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Track Listing: Dialectic Chaos (2.26) This Day We Fight! (3.28) 44 Minutes (4.37) 1,320 (3.50) Bite The Hand That Feeds (4.01) Bodies Left Behind (3.34) Endgame (5.57) The Hardest Part Of Letting GoÉ Sealed With A Kiss (4.42) Headcrusher (3.26) How the Story Ends (4.29) Nothing Left To Lose (4.18)

The highly anticipated album from the thrash masters Megadeth finally releases in stores today. I received my copy a couple of days back and have been listening to it ever since! Below is a track-by-track insight.

The short instrumental titled 'Dialectic Chaos' kicks off the album with a frenzy of riffs by Dave Mustaine and then joined in by Chris Broderick. This track is all about the two of them trading off solos and rhythm parts with each other. Chris is able to give a brief insight into what he is capable of in his studio debut with Megadeth. Dave Mustaine is doing what he does best, which is to write and play great riffs and solos. I can already imagine in my mind that this song will make an excellent opener at live shows in the near future. It is sure to create 2 and a half minutes of head banging and air-guitar mayhem among the crowd wherever its played.

It leads into the next song 'This Day We Fight' which starts off with lightning fast alternate-picking guitar parts and equally crazy drum beats. The bass behind the main guitar riff is quite prominent too and gives the song a heavy feel. My first impressions of Dave Mustaine's vocals are that his energy and aggression haven't gone down even one bit. In fact, its flowing even better than on their last studio effort United Abominations. Vocally he has kept up with the speed of the song brilliantly. The latter part of the song follows the same pattern as a lot of popular Megadeth tunes, an interlude followed by three solos. Chris's first solo is my favourite in this song. The following lines from the song will become hugely popular among Megadeth fans :

A desperate avenger striking fear in their hearts
Invading their dreams before the day even starts

The next song titled '44 minutes' has a slower and lighter feel to it as compared to the first two songs and it gives more of a Youthanasia feel to me. I like that its been placed at number 3 after those two breathtaking songs at the start. The riffs and solos are quite different from those in the first two songs and they suit the song very well without coming off as too deliberate or forced. It shows the skill and versatility of the two guitarists. The next song '1,320' kicks off with the roar of an engine and the lyrics make it clear that this song is about racing cars. I really love the lyrics on this one. So far I'm really impressed with the variety in the themes on which the songs are based. After the instrumental there have been three songs on three different themes of war, cops being outgunned and now race cars. It shows the creativity and broad expanse of ideas. The solos at the end make this one of the best songs in the album without the shadow of a doubt.

1,320 is followed by 'Bite The Hand'. The song manages to keep up with the tempo of the album pretty well. The short solo in the first half of the song is really good. The song changes tempo in the last 50 seconds or so, reminding me a little of Wake Up Dead. The lyrics seem to be based on the current economic situation and how people's trust has been eroded. The solo at the end by Chris is again brilliant, melodious and aggressive all at the same time and I hope they play this song live regularly so that we can all get to see Chris shredding on this one.

'Bodies' has a heavy bass line to it, almost a Steve Harris type song when it comes to bass. You can clearly hear it in the first verse of the song. The song is slow and short, so it doesn't have too much in the form of lyrics. Even through the short amount of lyrics, Dave talks about leaving behind people who aren't good friends anymore and about a moment which he has lived his whole life for. The tempo of the song is slow for the most part, but is back up to the usual Megadeth speed by the time it ends!

The longest song of the album comes next and it's the title song 'Endgame'. As many of you might know, this is based on the infamous Endgame atrocities. The song starts with an announcement telling people to report to their detention centers. It continues into quite a generic verse 1-chorus-verse 2-chorus style but as a result, there are a lot of lyrics in this one and it talks in depth about endgame. This song builts up gradually and Dave's solo at the end is good without being overly fast. The rhythm accompanying his solo is very good. Shawn does a good job on this one specially on the chorus.

The ballad 'Hardest Part of Letting go.. Sealed With A Kiss' comes in at number 8 in the album. There are plenty of acoustic guitar parts in this one. Dave has always expressed his desire to just 'go out there and play his acoustic guitar for the fans' and he has done that on the album itself through this song! From what I've heard about him, he composes a lot of solos acoustically too. The song is mostly without drums, except for the middle during Chris's solo. It's a courageous move to put such a song on an album like Endgame, but I think the refreshing acoustic riffs and reverbs will grow on the fans as time goes on.

The next song 'Headcrusher' is one which every Megadeth fan should have already heard as it was released more than two months back. I saw the first ever live performance of this song in Vancouver earlier this year and participated in its video shoot, so its quite special for me and I'm sure many others. It's a signature Megadeth thrash song which whizzes by at amazing speed. Everything about this song is heavy and aggressive. It talks about a torture device through its lyrics. The intro solo by Dave gets me pumped! The Chris Broderick solo at the end is insane. This was obviously the first Chris solo I had heard and I knew from that point on, that I won't be disappointed with his effort in Endgame!

This is followed by the song 'How The Story Ends'. This is another song which has a heavy bass line. Dave's acoustic solo is another speciality of this song. It's a real treat to have these acoustic parts in the album. Lyrically the song talks something along the lines of every town being burnt down and destroyed and thus ending the whole story. Chris's solo is great as we are used to by now. The song isn't as fast or aggressive as the others on the album, but it has its highlights.

The closing song on the album is called 'The Right To Go Insane'. It continues the slow-mid tempo of the previous song. The song title clearly explains what this song is about. The song is pretty slow until the solos kick in for the last 60 seconds, giving the album a perfect ending as a whole.

Overall, this is one of those CDs which you could listen to from start to finish and its a must-have for all Megadeth fans, and thrash metal fans in general. Megadeth is back and here to kick some serious ass!