Music Review: Youthanasia - Megadeth (1994)

What does a thrash band do after the massive success of "Countdown to Extinction" in 1990? Record Youthanasia. The answer isn't quite that simple, of course. But Megadeth's new direction on this album is a definite gold moment in the history of metal music.

So what's different, exactly? Well, there's no shortage of thrash. The killer solo on "Train of Consequences" echoes "Skin o' My Teeth" and proves that Megadeth can still rock harder than you can brush your teeth. The face-melting power of "Symphony of Destruction" is somewhat lost here, but Youthanasia easily makes up for it with increasingly melodic songs, taking advantage of interesting bass techniques and Mustaine's awesome voice. Megadeth is less focused on blasting your ears with socio-political criticism and stories of cyborgs-gone-wrong on this album and more about delivering a more head-nodding then head-banging sound.

Does that spell sell out? Definitely not. It spells experimentation. The metal sensibility of Youthanasia is stronger than ever with songs like "Elysian Fields" and "The Killing Road". The genius of Youthanasia is how it travels the road paved by Metallica and does wonderful things. Listen to "Black Curtains" to catch some "The Black Album" influence, for example.

Now, time to talk about "A Tout le Monde," easily a candidate for best melodic metal song of all time. A Tout le Monde is Megadeth's answer to Metallica's "One". Both are supremely epic sounding, alternating between heavy/light guitars with genius and melodic skill. The guitar solo is excellent, and Mustaine delivers the most powerful singing that definitely surpasses most metal singers (even surpassing Hetfield's growl on One). And gotta love the lyrics. Mustaine is the only person I can think of to make French sound metal.

MY RATING: Classic metal album. Melodic and radio-friendly for newbies to the genre and has excellent singles. Stands out in the genre as one of the best.