Megadeth have been through a lot of lineup upheaval circa the early 21st century, with longtime leader
Dave Mustaine being the only familiar face left in attendance. But
Megadeth's crunchy, venomous thrash has remained intact, as heard throughout their 2007 release,
United Abominations (their first for the Roadrunner label). While many thrash-metal bands take the easy way out lyrically -- by detailing their encounters with Señor Beelzebub --
Mustaine has never shied away from voicing his opinion about politics and the state of the world. And as evidenced by such biting tracks as "Washington Is Next!," "Gears of War," "Amerikhastan," and the title track,
Mustaine remains as outspoken as ever about what he's been seeing on CNN for the past few years. Musically,
Megadeth were never afraid to show off their prog-worthy chops, and the 2007 lineup (which sees
Mustaine joined by bassist
James LoMenzo and the sibling tandem of
Glen Drover and
Shawn Drover on guitar and drums) appears custom-made for tackling "tricky bits" -- including the album-opening "Sleepwalker." Elsewhere, a re-recording of "A Tout le Monde" -- as a duet between
Mustaine and
Lacuna Coil's
Cristina Scabbia -- has "radio/MTV airplay" written all over it. They may have lost the plot for a period (remember 1999's
Risk?), but with
United Abominations,
Mustaine and company certainly sound reborn. [The 2007 Roadrunner edition includes one bonus track.] ~ Greg Prato