Countdown to Extinction [Remaster] (CD - 1992)

Recorded at The Enterprise, Burbank, California from January 6 to April 28, 1992.

Megadeth: Dave Mustaine (vocals, guitar); Marty Friedman (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals); David Ellefson (bass instrument, background vocals); Nick Menza (drums, background vocals).

Megadeth guns for arena thrash success and gets it on Countdown to Extinction. Following the lead of 1991's Metallica, Megadeth trades in their lengthy, progressive compositions for streamlined, tightly written and played songs more conducive to radio and MTV airplay. Cries of "sellout" seem pointless when the results are artistically (as well as commercially) successful; songs like the mega-hit "Symphony of Destruction," "Skin O' My Teeth," "Foreclosure of a Dream," and "Sweating Bullets" are among the band's best. ~ Steve Huey

Megadeth achieved massive success with its aggressive fourth album, RUST IN PEACE, and its follow-up, 1992's COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION, combined the band's trademark thrash metal with hints of the more mainstream territory that would be further charted on the subsequent YOUTHANASIA. However, on COUNTDOWN, Megadeth never sacrifices its characteristic crunch. "Symphony of Destruction" and "Skin O' My Teeth" boast a slightly streamlined sound, but the anger, sarcasm, and signature snarl of frontman Dave Mustaine remain wholly intact. By this time, many major thrash groups had started slowing things down a bit, and Megadeth showed it could be just as powerful doing mid-tempo rockers as it could with high-velocity barnstormers. As always, Mustaine's dark lyrics tackle a range of personal, social, and political topics, the former best exemplified by the multi-faceted "Sweating Bullets," which features Mustaine carrying on a dialogue with his own tortured psyche. minimize