MEGADETH — United Abominations (review)

MEGADETH — United Abominations album cover Album · 2007 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"United Abominations" is the 11th full-length studio album by US thrash/heavy metal act Megadeth. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in May 2007. It´s the successor to "The System Has Failed" from 2004 and features an almost completely new lineup since the predecessor, as the only remaining member of the lineup who recorded "The System Has Failed (2004)" is lead vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Mustaine has brought in the Drover brothers Glenn and Shawn (Eidolon) on guitars and drums respectively and former White Lion bassist James Lomenzo was brought in to complete the quartet lineup.

The material on "United Abominations" is the sound of Megadeth as we know them. Melodic thrash/heavy metal featuring sharp riffs, a skilled and well playing rhythm section, great guitar harmonies and blistering solo work, and Mustaine´s distinct sounding snarling vocals in front. Mustaine has increased his melodic singing over the years, and his most raw snarling has decreased, but there is generally a good balance between the two styles on "United Abominations". He also talks/sings on some parts and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil performs guest vocals on the re-recording of "À Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)".

Initially I didn´t understand the idea of re-recording a song, which in its original form is already a Megadeth evergreen, but I must say that this re-recorded version is quite the treat. "United Abominations" is overall a very well written and for the most part instantly catchy and memorable album, but a little criticism would be that it is frontloaded with the best quality material. The first five tracks on the tracklist are all great and the above mentioned re-recording of "À Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)" is also a highlight, but some of the closing tracks on the album aren´t that remarkable ("Burnt Ice" is quite a nicely fierce thrasher though). Mind you there´s nothing of a bad quality here, just a couple of tracks which aren´t that memorable beyond their playing time (and there are some pretty awful lyrics which mare "Amerikhastan").

"United Abominations" features a powerful, heavy, and detailed sounding production, which suits the material perfectly and does what the best production do...make the material shine. Upon conclusion "United Abominations" is a step up in quality from the 2004 comeback album "The System Has Failed". Megadeth sound like a band on this album and not just a solo project by Mustaine released under the Megadeth monicker (which "The System Has Failed (2004)" pretty much was). And that´s not to take away from "The System Has Failed (2004)" which is a great album in its own right, but to my ears this one just sounds more like a "real" Megadeth album. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.
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