Is it really that bad? risk- megadeth
It’s not uncommon for a band to change their sound to be more accessible with the goal of commercial success. In metal, Metallica is the best example of this. They were already huge, but The Black Album brought them to the next level, and even when they would put out garbage after this it would still sell like hotcakes. Despite moving away from their thrash roots that drew fans in the first place, they still managed to make an album that was undoubtedly Metallica.
Risk exists in a similar vein; the songs are more accessible. Well, as accessible as Dave Mustaine’s voice can be. This is a regular heavy metal album with a lot of hard rock influences. It barely hangs on to the metal label though, and many moments during this album made me question if it even was metal. There aren’t many thrashy moments at all, even in the solos. Thrash doesn’t necessarily have to be fast; the aggression is the more crucial part, which this album lacks. The production is clean, a bit too clean. It feels sterile. I can’t think of any standout moments when it comes to the instruments. There’s no crazy riffs, solos, basslines, or drumming.
While I usually prefer Metallica’s work, Megadeth was able to pull off the transition from metal to infinitely better than them. They knew when to end their songs instead of dragging them out for an extra verse and chorus, and they experiment with the rock sound much more than them. Let’s go over the songs.
Insomnia: Starts with a cool middle eastern sounding riff. Violins kick in and mirror the guitar which is a nice touch. The chorus is fucking weird, not sure what Dave was going for there.
Prince of Darkness: This is the most boring and forgettable Megadeth song I’ve heard. I really have nothing to say about it. My brain barely recognizes it as music.
Enter The Arena: I don’t have issues with having an intro as a separate for a song. Sometimes it’s a necessary compromise between artistic expression and what the listener wants. However, this song has no purpose. All that build up for nothing, it just ends abruptly without leading into the next song nor being a continuation of the last song. What the fuck Dave?
Crush ‘Em: I’ve listened to this song over a dozen times and I can’t think of anything to talk about. You know how your brain will filter out white noise? That’s what happens when you listen to this song.
Seven: It’s got a hard rock vibe, a bit bluesy, and a nice swing to it. I can picture this playing in the bar scene in the SpongeBob movie.
Ecstasy: This could easily pass as a Ghost song. The overall feel of the song is similar to Ghost’s usual work, besides Mustaine’s voice of course. The vibrato effect on the guitar gives it a bit of a spooky quality. I’m not sure if it’s a synth or a guitar, but there’s a background instrument that sounds like an organ which lends to the spooky atmosphere. Interesting song, not bad.
Wanderlust: The opening riff reminds me of a bayou. The slight distortion effect on the banjo is cool, it’s just enough to distort the sound but you can also hear the underlying clean tone. The chorus doesn’t hit very hard, it feels more like a pre-chorus. Now the bridge, that hits hard. They pick up the pace and we get a rock-and-roll-esque bassline. The solo’s not very interesting, it’s just fast. Decent song.
Breadline: An attempt at a hit rock song. Not bad but any Megadeth fan hearing this for the first time when it was released as a single would blow their brains out. Sounds much more like something Bon Jovi would release than one of the biggest metal bands. Take it for what it is and it can be enjoyable.
The Doctor Is Calling: First four notes fooled me into thinking it was going to be One by Metallica. The “nah nah nah” during the solo is fuckin annoying. Definitely not as annoying as the “nah nah nah” in Metallica’s The Memory Remains. God damn that one is awful. Very forgettable song.
I’ll Be There: Another Bon Jovi-esque song. Not because he has a song with a very similar title, but it has the jangly guitars, the wooooOOOOOOOOoooooaaah, and buildup of Bon Jovi song. Not bad but I wouldn’t choose to listen to it.
This is not a terrible album, but it doesn’t have anything special about it. It’s not even a good gateway album to heavier music. Dave commented that if it was under a different band’s name, it would have done much better. I disagree with this. Nu-Metal was by far the biggest thing in the heavy music sphere at the time. You had Slipknot’s debut, Issues by Korn, and Significant Other by Limp Bizkit in the same year. In the years before and after you had even bigger hits from bands like the ones mentioned and others such as Linkin Park, Disturbed, System of a Down, and more. There was no competing with that. Rock had to compete with r&b, pop punk, rap, hip hop, and pop for radio play. It was far from its peak at that time and expecting a hard-rock influenced metal album to sell like his previous work shows he was unaware of the musical landscape at the time.