Disco de Megadeth: “Risk”

Risk seems to be an album most Megadeth fans would like to forget. It showed the band finally breaking out of the heavy metal mold and into alternative rock territory (with a little industrial thrown in for good measure), which logically turned a lot of fans off (the album's decidedly low sales figures speak for themselves). One day, I was curious to see how bad/different the album really was, so I went ahead and borrowed it from a friend. Well, after giving it quite a few listens, I can say that it isn't as bad as people say it is. In fact, I can't really think of anything here that I would classify as "horrible." Unfortunately, with the exception of one song, I can't really think of anything that I would really classify as "great" or even "good" either.

Interestingly enough, the one song on here that I really liked also happens to be its most famous: the energetic sports anthem Crush'em. The song has a nice little groove, and even a bit of a Red Hot Chili Peppers flare at some parts. Mustaine also has a very low-key style of singing that makes the song all the more interesting and catchy.

Unfortunately, with the exception of Crush'em, there's nothing on Risk that really stands out from the rest of the crowd (both heavy metal and not). You would be shocked by how commercial a lot of these songs really sound. I'll Be There, for example, is a very Creed-like track while Breadline sounds almost like something from Godsmack. Again, Risk is not a heavy metal album. It's a basic, no-frills alternative album, fitting in perfectly with a lot of the modern alternative music MTV plays. Pretty much all that's missing from Megadeth are the Carson Daly haircuts.

The band does try to throw a little innovation into the album with some techno/industrial twinges. Unfortunately, they end up detracting from the songs rather than enhancing them. Insomnia, example, is a promising song that is ruined by messy synthesizers and annoying vocals.

This isn't a terrible album, and I'd say it does have the edge over a lot of the similar music MTV plays these days. It certainly isn't a great album, however, and is not recommended unless you're a fan of modern alternative music or are curious to see how Megadeth would sound playing such a style. Listen to some audio samples before you shell out $14 for it.

I put this next to Peace Sells and Rust In Peace in my CD collection, and they kicked it's butt and threw it out on it's ear. Took it's lunch money too. It's sulking in a corner now, whining about it's feelings. Where's the low end? Where's the attitude? Where's the REAL DAVE MUSTAINE?!?!

I'm a metal fan, and like every metal fan it makes me happy to put my hands on new material from great bands like Megadeth. When I purchased Risk, I knew I should have expected something different, my friends had told me that much. But I've tried to set aside everything I've heard before and listened to Risk just like a Megadeth fan who had just put a new Megadeth album in his home stereo without any forethoughts. Unfortunately, I failed to get into the album, the feeling of nativity when I was listening to Megadeth simply wasn't there. There were too many synthetic sounds which were tiring to listen and they prevented me from properly listening to riffs, vocals and drums, too. The main instruments which built up Megadeth's sound during all those years were simply hidden behind a thick wall of annoying synthetic sounds. After a while, I was really tired of all that and I had to eject the CD and put Rust in Peace into the CD tray.

This is a truly great CD. A lot of old Deth fans sound really disapointed, saying stuff like, "Megadeth sold out, just like Metallica, Megadeth is a soft pop band now, Megadeth blah blah blah..." But hell, look at what is popular these days. Korn, Limp Biskit, and a bunch of bands who are trying desperately to sound like other bands. I've been listening Megadeth since the beginning, and RISK is better than their past few albums, for sure. They have really developed as a metal band. Okay, so it's not bang-your-head-thrash-metal. So what? There are plenty of bands like that out there. And there are Megadeth's old CD's. This music is still Megadeth, and it's like nothing else. A lot of the people who have been dissing the album haven't really given it a chance. If you read more of these reviews that are posted, you'll see people saying, "At first I didn't like it, but after listening to it some more, I love it."

Megadeth still retains their heaviness here, but it is given in a different way than usual. If you love Megadeth, buy the album. If you're mad at the world and want to jump around the house and break stuff, go buy Fear Factory, Pantera, or Slayer or something.

I've read several reviews saying this album is a disappointment. I totally disagree. The production is excellent- Dann Huff is a class act. Most every song is good, and some are great, which all together makes for a very good album. Favorites would be Breadline, Wanderlust and Insomnia. I've heard the remastered version, and it sounds great, but it doesn't seem to improve on it in my view.