Megadeth - United Abominations (2007)Release ID: 126
A friend of mine shared with me a couple tracks from this album, and they sound good enough to check out the rest of what it has to offer, as well as make another dive into one of Megadeth's albums. How does it compare to a classic like Peace Sells? Let's find out...
United Abominations marked the entrance of the Drover brothers; guitarist Glen and drummer Shawn. They were the founding members of power metal band Eidolon. But months after the release of this album, Glen left Megadeth to focus on family life, which also caused Eidolon to disband, apart from a 2015 reunion show and single. Those brothers knew how to add catchiness and heaviness to the less thrashy riffing the band had for 15 years up to that point. Freshness was added to the otherwise mundane.
"Sleepwalker" opens the album as a heavy yet melodic standout, as the snarls of frontman Dave Mustaine soar through the verses. The thrashy riffs and leads last heard in Rust in Peace are in full force, as is the tempo variation. All in an honorable highlight! What's next is "Washington is Next", which picks up some fast speed in the riffs and drums, while having some Maiden-powered melody, especially in the chorus that adds to the energy. The earlier speedy riffing is blended with the 1990 technical shredding. There are some decent choruses in "Never Walk Alone... A Call to Arms", but it's much more suitable for the radio.
The title track is the first of the two songs my friend showed me, which is fine, but the chorus is too repetitive to do any good. The second of those songs, "Gears of War" is a slower heavy/melodic composition with a brighter chorus. I like that one more. "Blessed are the Dead" is where Mustaine's vocals often get deeper or less gravelly. The song once again has the band's 90s hard rock/metal sound. "Play for Blood" has the groove-ish riffing of Symphony X, but none of that band's epic orchestration.
"A Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)" is a re-recording of a song from the band's 1994 album Youthanasia. This edition has greater energy and guest vocals by Cristina Scabbia from gothic/alt-metal band Lacuna Coil. Honestly, this is the kind of re-recording we need, one that enhances the song with a guest vocalist. Well done! "Amerikhastan" follows as an unnecessary attempt at a political attack, and it's hard for me to listen to it without cringing in disgust. We get one more memorable track in "You're Dead", reviving the early 90s thrash discretely yet pleasantly. "Burnt Ice" has impressive riffing that is sadly practically obscured by everything else. A strong yet uneven wrap-up.
All in all, United Abominations is a pretty good album with some weak moments. I suppose one day I can check out one of their surrounding albums like The System Has Failed or Endgame, maybe even another one of their earlier classics. But for now, I can savor the more high-quality moments of this album, helped out by the Drover brothers. Shawn would still stick around for the next few chapters of this journey of Megadeth....
Favorites: "Sleepwalker", "Washington is Next", "Gears of War", "A Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)", "You're Dead"
Following on from 2004’s triumphant return from hiatus (actually, retirement, to be precise), Megadeth’s 2007 album, ‘United Abominations’ sees the band continue along with a renewed vigour, as Dave Mustaine and a fresh line-up charges on with the thrash metal sound of old, proving that Megadeth can still maintain relevance in the new millennium.
Stylistically, this isn’t much different than its predecessor, ‘The System Has Failed’, however, while that album was mostly a Dave Mustaine solo effort with a bunch of guest musicians, ‘United Abominations’ comes from a band united (no pun intended). It’s clear that there’s a chemistry amongst everyone, and a high standard of musicianship. Brothers Glen and Shawn Drover (guitarist and drummer respectively) have already crafted a name for themselves with their band Eidolon, and bassist James LoMenzo has cut his teeth with an impressive résumé which includes the likes of Black Label Society, David Lee Roth and Tim “Ripper” Owens.
And the results are evident immediately, with some of the bands most furious guitar riffs, and an interplay not seen since the days of ‘Rust in Peace’ back in 1990. The music is incredibly tight, and Dave Mustaine’s vocals are as vicious and hate-filled as ever.
If there was any doubt that Megadeth’s comeback was a flash in the pan, then tracks like ‘Sleepwalker’, ‘Never Walk Alone... A Call to Arms’, ‘Washington is Next’, ‘Pray for Blood’, ‘Amerikhastan’ and a rather unnecessary but still pretty cool re-recording of their 1994 hit ‘A Tout le Monde’ are all proof that Megadeth are well and firmly back to their thrash metal roots, with ‘United Abominations’ being another high-quality album among an already impressive discography.
2004’s “The System Has Failed” was a step in the right direction for Megadeth. It saw the band actively concentrating on a more heavy metal oriented direction rather than the cheesy pop metal material that had plagued the previous couple of albums & it featured a decidedly heavier production to match. Former lead guitarist Chris Poland had returned to contribute some solos which was also of great interest to me personally. Unfortunately the quality of the song-writing was still too inconsistent to make the album a rewarding experience. It felt like a bit of a chore to sift through all of the filler in order to find the hidden gems & Chris’ contributions were surprisingly a bit of a disappointment given the quality of his performances on the first two Megadeth albums. Although “The System Has Failed” avoided the global panning that it’s two predecessors received it also failed to instil much confidence in future releases.
2007’s “United Abominations” may have featured an all-new lineup but it was immediately obvious that the plan had stayed pretty much the same. It’s a pretty similar sort of record with a few notable enhancements. Firstly the production has been improved & it really allows the songs the chance to shine. There's also slightly less of the more commercially driven material that was hanging around on “The System Has Failed” & the album is a bit heavier overall. Guitar solos had been given more & more time over the previous couple of albums & that trend had continued with new guitarist Glen Drover’s lead work being the highlight of the album for mine. His tone is sensational & he takes a really flashy approach that I find quite exciting. Particularly towards the end of the album. The new rhythm section of James LoMenzo & Shawn Drover do a very solid job & are helped out by the lovely sounding production. Dave Mustaine’s riffing gives more than the odd hint towards his thrash metal heyday & he also gives us a pretty standard post-1990 vocal delivery that gets the job done without ever touching the angst-ridden aggression of his 80’s material.
There are still some weaker tracks here but I find “United Abominations” to be a bit more consistent than the previous four albums. The second half of the record is particularly solid. Surprisingly Dave decided it would be a good idea to re-record “A tout le monde” (which was my favourite track from his 1994’s “Youthanasia” album) with the addition of Lacuna Coil vocalist Cristina Scabbia. The concept had sellout written all over it but I have to admit that the result reminds me of just why I loved the original & I ended up finding it to be one of my album highlights (along with the aggressive “You’re Dead”). Thrashy opener “Sleepwalker” & shredding closer “Burnt Ice” are also pretty impressive. Where “United Abominations” is let down a little bit though is in the first half with tracks like “Gears Of War” & the title track sounding pretty flat & lacking memorability.
“United Abominations” is a long way from perfect but it certainly exceeded my expectations for a modern day Megadeth album. Not only can it can be seen as a further step in the right direction but it is genuinely worth a listen. Strangely it seems to be a little underrated so I encourage you to make the decision for yourself.
