh?

Musically, United Abominations is one of the best Megadeth albums of all time. The opener “Sleepwalker” has a very simple, but catchy chorus, and a high energy riff to go along with the typical complex Mustaine-crafted guitar work and drum patterns. There are many other highlights within this album, but musically the other top nods would have to include the closer “Burnt Ice” (great solos) and “Blessed Are The Dead” where Glen Drover is credited (mostly) for the outstanding guitar work.

A few of the tracks fall victim to not totally meshing musically with the lyrical message (Mustaine kind of forces the political / social abuse theme here and there, and this causes the music to fall a bit behind), but by and large this album is chock full of complex, but well-polished, Progressive Thrash (having even a few Power Metal elements) that is a pleasure to soak in. Like many Megadeth albums, United Abominations isn’t exactly for “casual listening.” Nope, there’s A LOT going on in this album both musically and lyrically, and you have to give United Abominations a good measure of undivided attention to fully appreciate the depth of talent and musicianship across the board. But, for those who do, the reward is certainly worth it, and Mustaine and company have indeed put together a winner of an album. Pick it up … you won’t be disappointed.