The Album That Got Me Into Megadeth Has Turned 10

By Andrew Bansal

megadeth_systemEven though thrash veterans Megadeth have been around for nearly 30 years and are known and revered for their early albums more than anything, the album that first introduced me to the band, compelled me to explore their music and eventually turned me into a lifelong fan was their tenth studio effort ‘The System Has Failed’, released on September 14th 2004, and on its tenth anniversary today I feel obliged to recollect and revisit my mental state from ten years ago and reflect upon the subsequent impact it made on my life.

Back then, I was living in a college dorm room somewhere in southern India with no internet access, about 30 miles away from city limits, and weekend trips to malls and record stores in the city would be my only way of discovering new music. It was on one such visit when I picked up the ‘MTV2 Headbangers Ball’ Vol 1 & 2 compilations which turned out to be my introduction to bands that are now categorized as ‘mainstream metal’. On Volume 2, track #4 was Megadeth’s ‘Kick The Chair’. The song instantly caught my attention the first time I listened to it. It was so much beyond just generic straight-up thrash, with its blend of technicality and shred in its musicianship, to go with Dave Mustaine’s politically charged lyrics. I wanted to check out the rest of ‘The System Has Failed’ but couldn’t find it anywhere, so I kept listening to this song repeatedly for a while, that guitar solo ripping through my brain at the speed of light each time, until a few months later when I finally got my hands on the album, and the rest, as they say, is history.

This was Megadeth’s comeback album in more ways than one, as Mustaine recovered from a horrific arm injury and resurrected himself sufficiently to be able to play guitar again. Secondly, it marked Megadeth’s return to the thrashier sound of the late 80s and early 90s after the mid to late 90s slump into radio rock territory. It was intended as a solo album, with everyone aside from Mustaine credited as a session player, and it was only after the release of the album that he reformed the band proper with Glen Drover (guitar), James MacDonough (bass) and Shawn Drover (drums) to tour in support of it. But it was original Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland’s contribution as a session member for the lead guitar parts that perhaps makes this album special in its own way. He helped formulate the band’s guitar sound in the early days and his touch on ‘The System Has Failed’ certainly brought some of it back, with scorching solos on tunes such as ‘Blackmail The Universe’, ‘Kick The Chair’ and ‘The Scorpion’, and his signature stamp on guitar leads throughout the album.

Megadeth post-The System Has Failed lineup: (L to R) Shawn Drover, James MacDonough, Dave Mustaine & Glen Drover
Megadeth post-The System Has Failed lineup: (L to R) Shawn Drover, James MacDonough, Dave Mustaine & Glen Drover

Along with the musicianship, the lyrics and cover artwork add further to the quality of the effort and although credit must be given to Mustaine and his current and former band mates for having continued releasing new albums at a consistently prolific rate in these last ten years, ‘System’ arguably stands as the finest post-Risk era Megadeth album. Besides the actual studio album being my gateway into the world of Megadeth, the 2007 ‘That One Night: Live In Buenos Aires’ DVD which was filmed on the ‘System’ touring cycle was my first experience of Megadeth as a live band, and the set list featured a good chunk of this album. Repeated watching of this recording not only turned me onto Megadeth further but a few years down the line also made me yearn for ‘System’ songs in the set list whenever I saw Megadeth in concert. The band have all but dropped this album from their present-day live set but I still feel songs like ‘Blackmail The Universe’, ‘The Scorpion’, ‘Kick The Chair’ and even those such as ‘Die Dead Enough’ and ‘Back In The Day’ would strengthen the live show.

‘The System Has Failed’ will always be remembered as a positive turning point in Megadeth’s history, and with that thought, there’s nothing left to do other than crank it from start to finish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGZGnLR8qeU

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