Megadeth's The Sick, The Dying… and The Dead!: Clean, sharp and heavy

It is unusual for Megadeth fans to have to wait for six years for new music. However, given the current circumstances, particularly the departure of bassist Dave Ellefson, frontman Dave Mustaine's encounter with cancer and the pandemic, there were enough obstacles en route to their 16th album 'The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!' 

But finally, Megadeth is back with new music and the wait was definitely worth it.

Old-school Megadeth fans will surely agree that Megadeth albums of the last decade didn't really add that much to the band's rich catalogue of aggressive thrash metal. In the latest album, however, we get back the flavour of old, the one which we last saw perhaps in the 'Endgame'. 

Dave Mustaine's iconic snarl remains intact, one would not be able to tell from his voice that the man has survived throat cancer. His vocals for songs like 'Night Stalkers' makes you feel pumped up from the very beginning. The melody of 'Soldier On' and 'Killing Time' also bring to light the other side of his voice, highlighting the versatility of the singer. 

One of the key aspects of any Megadeth song is the trademark guitar riffs which this new album has in abundance. One solid fast riff drives the entire song 'Night Stalkers'  and it doesn't sound monotonous at all. Songs like 'Celebutante', 'We'll Be Back', 'Dogs of Chernobyl' contain a variety of invigorated tight riffs that offer the real flavour of Megadeth. The tritone riff at the end of 'We'll Be Back' will go down as one of the album's heaviest riffs. 

Ever since the departure of Marty Friedman, Megadeth has had a number of guitarists playing lead. However, none of them made fans feel so nostalgic of Marty like Kiko Loureiro. Kiko's note selection, technique, phrasing, and melody will definitely remind the listener of Marty Friedman; the guitar solo of 'Celebutante' is a good example of that.

Dave Mustaine also has some smoking hot guitar solos as well, especially in 'We'll Be Back' and 'Sacrifice'. If you like spicy guitar works, cut-throat riffs and rhythms, you will not be disappointed.

The drumming throughout the album is super tight and creative. At no point did it sound mechanical. Dirk Verbeuren's extra flare and technicality added real value to the songs. Dirk has used similar percussion equipment like we have seen in 'Holy Wars' –  chimes, and bongos for example – for songs like 'Sacrifice'. Instead of taking a straight-up thrash drumming approach, Dirk seemed to have concentrated on these little things, which made the beats sound really special. Furthermore, the drummer has also contributed to the compositions of the riff, giving the tracks that old-school Megadeth feel. 

The album is very well produced and does not have that overly digital sound from some of Megadeth's albums from the early 2010s. There are theatrics hidden in the intros, outros, acoustic transitions, different sound effects, and modified vocals. The Ice-T cameo in 'Night Stalkers' was definitely unexpected. 

The lyrics explore exciting subject matters. It has a lot of social commentary, accompanied by violent thrash riffs and drumming. The music explores substance use, pessimism, nuclear catastrophe, the opioid epidemic, the current space race, etc.   

The majority of the songs in the album are truly satisfying,  enough to satisfy the appetite of metal lovers, and encourage repeated listens. Undoubtedly, this album will go down in history as one of the cleanest, sharpest and heaviest albums in the band's repertoire.