If you read my prelude to this review, then you know where I’m coming from as a Megadeth fan going in to this review. Bands like Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth make it really easy to be unbiased when reviewing a new album after a a string of mediocrity. Some people say that “Real fans stick by their band, no matter what”, which is bullshit. You don’t praise garbage like some sickened, love-struck fanboy. You tell it like it is. If you don’t, your favorite band will keep writing garbage. So you stick by that band with hope for a new day even after they have made a bad album or two. You have to be honest with yourself and face reality. You wait anxiously for the next [album] to be the album that proves that the band still has the ability to write amazing material in a time when everything seems to be “meh”. Megadeth’s Endgame is the album that I, as a fan have been waiting for.

The Follow up to 2007’s United Abominations had to be a step up, it had to be better and it is! Solidifying a good line up with the addition of phenomenal guitarist Chris Broderick, Dave brought in someone that could keep up with his skills. Probably the first person since Marty Friedman. I don’t want to take anything away from Glen Drover, but Chris is on a whole other level.

Chris Broderick’s leads on this album are amazing and so fluid like. You can hear a big difference on this record than the previous 4 albums. I even think that Chris may have re-awoken the amazing riff and lead writer in Dave that we used to know back in the era of Countdown To Extinction and Rust In Peace. I’ve missed that explosive opening to solos that we used to get. Well, it’s back!

Speaking Of Rust In Peace, does this album compare? Can you really ask that question? There will never be another Rust in Peace. Period. Endgame comes hard but it’s no Rust. Comparable to Youthanasia or Countdown? Yes.

I didn’t want to compare this to Death Magnetic, but everyone else is going to and the Metallica fanboys think that Death Magnetic is the best album since Master Of Puppets and that Endgame can not compare. They are right. You can not compare Endgame to Death Magnetic because Endgame shits all over Death Magnetic in so many ways.

There are times when the song structure on Endgame seems a bit off because Dave takes a slightly different approach these days with the chorus and verses. He opts for more verse and a little less chorus, but this doesn’t take away from the songs at all. Let’s look at a few [of my favorite] tracks on Endgame.

The opening track called Dialectic Chaos is like a modern Into The Lungs Of Hell. I have always liked Into The Lungs Of Hell and Dialectic Chaos does great with dynamic solos, arpeggio laden rhythms and an over all anthem-sounding instrumental.

44 Minutes, the third track of the album paints a visual story of the famous North Hollywood Shootout between LAPD and Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr. and Emil Matasareanu, in 1997 when the two tried to rob a Bank Of America while wearing body armor and using fully automatic weapons with armor piercing rounds. 44 Minutes is a catchy tune with a catchy chorus that will have you singing along and picturing the shootout in your head. Once again, killer solos. A great song to go along with an interesting story. Read about the North Hollywood Shoot-out. There was also a movie made some years ago about this.

If you have heard 1,320 then you know it’s another great Megadeth song. The opening riff reminds me of many riffs from Killing Is My Business. 1,320 in feet is the length of a quarter mile drag strip and the song is all about nitro-methane fueled drag racing. Classic Megadeth riffage going on in this song. Solos? Of course and they’re nothing short of brilliant the way that they flow back and fourth for almost a minute between Mustaine and Broderick; something we used to see back in the 90′s with Friedman.

The Hardest Part Of Letting Go…Sealed With A Kiss. Stand out track from a musical stand-point. Filled with emotion, angst and with a little help of symphonic touches, …Sealed With A Kiss is a nice break from the fury of the rest of the songs. It’s the new A Tout Le Monde. It’s kind of slow in the beginning and end and up-beat in the middle.

How the Story Ends and The Right To Go Insane close out Endgame nicely. How The Story Ends has a bad-ass chorus and the whole song is very cool with a dark theme to it and a very nice flow throughout. Head-Crusher has grown on me a bit since first hearing it a few weeks ago as well as the title track, Endgame. Bite The Hand is is one of a few political songs on the album and takes a little getting used to in my opinion. This Day We Fight rips open the album after Dialectic chaos and is a good start to an awesome record.

I think Dave Mustaine has put a much bigger effort in to Engame than previous albums. As I said, perhaps having another amazingly talented guitar player by his side has given him more inspiration and helps the creative juices flow on Endgame. Solos are tight, rhythms are heavy and they don’t lose that signature Megadeth flavor. James Lomenzo and Shawn Drover prove that they are not slouches and deserve much recognition as they were part of the writing process as well. I think most Megadeth fans of old and new will be quite pleased with Endgame. I know I am and my expectations were low-lingering for awhile there.

I said earlier that Endgame shits all over Death Magnetic. I wasn’t just saying this to be quirky and cool. It really does. Now let me explain why.

• Production: there isn’t any clipping and everything sounds very well mixed. You didn’t actually think Andy Sneap and Dave Mustaine were going to fuck that up, did you?
• The songs are not 3 or 4 minutes too long and drawn out with repetitive bullshit.
• The rhythms flow well and do not sound awkward and generic.
• The solos do not require wah-wah pedals to sound dynamic and intricate. They blast their way through the song in a fashion that they fit and belong. The solos also sound as if they come natural without sounding as if they were copy and pasted with power-tools, even if they were.
• Lyrically, Dave shows us that he still has it in him on more than one or two songs. He also still sounds like he did 20 years ago with trying to over-sing the verses.

Endgame can easily be listened to from beginning to end without feeling the need to skip over any songs. The only complaint I really have is that it almost seems to go by too quickly. At just over 44 minutes, this album goes by fast and will have you pressing play again and again.

In closing, Megadeth’s Endgame seems to be a completion of the “returning to form” we started to see back when The System Has Failed came out. We saw that Megadeth fire start to return a lot more in United Abominations and now I think the resurrection of Megadeth is complete. I’m not saying that Endgame is the best album of 2009, but it’s pretty damn good and it may just make one of my arguable lists. I give Endgame 4 out of 5 of these thingies.

Listen to samples of Endgame at Amazon.com.

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