Super Collider

1. Intension

   Apr 19, 2015

   9

   Don't let the low ratings fool you, this is a solid rock album that is quite nice to listen to from time to time. In fact it disgusts me justDon't let the low ratings fool you, this is a solid rock album that is quite nice to listen to from time to time. In fact it disgusts me just how low it is one this site just because it doesn't sound like a generic sounding 80's album.… Expand

   • 1 of 8 users found this helpful
2. masdecibeles

   Oct 21, 2013

   9

   Super Collider is a very mature work from Mustaine & Co. Of course this is not a record for headbanging but it has very powerful songs. In mySuper Collider is a very mature work from Mustaine & Co. Of course this is not a record for headbanging but it has very powerful songs. In my opinion the best work of Megadeth in years.… Expand

   • 0 of 5 users found this helpful
4. bonnin40

   Jun 22, 2013

   8

   Super Collider is megadeths most recent effort,and the beggining of a new partnership with Universal Music, since leaving roadrunner records.Super Collider is megadeths most recent effort,and the beggining of a new partnership with Universal Music, since leaving roadrunner records. this is also the first album to be released on Dave Mustaines new label, tradecraft.Now,its important to note that this album had alot of hype,ups and downs.the studio updates were extremely exciting, however the release of the super collider single was met negativly. the next track to be released, king maker, brought back up some of the hype. and to get it out of the way in advance, no, this is not a bad album, regardless of the backlash in regards to it. The main reason why this album gets so much flak, is becuase Dave Mustaine and megadeth have decided to go for more of a hardrock and expiremental sound with this album, rather than go back to the thrashing of rust in peace and endgame.not only did this catch alot of people off gaurd,it also gave a very negative outlook on the album. Alot of people say this album reminds them of risk, but i find that to be untrue. And this brings me to the end of the history, and on to the album review. this album has a unique and diverse sound, that makes it stand out among other megadeth albums. No, its not like rust in peace or Endgame. this album draws more along the lines of youthanasia (for tuning down and its dark songs and sound), the world needs a hero (for its streamlined, and structured song compostion), and the system has failed (for its lead style and alot of its more personal lyrics). the album kicks off with a helicopter heard and a fantastic bass solo from ellefson, and kicks into king maker, which is a great, heavy, thrashy song, and is exactly what youd expect from a new megadeth song. next we move to super collider, which is a very simple basic song, with more of a hardrock sound. while its not a bad song, its definitely not what people were expecting to hear. overall, its a good song, with some really great drumming and bass, but a bit dissapointing by megadeth standards. Burn! is the next song, with some awesome riffs and solos, however the lyrics are very cheesy on this song, definitely the worst song lyric wise on the album, but otherwise a good song. Next is built for war, which is a nice, fast thrashy tune, with a beautful, and really awesome vocal chant in the middle, and an absolutely mind blowing solo from chris right before it. this is a really great song, and another highlight of the album. Off the edge is an interesting song, with good vocals and guitar, but the lyrics, again, definitely fall short, as the word crazy and simplified rhyming come up extremely often. not a bad song, but the lyrics definitely coudlve been better. now, dance in the rain, is by far the best song on the album. this song really shows the best of what dave, shawn, chris, and david can do now adays, with some great guitar solos from Dave and chris being swapped, some awesome riffs, great lyrics and vocals, and really good drums as well. this is also one of the 2 songs that David Draiman (disturbed) lends vocals on. beggining of sorrow has a very youthanasia sound to it, and has some of the best lyrics and vocals on the album, the back and forth singing lines from dave, david, and chris, is really good. next is the blackest crow, which is a very expiremental and interesting song for megadeth, which includes banjo playing from chris broderick, and some awesome guitar solos, and slide playing from Dave Mustaine. forget to remember is a very personal song from Dave about his mother in law having alzheimers, and the song is about the disease. it has some really good vocals and guitar riffs, and it has some of the best lyrics on the album.it also has the second backing vocal appearance from david draidman, who helps write some of the melody as well. dont turn your back is a thrashy song with some great riffs, and guitar solos, as well as some awesome drumming from shawn. closing the album is a cover of thin lizzy's cold sweat. this has some really awesome trade off solos from Dave and Chris, some great drumming from shawn, and some great bass from David. and thats super collider, an album that, while critisized by most, i find is a great album. becuase instead of just copy and pasting what they normally do, the guys decided to take a twist to their sound, while staying true to their heavy metal roots, and in the end turns out to be a very unique megadeth experience. its an album that, while not being thrasy all the time,still has alot of great thrash metal elements, and the songs and writing are good on the album, which is what truly counts.some cheesy lyrics bring the album down, and there couldve been more riffs and solos,however i still feel that the band made the right choice with this albums direction. megadeth fans have at least another 2 albums coming from the now 30 year old band, and doing 3 thrashy albums in a row may become stale, and this album doesnt dissapoint.i highly reccomend this album. its heavy metal at its finest… Expand

   • 0 of 3 users found this helpful
5. Mab_987

   Sep 27, 2013

   5

   One thing I try hard not to do when I'm reviewing an album is let the general consensus affect my own. And between the dismal critic averageOne thing I try hard not to do when I'm reviewing an album is let the general consensus affect my own. And between the dismal critic average & the fact that it's basically this year's butt of the joke in the metal community, that was kinda hard to do for this. Of course this reception all started when the title track from this album dropped. Between the slick production, simplistic chord structure & overall poppiness, it was pretty easy to tell why people expecting another Rust in Peace wouldn't be a fan of this track. Personally, while the lyrics are kinda stupid & the vocal effects in the verses aren't exactly necessary, I found it hard to not enjoy this song mostly because of how insanely catchy it is. Call it a guilty pleasure I guess. As for the album, I don't think it's the worst thing since AIDS like seemingly everyone else does, but there are definitely some major problems. Sure there are some undeniable glaring flaws, but there's at least enough redeemable elements here & there to make it not a total waste of time.
   
   Right off the bat my expectations shot to the ceiling with “Kingmaker”. Between the pummeling thrash metal riffs & poignant social commentary-based lyrics about hedonism & society's glorification of & dependence on drugs, all while staying melodically memorable, it's everything that you could wish for in a 2013 Megadeth song. In fact the song was so good that throughout the rest of the first listen I thought it was a decent enough album. Then I began to listen closely to the lyrics & my opinion started plummeting... FAST. This has to be lyrically one of the worst metal albums I've ever heard. The various lyrical approaches taken on this album are met with mixed results at say the least. It's known that Dave Mustaine has a talent for sociopolitical lyrical messages. But for every hit like “Kingmaker” or “Beginning of Sorrow”, which potently details the endless cycle of teenage pregnancy to ill-raised delinquent children (rinse & repeat), there's a big miss like “Off the Edge”, “Dance in the Rain” or bonus track “A House Divided”. These tracks are built around nothing but the most basic of social commentary cliches like “This world's gone crazy”, “cubicle hell for the middle class”, and don't go into any major point outside of “yup, this issue sure does exist” paired with vague anger. “Dance in the Rain” is the most notable of these 3, both because of the laughably bitter & paranoid spoken-word verses & the bizarrely effective David Draiman feature at the end of the song. While the lyrics are at around the same level as Mustaine's part, it's at least musically a lot more interesting, with the song picking up energy at that point to at least give what Draiman is saying some kind of passion.
   
   The one other track here I'll commend Mustaine for lyrically is “The Blackest Crow”, which is the story of a man dealing with the inevitable end of an infidelity-laced relationship. It's a little odd to hear coming from Mustaine but for what it's worth I think it works well. Plus the folk instrumentation, which is surprisingly well-incorporated with the heavy guitars, adds some much-needed variety to the album musically & sonically. But of course there are a lot of tracks here where I'm absolutely baffled that the lyrics went past Mustaine's rough-draft notebook. “Burn!” tries way too hard to be some angsty biker anthem & just falls flat on its face. Then there's “Don't Turn Your Back...”, which starts with a cool Latin-flavored intro solo immediately wasted by subsequent lyrics about “betrayal” that sound like they came straight out of a teenage girl's vaguely angry post-breakup Facebook statuses. But the most mind-boggling moment is the bonus track “All I Want”. Here the band devolves into in a way that, combined with Mustaine's voice, becomes unintentionally hilarious & gets into so-bad-it's-good territory. Speaking of his voice, on previous albums, though a bit polarizing, Mustaine's uniquely nasally voice gave the songs a distinct sense of wit & tongue-in-cheek snark that was one of Megadeth's most appealing traits. Whereas now on most tracks on Super Collider he basically sounds like a constipated version of Taz from Looney Tunes. He might do a serviceable job on the tracks I've highly praised, but any attempt he makes to recreate that same neurotic spoken-word edge doesn't have nearly the same impact.
   
   Both Mustaine & Broderick have always been great guitarists & that hasn't changed one bit, with some tracks including the two performing an epic guitar duet in the solo. And throughout there are exceptional basslines that create a nice groove that makes even the worst tracks here pleasant to hear if you don't pay attention to what's being said. Also the cover of the Thin Lizzy's “Cold Sweat” is pretty well-executed. Overall this isn't my biggest disappointment of the year so far, but it's pretty close.
   
   Score: 59/100… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. TwisterAce

   Jun 16, 2013

   5

   Many Megadeth fans keep expecting the band to make another Rust in Peace-style record, and 2009's Endgame proved they were still a thrashMany Megadeth fans keep expecting the band to make another Rust in Peace-style record, and 2009's Endgame proved they were still a thrash metal force to be reckoned with. Even TH1RT3EN had some great moments. Not so with Super Collider. Aside from "Built for War," the songs on this album are mainly of a hard rock or classic metal nature. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed the album has some good songs, such as the opening track "Kingmaker," the Southern-influenced "The Blackest Crow," and a respectable cover of Thin Lizzy's "Cold Sweat." The main problem with Super Collider is that the songs feel uninspired. The riffs aren't very memorable, and there's nothing spectacular about the solos. Dave Mustaine's lyrics are downright cheesy and mediocre, which ruin otherwise decent songs like "Built for War" and "Don't Turn Your Back..." Super Collider isn't Megadeth's worst record, but it's far from their best.… Expand

   • 3 of 3 users found this helpful
7. stgrunu

   Apr 11, 2018

   5

   The most meh album released by Megadeth but it's still not the worst album by them. I don't mind radio rock but the mid-tempo blandness getsThe most meh album released by Megadeth but it's still not the worst album by them. I don't mind radio rock but the mid-tempo blandness gets boring after like 3 songs.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. bushydio

   Jul 24, 2013

   0

   This record makes Risk look like Rust in Peace. This should be destroyed and forgotten. This is like if Aerosmith was nuked, and they allThis record makes Risk look like Rust in Peace. This should be destroyed and forgotten. This is like if Aerosmith was nuked, and they all died, and they tried to make a record after, but they were dead so it was complete The title track convinced me to slice my hand off with a machete, but I don't have a machete.… Expand

   • 0 of 5 users found this helpful

See all 21 User Reviews