Quick Review: The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!

One of the coolest album covers ever.

Date Of Release: September 2, 2022

Lineup for The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!:

• Dave Mustaine (Rhythm guitarist, Lead Vocals)
• Kiko Loureiro (Lead guitarist, backup vocals)
• James LoMenzo (Bassist)
• Dirk Verbeuren (Drummer)

---

The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! is the 16th studio album by thrash metal legends Megadeth. Having been in the making since 2019 the album would be plauged by multiple problems. One of those being the COVID outbreak of 2020, which delayed the album. Then, Megadeth co-founder and bassist David Ellefson was fired from the band following a sex scandal. Due to this, all of his bass tracks were removed and had to be rerecorded. On top of it all you also have Dave Mustaine battling with throat cancer.

So from the sound of it this album was destined to suck right? Well no. Actually, this album is the best album Megadeth have released in the past 13 years! (Don't worry Dystopia fans that album was also great)

---

The Album
For starters, the guitar riffs on this track are utterly killer and heavy. Dave Mustaine never had issues coming up with awesome riffs, but on this album they especially kick ass. Songs like: Life In Hell, Sacrifice, Soldier On!, Cèlebutante, We'll Be Back, and especially Night Stalkers have some of the best riffs Megadeth have written has of late.

Not only are the guitar riffs on point but the drumming also is fucking phenomenal. Dirk Verbeuren is the most recent drummer to join Megadeth and he definitely gave a great performance on this album. Steve Di Giorgio was brought in to cover Ellefson's bass tracks, and I gotta say the bass lines here are also great.

A lot of the songs on the album are also very fast paced. Past albums have slowed down, so to hear that familiar thrash speed back is nice. They're up there with songs from Peace Sells, Rust In Peace, and Killing Is My Business.

Not all of the songs are like this however, a few songs are more theatrical. These songs are slower but also have sound effects, dialogue, and have a story to tell. A good example is the song Mission To Mars. Which tells the story of a man on his journey to Mars going wrong. These songs also have their fair share of great bass lines and guitars riffs. So don't worry if it sounds like these songs slow the album down.

The SIck, The Dying... And The Dead! is by no means perfect though. One complaint I have is on the song Night Stalkers. This track features rapper/metal artist Ice-T, however his part in the song is miniscule. Almost like it was some sort of after thought. Either give him more of a role in the song or just leave him out entirely. Having said that though, it doesn't bother that much but I still felt the need to mention it.

Moving on, the songs: Junkie, Psychopathy, and Killing Time, don't really do it for me. All three of the songs are pretty bland and kinda mesh together in a way that slows the album down, at least to me it does. Psychopathy isn't even a song. It's more of an intro to Killing Time, so that at least helps the flow a little. Overall it's a section of the album I don't really like.

Lastly, real quick I wanted to talk about the two extra songs on the album. The first being a cover of the Dead Kennedys song Police Truck. Other than how weird it sounds to not have Jello Biafra singing, this song is a pretty good cover. The thrash influence gives the song a fresh sound.

Secondly, there's also a cover of Sammy Hagar's song This Planet's On Fire (Burn In Hell). And well, I mean it's ok. The problem with it is that it sounds exactly the same as the original, just a little bit more heavier. So you pretty much have a carbon copy.

---

Final Thoughts
To end things off, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! is a kick ass addition to Megadeth's discography. You can tell Dave Mustaine and the gang worked their asses off for this album. I have no doubt long time Megadeth fans, old school thrashers, and metal fans will like this album. Everything that makes Megadeth Megadeth is on here.

Megadeth is back! Dave Mustaine's display of hunger and enthusiasm on this album makes me excited to see what's next for them. So if by chance anything here got you interested I would recommend giving this album a shot.

---

If I Had To Rate It Out Of 10: 8/10

My Personal Favorite Songs:

• Life In Hell
• Night Stalkers (feat. Ice-T)
• Sacrifice
• Soldier On!
• Cèlebutante
• Mission To Mars
• We'll Be Back

Songs I Disliked:

• Junkie
• Killing Time

For Those Interested In Checking It Out Here's A Preview Song: