Metal Hammer
Rating: 10/10
Rating: 10/10
It may have spawned four US radio hits, but Megadeth's last outing, 'Cryptic Writings' was viewed, certainly by this reviewer (and other colleagues who favour Mustaine and crew), as a bitter disappointment. Over the space of their previous three albums ('Rust In Peace', 'Countdown To Extinction' and 'Youthanasia'), Megadeth had gone a long way to solidifying their position behind Metallica as the other metal band that could make a truly international big splash. With 'Cryptic...''s discordant sound and sub-standard writing, it all seemed to come crashing down around the band. The sort of wilful self-destruction Mustaine seems to thrive on.
What was even more surprising about the failure of 'Cryptic Writings' was that ex-Giant man Dan Huff joined Mustaine in the producer's chair. Surely a man with such an ear for melody and good songwriting would guide Megadeth to even greater heights. Obviously not. The news that Huff was back for 'Risk' didn't exactly inspire confidence. Not, that is, until the first strains of the industrially driven 'Insomnia' thundered out of the speakers. Not exactly a new Megadeth sound, rather a thunderous orchestral cacophony incorporating all manner of influences - Eastern, melody - and Mustaine's urgent vocals over a recurring chant of 'Insomnia'. It said one thing: Megadeth are back doing what they do best with a vengeance.
The rest of 'Risk' does not disappoint either. It's a great metal album. Less grandiose perhaps than Metallica's recent oeuvre, but more far reaching in itself as it explores various areas hitherto untouched by the band (that'll obviously be what the title's about then), it contains some of the best songs the band have written. 'I'll Be There' and the pounding 'Crush 'Em' are amongst the catchiest things you've heard from Megadeth. 'Wanderlust' is an absolute classic and 'Prince Of Darkness' and 'Time' both echo shades of Mustaine's godfather Alice Cooper.
Not one bad track on offer, just a startling reminder of how good Megadeth can be when they put their minds to it. It's probably their best album yet - so no risk in buying a copy then.
- Jerry Ewing
Aftonbladet (Swedish newspaper)
Rating: 2/5
Rating: 2/5
"Risk begins with industrialmetal in Insomnia and continues in some crawling and heavy metal song which most of all reminds of the 90's Metallica. To bad. Instead of the simple rawness that was on Rust in Peace och the best selling Countdown to Extinction, the quartett goes for nicely composed melodies, and takes the oppurtunity to put in one or two catchy power metal-songs during the records 50 minutes. Megadeth seems to have been rushing Risk. It lacks that red thread that was on their earlier records. The band broke through with their raw metal och lyrics that was easy to learn by heart and to sing along with. This seems to be a mix of unfinished song ideas and many times without their touch. This is a real risktaking."
www.wallofsound.com
Rating: 78/100
Rating: 78/100
There's a lot of music on Megadeth's eighth album, but we keep coming back to "Enter the Arena/Crush 'Em," the gladiator anthem from Universal Soldier: The Return that's been adopted by World Championship Wrestling kingpin Bill Goldberg as his unofficial anthem. It's all power chords and crowd noise and fist-pumping attitude — including a quick, in-your-face rap — which is, after all, what Megadeth does. And on Risk, the quartet continues to do it better than ever, taking another step on its continuing journey from the thrash underground into the hard rock mainstream with tightly crafted songs and some of the most outright, catchiest choruses the band has ever set to record.
But that doesn't mean Risk is safe; rather, its broad, dynamic soundscape is filled with adventurous twists and turns, a rollicking, three-dimensional attack that wears well and offers new details on each subsequent listen. Like 1997's breakthrough, Cryptic Writings, Risk was recorded in Nashville with producer Dann Huff, who continues to refine and subtly reshape Megadeth without losing the group's sense of brute force or frontman Dave Mustaine's sociopolitical smarts.
Bolstered by new drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (from Alice Cooper's band), this is also Mustaine's best album as a singer, with a more confident, forceful delivery and a wider range of voicings, from the near-psychosis of "Insomnia" to the smoother melodicism of "I'll Be There" and "Ecstasy" (though the spoken, Hammer Horror delivery on "Prince of Darkness" lapses into metal caricature). The chorus of "Crush 'Em" is indeed destined to be the world's next big sports anthem, though the song itself rides a taut, industrial-influenced rhythm. "Insomnia" and "Wanderlust" both feature Eastern flavors, while a slinky synthesizer gives "Breadline" a shagadelic groove quality. The galloping "I'll Be There" is a surprisingly straightforward statement of affirmation and support, and by the time the group boogies its way through "Seven," we're even ready to forgive the thematic overreach of Risk's ending couplet, "Time: The Beginning" and "Time: The End." Definitely kinder, Megadeth isn't necessarily gentler on Risk, but it's certainly more compelling than ever.
- Gary Graff
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