Megadeth!

[Thelemech]

There is a Record/CD store in town but for some reason, they do not have it either though they usually have a copy of most notable artists.

Amazon accused me of lying about an order that I never received. It took a few days of fucking around with customer service, but they finally realized that it was a fault on their end. That was about 7 months ago, and I have only made one order just to clear my gift card funds. I had planned on never going back.

[Charger]

^^^
That sucks...

I haven't bought much from Amazon lately simply because the cds are pretty expensive there compared to some other stores...but the main store that I used to buy cds (Dodax.co.uk) went out of business few months ago now I have to re-evaluate where to buy stuff...

[Thelemech]

Well, I finally tracked down a copy and it only cost me 16 bucks. Found it at a record store in a nearby mall, and it has two bonus tracks. I almost never go there because they tend to be expensive but this time, they were reasonably priced.

[Charger]

Bonus tracks??

What are they called?

[Thelemech]

This Planet's On Fire (Burn In Hell)
Dystopia - Live

[Jack the Stripper]

Other versions have “Police Truck”(Dead Kennedys cover) and the Sammy Hagar cover “This Planets on Fire” with Sammy guesting on he track. Both are great covers.

[Charger]

Damnit! I have no bonus tracks on my version and it was the only version available here! Bugger.

[Zzzptm]

Is there a way to get all three bonus tracks?

[Jack the Stripper]

Don’t think there’s a physical issue that has both the bonus cover tracks. Only digital. Spotify, Apple Music. But there is some physical issues that have “This Planets On Fire” and a live track, either “The Conjuring” live or “Dystopia” live. 

[Zzzptm]

Well, I go with digital, so I'll be looking for those bonus tracks.

[Thelemech]

I have been listening to the new album all morning and for some reason, I am just not feeling this record.
It is impressive in some ways but none of the riffs say this is classic Megadeth. I will give it more of a chance
and hopefully it is a grower. I think I like Dystopia better, and that album grabbed me on the very first listen.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Musically, I think the album is first rate. On the whole the vocals are weak but work on some of the songs.

Early contenders for best tracks are Dogs of Chernobyl, Mission to Mars and We'll be Back.

[Charger]

I tend to agree with that...I love the musical side of the album too! I love the complexity of the songs and the tempo changes and the multitude of riffs per song.

But indeed some of the vocal melodies aren't quite up to par. Dave has somewhat abandoned his usual style and tried to adopt a bit more complex melodies and they just don't suit his style of vocals very well.

I think the Title track, Dogs Of Chernobyl, Killing Time, We'll Be Back and especially the absolutely SUBERB Night Stalkers are the top of the crop...Night Stalkers might be musically the best track since Trust! That tempo change/bridge/break/whatever in the middle is just fantastic!

Life In Hell and Junkie are probably my least favourites. Sacrifice and Celebutante are somewhere in the middle and I haven't quite made up my mind on Solder On and Mission To Mars, both have good things but something about them doesn't fully click.

I can also fully understand Thel's point...this isn't a classic sounding Megadeth album that's for sure!

[Jack the Stripper]

My thoughts of TSTDATD are that musically it’s quite strong in parts, but its also a bit generic and lacks cohesion in other parts.

But I think the biggest issue I have are with Dave’s vocals. With him losing his high range with age he’s also lost personality and variety in his singing. He just sings in that lower gruff voice these days which sounds ok as it is, but singing that same way throughout the whole album limits the songs and they come off sounding a bit flat and repetitive.

Personally I think Dystopia was the better album. The songs were more cohesive and catchier with better vocal melodies and much better production than this new album. 

Best songs are We’ll Be Back, title track, Life In Hell, Celebutante, Mission To Mars and Night Stalkers but none of those are better that the best songs on Dystopia.

Id probably give it about a 6.0/10 right now, but that may improve over time.

[Thelemech]

Getting a bit more into the album. Though the last track is listed as Dystopia Live is actually a live version of the Conjuring.