Megadeth, but not as we know them! (Risk: Remastered & Expanded - Megadeth)

Member Name: Tris911

Product:	Risk: Remastered & Expanded - Megadeth
Date:	22/02/03 (137 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good catchy choruses, Nice to see a varied selection of music

Disadvantages: No lyrics, May be too soft for hardcorde 'Dethheads

I bought this album thinking that I was probably going to be throwing away £15 of my hard earned money.

Even walking home looking at the album sleeve, I was getting the feeling that something was not quite Megadeth about this album. For starters there were no lyrics to the songs. I tell a lie, there were lyric 'fragments' arranged in an arty-farty manner but no full lyrics that I could wail along to. I don't think I own any other 'Metal' album that does not include all the lyrics.

The opening track, Insomnia begins with a haunting violin that introduces the main theme of the song. This theme is repeated by a sitar and then the vocals and guitars kick in. Now it's quite hard to tell whether these are guitars or not as they sound quite processed. The first thing that hits you about this album is the amount of synthesised sound that is there. From the guitars to the drums and the vocals, there seems to be a lot more processing going on here than other 'Deth albums. Insomnia is a song about just that, one mans struggle with his waking hours.

The second song on this album, Prince of Darkness is a much deeper affair. It begins by a monologue from the point of view of the Prince of Darkness that talks about burning people at the stake and how he will "take what you love and leave you in tears". After these pleasantries, we up the tempo a little and get into the song proper that sounds like James Hetfield is singing it - we even have the line "I'm evil I am". The chorus is quite catchy and threatens to become repetitive but the middle eight pops up, with those eerie violins again. These take us to the solo, which like most on this album aren't exactly shredding but fit well into the spirit of the album and aren't the no-brainers that Kirk Hammett of Metallica came up with for Load/Reload.

Enter the Arena is just a filler track before Crush with a kind of pseudo
live concert feeling with Mustaine getting the crowd to sing "Crush 'em" with him.

Crush is possibly the song on the album that makes the most use of synthesised sounds and processed vocals. This doesn't detract from the song though as it drives along, with the pace slowly but surely building up as we reach the chorus. The chorus itself is melodic but its a little abrupt the first time around. Towards the end we get a kind of 'speaking too close to the microphone' rappy type bit but this does not hurt the song and it catapults you back into the chorus one last time. I think that this song was featured on the soundtrack to Universal Solider 2 and I seem to recall there was a video for it too.

Breadline is quite a mature song for Megadeth but then I guess by now Megadeth were quite a mature band! The jist of the song concerns a homeless drug addict (from what I can make out). It isn't a ballad nor is it a thrashfest but a pleasant poppy-rock song which like many other songs on this album, you find yourself singing along to. The lyics repeat a bit towards the end but we are saved by Marty and his guitar to take us out of the song.

The Doctor is Calling starts with a child saying "Daddy, daddy the doctor's" calling. Then we get a Dr Giggles type character (if you've seen the film you'll know what I mean!) giving his diagnosis. In this song, Megadeth show that it is still possible to be menacing without going all out on the E string. The melody holds up well throughout the song and the length is just about right. The solo isn't too bad on this song either, some sections harking back to the Marty of old.

I'll Be There is a rare Megadeth ballad - you don't get many of these for your money so you got to make the most of them. Don't go expecting Bon Jovian sentimentality though, this is a ballad dressed up in leather but a certain amount of emotion does come
through in this one. The chorus is bright and if you can get over the slightly touchy feely lyrics, its a great mid point to the album.

The next song mostly plods along in my opinion. The chorus is just about worth waiting for though, it's just a shame that there are no lyrics in the sleeves as this is one of those songs that is really open to making up your own lyrics. The middle eight saves the song, it's given a kick up the ass and a more rocky break comes in followed by a cool little solo that keeps you interested in listening to the rest of the song. The chorus comes back for one final encore and sounds a lot better in this part of the song.

Ecstay moves at a similar pace to Wanderlust but it is slightly more edgy and the chorus is poppy. I quite like this song, especially the middle eight with its weird drum beat (although we sound like we are about to go into a blazing solo but nothing comes of it).

Seven takes us up a gear and is a song that I'd like to sing along to but can't because of the lack of lyrics. This song is a lot tighter than the previous two and is more accessible for it. There is a decent solo in the right place and a middle eight that ups the tempo even more.

The last two tracks are symbolic of what a lot of bands are doing these days, that is putting an extra long track at the end of the album. Here, Megadeth have split it logically into two tracks but for all intents and purposes they are part of the same song. The first half of the song Tme: The Beginning is a sad portrayal of how time is running out and how we can't run forever because time waits for no-one. The music for this half is not at all intrusive, with very few distorted guitars and a few violins thrown in for good measure.

The second half turns more 'metally', with Dave deciding that he can beat time and that he will not let God win. It is a suprisingly upbeat end to the album both melodically
and lyrically.

One thing that almost all of these songs had was a noticable middle eight where the song suddenly takes on another form. Most of them add to the song in a positive way, especially where a tempo change is included (you also usually get a solo thrown in for free).

Much has been said to criticise this album but I have to say that I enjoy listening to almost all of this album. It may not be rip your throat out metal but it wasn't supposed to be. Yes, they possibly sold out with this record but the follow up 'true Megadeth' record The World Needs a Hero was in many ways lacking when compared to this. Just because a song happens to be catchy doesn't mean it can never be metal.

There are a lot of decent, hard hitting rhythms on this album which should satisfy most Megadeth fans as well as enough sing along catchy songs that will hopefully introduce a few non believers into the religion that is Megadeth.

Summary: