UMUR "TH1RT3EN" is the 13th full-length studio album by US thrash metal/heavy metal act Megadeth. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in November 2011. It´s the successor to "Endgame" from 2009 and is´s notable for the return of original bassist Dave Ellefson, who had not recorded with the band since "The World Needs a Hero (2001)". He replaces James LoMenzo who had recorded and toured with the band in the 2006-2010 period.

The music on the album is thrashy heavy metal, which of course is no surprise if you are familiar with the band´s back catalogue. Some of the band´s albums have leaned more towards heavy metal than thrash metal and visa versa. "Endgame (2009)" was one of the more thrash metal dominated releases by Megadeth, but with "TH1RT3EN" I think the band again lean a bit more towards heavy metal, although the album still features many thrash metal riffs and rhythms.

One of the greatest assets on the album is the high level musicianship and especially guitarist Chris Broderick who delivers one shredding, melodic lead after another. He is able to lift even some of the more standard quality tracks to a higher level with his diverse and skillful playing. The rest of the band are also, as usual, very well playing including frontman Dave Mustaine who delivers yet another nasal, snarling, and distinct sounding vocal performance. He shows his softer more melodic side on occasion though. His performance in "Millennium of the Blind" is an example of that, but quite a few of the tracks on "TH1RT3EN" feature relatively melodic choruses.

Although the standard of the songwriting is pretty high throughout there are some less remarkable tracks on the album and only a few standout tracks. Highlights include the two opening tracks "Sudden Death" and "Public Enemy No. 1" and album closer "13". Some of the material on the album had previously been recorded as demos, and therefore written several years before, but was re-worked and re-arranged for "TH1RT3EN". It can be heard in the riff style on some tracks, which is similar to the riff style on various preceding releases. In that respect "TH1RT3EN" isn´t the most original or unique sounding Megadeth release, but it´s recognisable and the overall quality of the album is solid. Featuring a powerful, detailed, and well sounding production job, it is another quality release by Megadeth, but still a slight step down from the quality of "Endgame (2009)". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

The Angry Scotsman Megadeth found their way, then got lost again.

Yikes, what happened? After the comeback hit that was "Endgame" and hearing that Dave Ellefson was returning how could a Megadeth fan not be excited?

The title "Th1rt3en" had me feeling a little sick but can't judge by an album by it's title, (Death Magnetic was pretty kick ass after all). Well this album was a let down. At first I thought it was horrid, but listening all this time later, it's really not bad. It's just not that great.

"Sudden Death" kicks off the album in a great way, honestly it's one of the better songs in the whole post "Rust in Peace" era. It was made for the game Guitar Hero, which makes sense since it's filled with solos, sweet riffs and melodies all in the frantic, progressive style Megadeth was known for.

This is the peak of the album sadly. As I said, it's not a bad album. There are some pretty good songs like "Public Enemy No.1", "Never Dead", and "Fast Lane" some not so good songs like "Wrecker" and the pretty dreadful "Guns, Drugs & Money" the rest are either kind of bland, or have some sweet parts mixed with some mediocre parts.

I finally have hit on what is the issue with this album, and it's not the album per se but your personal feelings. "Th1rt3en" is a more straightforward, hard rock/classic type metal album with thrash thrown in. Kind of like their middle material but overall a bit more thrashy. There are still occasional moments of intrigue like light guitar and really good song writing, but far less than their "classic days".

So it depends what you are into. If you prefer the more technical, progressive and intense side of Megadeth with Mustaine's intricate, and often fascinating, song writing then this will be nothing more than an OK album. If you prefer/are fine with the more straightforward, less frills but more rockin' Megadeth then you will surely enjoy this.

I prefer the former, but I can't hold it against the album itself. Few of the songs are truly bad, but most are just unremarkable. That's the best word for this album, unremarkable. Which doesn't mean bad, and there are more than enough moments to satsify a thrash fan, and even a more progressive oriented fan. So take it for what it is and decide for yourself, the quality of the actual album is good, but not essential.

Oh, and if you are one of the stuck in the 80s, worship at the house of thrash, fans...well there was little hope for you here anyway.

Good, not great. THR33 Stars

Stephen Thirteen is surely ain't a bad luck number for Megadeth. Not only they regain the long time bassist, David Ellefson, on board, but this album received a mainly positive reception from the press and fans and sold well in the first week just like its predecessor, 'Endgame'. Some complains I heard is it contains too many older materials, signifying a lack of new ideas in Mustaine's mind, and his voice is struggling to match his peak when trying to emulate the height of Countdown/Youthanasia era.

My personal answers to those two negative views are songs that haven't made to the album yet deserved to be heard, reworked, or included because not all people can afford to buy everything they released; and the second, aging process is a phase that every singers must experience, we can't expect one singing exactly like his youth today, and I didn't think Mustaine sounds horrible here, in fact, the real strength of Megadeth's music isn't really the clear vocal but his gruntly roar, packed with killer guitar riffs and solos.

There are lots of enjoyable songs inside, especially for fans of heavy metal/hard rock era of Countdown/Youthanasia such as 'Sudden Death', 'Public Enemy No 1', or 'New World Order'. For fans of 'Rust In Peace', the riffs oriented thrashy tracks like 'Never Dead', 'Fast Lane', 'Black Swan', or 'Wrecker', should fill the gap. I must admit there are several let down such as 'We The People', 'Guns, Drugs, & Money', or 'Millennium of The Blind' aren't my fave at all, but the rest such as 'Whose Life', 'Deadly Nightshade', or the ballad, '13' are quite good.

I guess Megadeth has accomplished something here, especially to quench the thirst of oldschool fans. I myself enjoyed this one a lot and I think it's the best they made since 'Youthanasia'. Not that I dislike 'Endgame', that one is also a strong album, but this one is personally better for me. Around 85% deserved and a big applause for Megadeth.

bonnek Megadeth has been outliving their sell-by date by almost two decades now, and even if you'll find nice little gems on any of their albums, there's a sense of crushing tiredness that overwhelms me when hearing those same old worn-out thrash metal tricks and Dave's expired snarls. This is not different on this album despite the attempt to make us believe that everything is fine on planet Megadeth, with the return of Ellefson and some (totally unnecessary) remakes of some old rarities, but I don't buy it, not at all.

It may sound contradictory but the old songs are the only material that still have some freshness and excitement about them, especially 'NWO'. The new songs sound like I've heard them a hundred times already, remaining entirely predictable in terms of riffs as well as vocal lines or rhythms, but they all lack the essence of what made it all work 20 years ago, namely bite, speed and hooks that don't put me asleep. The remakes of 'New World Order' and 'Millennium Of The Blind' don't live up to their originals and don't add anything at all actually.

Megadeth has been through some ups, downs and many averages for 15 years now, since 'Youthenesia' to be exact. This new album is a down as far as I'm concerned. Get the original version of 'New World Order' and forget about the rest of this album. This is no "Endgame II" unfortunately.

Kingcrimsonprog Megadeth’s thirteenth full-length studio album Th1rt3en saw the first official studio return of long time 80s/90s Megadeth bassist David Ellefson after almost a decade long absence. Elsewise, the line-up of Mustaine, Drover and Broderick, which featured on the band’s other two Roadrunner Records albums, remains intact. After starting a new period in their career with the excellent The System Has Failed album from 2004 and continuing in an upward trend of quality with 2007’s United Abominations and 2009’s much loved Endgame, expectations for this new album were very high indeed, it seemed as though the band just kept getting better and better.

2011’s Th1rt3en doesn’t entirely manage to live up to and eclipse the high standards set by that continuing rise in quality but is a solid and enjoyable modern album roughly in the same style that Megadeth fans should certainly enjoy, which delivers everything good that those albums delivered, even if it doesn’t feel as instantly loveable as some of their best records.

The material on the album isn’t all completely new and you may have heard some of it before in older forms if you are a big Megadeth fan. For example, the tracks ‘Sudden Death’ and ‘Black Swan’ have both been available for quite a while from separate releases, and the tracks ‘Millennium Of The Blind’ and ‘New World Order’ are remakes of classic 90s outtakes which many fans will likely have heard the original versions of at some stage.

The album also contains the singles ‘Never Dead,’ and ‘Public Enemy No. 1’ which if you have heard already should be indicative of the style and quality of the album as a whole. Elsewhere, ‘Who’s Life Is It Anyway’ and ‘Fast Lane’ maintain much of the sound from the band’s previous two albums and are all anyone could ask of a modern Megadeth release, whereas ‘Deadly Nightshade’ adds some variety to the mix with it distinct sound and brilliant 1990s sounding staccato mid-section.

Stylistically; the tracks, for the most part, are all brief and catchy, with high quality lead guitar work and an energetic chorus with either a relatively high pace throughout or mid paced verses that pick up the pace a bit for the guitar solos.

Whereas the band’s previous few albums had deliberately tried to incorporate more of the feeling of both Thrash Metal and the Countdown/Youthanasia style into the sound, this album finds the leaning more on their 90’s side and retaining the modern production and guitar focus, which has met with mixed reviews.

When you listen to it all and take it in properly it can either be viewed as Megadeth getting back to basics and delivering only the best bits, or if you are more cynical, as a mildly lazy album with no desire for progress just fulfilling their Roadrunner contract. Personally I believe it is the former, especially based on what Dave Ellefson has been saying about the record.

After the initial few listens just taking in the styles and the similarities and differences to previous Megadeth releases however, the album can grow on you a lot.

Overall; Th1rt3en isn’t the single greatest album in the entire Megadeth catalogue, but is definitely worth giving a try. There are enough good songs and interesting guitar moments to justify the purchase and make Th1rt3en an absolutely worthy addition to your collection, and if you liked their last few albums then you’ll probably like it a lot.