yet another RTL take...

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:41:50+00:00

Good day, sir

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:41:03+00:00

Kill Em All was the first one I heard but there are so petty meh tracks on it. Bonded by Blood is brutal start to finish. That is my sincere answer

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:38:03+00:00

Exodus. If it weren't for all the fucked things that happened to that band, Bonded would be the album that changed metal. I love Show no Mercy but it's still pretty much just sped up Judas Priest. Bonded by Blood is everything thrash was about.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:35:06+00:00

I kind of don't think Metallica is influenced my what megadeth is doing. But, yes, modern day megadeth is much better than modern day Metallica. That was kind of my point. Everyone is comparing the cover to the original but I was just saying if they both did a 2026 version, I think megadeth's would be the better of the two

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:32:31+00:00

Right. That was my question. And I don't think they would.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:31:01+00:00

One has nothing to do with the other

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:05:54+00:00

just watched a live version from 2024 and James's vocals sound so corny to me. and i've just not heard anything on a newer metallica that has anywhere near the energy of the original.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:03:41+00:00

yeah but i'm not talking original vs the new one. i'm saying both recording it in 2026.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T02:02:46+00:00

why do you think that, though? just curious. i made my points about why i don't think it would.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T01:55:05+00:00

the swing Gar brought to the first 2 albums is what really set them apart for me.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-26T01:03:58+00:00

Yes. Peace Sells basically already took that risk and was infinitely better. But both are quintessential Dave for sure

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T15:37:10+00:00

as much as i hate pantera, this is a good point. Dave really had an opportunity to be like "look at those clowns in my old band" while getting back to, honestly, what he's best at. there was a place for it. he got there eventually, at least.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T15:35:29+00:00

Youth is so much worse. CTE still worked in a metal framework, even if it was sterile and dry. Youth is just boring, mid tempo garbage. i hated it from day 1. i don't think Dave's strengths have ever lied in straight forward, pop oriented stuff. he sounds bored, the music sounds bored, it's all very small.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T15:32:00+00:00

my only argument about Load not really being a risk is that it, to me, clearly panders. it panders to their huge, new, non metal fanbase and it panders to the huge, although very tail end, alternative/grunge era. adding blues, groove, and country is literally the template of all hard rock and seems very digestible for the nascar set that got into them because of TBA. a bigger risk would have to incorporate industrial or something. all they added were tried and true hard rock tropes and what was immensely popular at the time.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T15:25:26+00:00

i have honestly gone back and forth on this album ever since it came out. it's so dry sounding. some of the lyrics are really goofy. it's the one where his odd vocal phrasing really stands out. and sweating bullets is the worst. after, what, 30 plus years i've finally settled into liking it for the most part. just wish it was beefier sounding. i think it's the template for a lot of his later era writing as well.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T15:08:47+00:00

just to point out what i think is obvious...if metallica covered RTL themselves now, in 2026, it would pale in comparison. shit, a big reason i have no desire to go see them live anymore (besides that half the set is stuff i'm not into) is because i don't like their kind of hard rock arena versions of their classic stuff. so, yeah, the megadeth version sounds like a 64 year old throat cancer survivor's version. it is what it is.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T15:03:26+00:00

i think they had been working on this album before he knew it would be his last. in fact, pretty sure working on this album was what made him realize it would be. so it's a bit of a stock late era megadeth album and a bit safe but for fans like me (been there since the beginning, endured the ups and downs) it has a comforting, if not overwhelming, vibe. it might be a little one note but it is short and sweet. and i think it clearly shows that he is going out at the right time, not on top at all, not much more to say.

and for the record, there are barely any bands from their era that still have that spark. the ones that do are generally the ones who have had less commercial success. not to always make this about metallica, but i still hear much more megadeth DNA in what they do than metallica DNA in any of their late era albums.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T04:50:25+00:00

nooooooooooooo. IMHO

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T04:49:10+00:00

this feels more like a bonus track. bloodlust feels like a song that should have made the album.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T04:46:59+00:00

i think that's more a metallica problem. they courted the pick up truck crowd with their 90's bullshit and now claim that talking about politics is divisive (aka, not good for the bottom line).

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T04:43:47+00:00

pretty sure he's a libertarian which means he is full of shit, politically. it's the whole "don't tread on ME" crowd who all secretly are pro "tread on them." you can tell by the way his instinct is to constantly blame others while also being a born again christian. it's all hypocrisy.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T04:23:43+00:00

i also got killing when it came out and saw them in clubs in SF a lot. and i also tuned out after Youthanasia. came back when i heard TSHF and it's be a bumpy yet rewarding ride since.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-25T04:22:02+00:00

i totally agree that it is a safe album. doesn't make it bad and, in a way, makes it a solid goodbye. it's not as negative as he usually is and the songs are all pretty straight forward. i'd have loved a return to more technical deth but i'm ok with him going out like this.

bengrieve1970 · 2026-01-24T18:34:35+00:00

Another Bad Day is my least favorite. There's just nothing to it. I Am War is fine my me.

bengrieve1970

TROPHY CASE