Now Playing: The World Needs A Hero (2001)
Topic: Megadeth
The late 1990s were not particularly kind to the heavy-metal band Megadeth; they released two uneven albums (Cryptic Writings in '97, and Risk in '99). A new milennium had now come, and it was time for a change - or more appropriately, a re-visit. Trying to recapture the past glory of the technical metal that made Megadeth a success in the first place, The World Needs A Hero is indeed a turnaround album. The prior two releases were certainly catering to a more mainstream crowd, but Megadeth sounds more comfortable doing what they do best, and that is the technical, complex song structures and whaling guitar solos, as they did on their previous albums, like Rust In Peace (1990). Certainly, if anything, The World Needs A Hero can be considered a main turning point in the lengthy career of Dave Mustaine's metal group.
This isn't a particularly great album, but it does have some bright spots. First off, take a look at the album cover pictured above, doesn't that gory scene just ooze heavy metal? That is a picture of Vic, the band mascot, making his return to the cover after nearly a decade of absence. Now, onto the music -the opening track "Disconnect" is just downright awesome - and the title seems fitting, as it is perhaps metaphorically disconnecting from the past few years of mainstream works and harkening back to the heavier heydays. The album is fairly unbalanced as it trades back and forth a good track for a mediocre one, so it never quite strikes a nice stasis - but again, with that being said, it has some highlights. The song "1000 Times Goodbye" is a bit melodramatic, but, I rather liked it, as it is fairly catchy.
The latter half of the album is where it gains a little more consistency. "Dread and the Fugitive Mind" is strong, as is the remake "Return To Hangar", which directly correlates to "Hangar 18", one of the most memorable tracks from Rust In Peace. As you can see, Mustaine, the band leader, is clearly trying to infuse a bit of his rich musical past with this newer album - and it works from time to time, but not entirely. An instance where Megadeth seems misguided is on the song "Moto Psycho" - it's terrible.
Aside from the shortcomings, The World Needs A Hero has several memorable songs. If you look back at Megadeth from a broader historical perspective, this album was indeed, in the least, a step in the right direction. Following this 2001 album, Megadeth continued to make new music, and their subsequent releases following The World Needs A Hero truly accomplished what Mustaine seemed to set out to do here - bring the metal back, and he sure did. So, if you want to see where the re-birth of Megadeth began, take a look at The World Needs A Hero.
TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:
"Disconnect"
"1000 Times Goodbye"
"Dread And Fugitive Mind"
"Return To Hangar"
-Kurt L.
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Updated: Saturday, 3 April 2010 11:15 AM EDT
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