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[Virgin Wii]

Forgive me as I'm about to go into rant mode.

This is sad for me to type. Megadeth is the band that got me interested in music, way back in the day when my mom got a 10 CDs free deal from some mail order company. She said I could pick two and I decided I wanted Metallica's black album because that's what all my friends were listening to at the time. Upon browsing the selection, however, I found Metallica was nowhere to be found. But there were two Megadeth CDs, which I thought would be the next best thing, because one of my friend's older brother was a Mega fan and I thought he was cool. Yeah, stupid reasoning, but I was just a wee lad. And so Youthanasia and Hidden Treasures were the first 2 CDs I ever owned, and for a huge amount of time Megadeth was my favorite band. I know their first 7 albums by heart. I was so blinded by fanboy googles that I even liked RISK for a long time before realising it wasn't all that great (it ain't a bad album, though). Again, it pains me to say this.

IMO, The System Has Failed sucks. Horribly. Maybe I should've seen the writing on the wall when Hero dropped, which up until now I thought was Megadeth's worst album ever. But I let it slide... new guitarist, going back to the heavier style... it was a transitional period, right? One Dave would get past on the next album. That's what I told myself. Then the breakup happened, then I nearly cried, then the new album was announced, then I got really excited and told myself, "This is it. This is the album that will knock my socks off."

Fuck. First of all, what happened to the production? A Megadeth album hasn't been this poorly produced since So Far.... The earlier album was given a certain charm because of the shitty production (even though overall the album suffered for it), but there isn't anything charming about the way this album sounds. The bass is almost nowhere to be heard, the drums sound almost as bad as Lar's on St. Anger, and the solos sometimes are caught up in the mix. Sometimes the vocals are way too prominent, leaving you unable to clearly make out the riffing (this is especially so on "Blackmail the Universe").

Then we have musicianship. Where did Dave find that drummer? He isn't "bad" by any means, but he's no Gar or Nick. Not even up to Jimmy standards. And sometimes he just sounds downright mediocre. I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing on the "Truth Be Told" intro... was that supposed to be a drum solo? Seriously, what the fuck? Granted, he wasn't given much to work off of, but still...

Guitar solos... guitar solos... a mixed bag. There were a few great ones, but most went nowhere. Like "Kick the Chair"... that first "solo" after the 2nd chorus... so boring... then JUST as it seemed like it was going to pick up into something kick-ass and Maiden sounding, it dropped and in came another boring, going-nowhere "solo". Very dissappointed with Chris. Dave did a much better job soloing, but neither were excellent.

Vocals are possibly the worst Dave has ever done. I don't think he has the throat for it anymore. Lyrically, he just sounds forced. And check out the lyrics to "Something That I'm Not". What a crybaby. That's all I'm going to say about that.

No real bass to speak of. I think whoever did it was just riffing along with Dave. So whatever.

Now comes the biggie -- this album has no soul. It doesn't sound like it came from the heart; it sounds engineered. Like it wasn't made because Dave loves to write and play music, but to make some extra cash. And that's why I think RISK is a better album than this (and Hero, for that matter). RISK may be in a genre I don't happen to like very much (flat-out rock with some hard tendancies here and there), but it at least seemed to be what Dave truly wanted to be doing. On System, it's just a bunch of riffs thrown together with no real sense of connection. It's Dave on auto pilot.

Sorry to anyone who may have bought the album due to me hyping it up a couple times. If I was a factor in your purchase, I can only hope you like it more than I do.

 

[Raxel]

I fucking love the rhythm guitarwork on the album, it's got a Racer X-ish feel. The lead work isn't exactly shred-tastic, there are too many chromatic licks, but good enough. The drummer is astounding though, I don't see how anyone could rate him as "mediocre". Also, I have no idea how you can say there is bad production, unless you like Shrapnel records style wind tunnel production. It's crystal clear to me.

I'm from a different musical background to you though, so it's probably down to that. For better guitarwork, there's always Cacophony

 

[sonatinas]

I fucking love the rhythm guitarwork on the album, it's got a Racer X-ish feel. The lead work isn't exactly shred-tastic, there are too many chromatic licks, but good enough. The drummer is astounding though, I don't see how anyone could rate him as "mediocre". Also, I have no idea how you can say there is bad production, unless you like Shrapnel records style wind tunnel production. It's crystal clear to me.

I'm from a different musical background to you though, so it's probably down to that. For better guitarwork, there's always Cacophony

here is my theory on cacophony

the drunk monkey shitty moron singer must have been rich and had all the equipment or he would not have the other talented musicans in his band because the difference between the instrumentals and the vocal tracks is massive , i.e one is shit and one isnt

oh well, i got both albums and songs like savage crack me up

NIIINNJAAAAA

 

[Virgin Wii]

For better guitarwork, there's always Cacophony

Well, yeah.

The drummer is astounding though, I don't see how anyone could rate him as "mediocre".

Huh? He mostly just keeps time while following the guitar. I didn't sense any particular style, and there's a lack of fills. I didn't say he was mediocre, I just said he had some mediocre moments. Did you enjoy his work on the "Truth Be Told" intro?

I fucking love the rhythm guitarwork on the album, it's got a Racer X-ish feel.

I don't have a problem with the individual riffs. Just how they were strung together. It seemed disjointed, like there was no logical progression. Do you agree with me on this, or at least see where I'm coming from?

For production... well, I wasn't very clear on that. The mixing was my problem. Didn't like the mix, no sir.

For musical background, I like stuff like: Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Rush, Symphony X, Blind Guardian, Slayer... stuff like that. Many of those bands have albums with shoddy production, but I still loved them. So yeah, what I really meant was the mix.

 

[SlickWilly223]

I love the album actually. I agree with many of your views, but I just look at the album at what it is. It's not much like their early thrash periods, or their heavy rock period in the 90's, but dammit, it's still good.

I'm listening to it right now actually. For some reason I really dig "Mice and Men," "The Scorpion," and "Tears in a Vial." Those are some solid tracks as far as I'm concerned, and they actually sound like Megadeth, baby. I also have to listen to "Shadow of Deth" at least 10 times a day, because it kicks that much ass.

I'm sorry to hear that you don't like it though, because like you, I too am a big fan of Megadeth, but I'm actually enjoying this album not because it's from Megadeth, but because I really like it.

Honestly, I hated "The World Needs A Hero." If it wasn't for the song "Dread and the Fugitive Mind," I probably would have burned that CD. It was really bad.

But the new album shines new hope.

 

[SlickWilly223]

And even if you don't like the CD, you can still get to see Dave live in concert this year!! That tour will kick my ass, I can't wait.

 

[Virgin Wii]

I'm listening to it right now actually. For some reason I really dig "Mice and Men," "The Scorpion," and "Tears in a Vial."

Yeah, I really like "The Scorpion" and "Tears in a Vial". The chorus killed "Mice and Men" for me... it was repeated like 6 times or something at the end and I can barely tolerate hearing it once.

It's good that you and Raxel liked it.

 

[Raxel]

here is my theory on cacophony

the drunk monkey shitty moron singer must have been rich and had all the equipment or he would not have the other talented musicans in his band because the difference between the instrumentals and the vocal tracks is massive , i.e one is shit and one isnt

oh well, i got both albums and songs like savage crack me up

NIIINNJAAAAA

haha, that guy is really awful. Have you seen video clips of Cacophony live? He somehow manages to sing worse, he completely mauled Desert Island during the vocal solo part.

Huh? He mostly just keeps time while following the guitar. I didn't sense any particular style, and there's a lack of fills. I didn't say he was mediocre, I just said he had some mediocre moments. Did you enjoy his work on the "Truth Be Told" intro?

That song has a poor opening in general, but I love the drumming on Kick the chair and Blackmail the universe for example. The guy is a fusion drummer IIRC, so I don't expect much in terms of originalty.

I don't have a problem with the individual riffs. Just how they were strung together. It seemed disjointed, like there was no logical progression. Do you agree with me on this, or at least see where I'm coming from?

For production... well, I wasn't very clear on that. The mixing was my problem. Didn't like the mix, no sir.

For musical background, I like stuff like: Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Rush, Symphony X, Blind Guardian, Slayer... stuff like that. Many of those bands have albums with shoddy production, but I still loved them. So yeah, what I really meant was the mix.

I kinda see what you mean, but I figured since so many shred bands jump between odd time signatures, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

The mix isn't bad by any means, but I would have preferred more separation between the channels, perhaps this is what you meant? It certainly isn't muddy, but it does seem as if everything is in the centre with little variation. From what I understand however, Chris was told just to play solos, rather than having a full twin guitar attack.

My background is more 70's/80's hard rock, my avatar says it all

 

[sonatinas]

man desert island blows until the solo, i dont understand ,really

the dude must have been loaded or got the chicks