Thrash Metal
Ranking Every Megadeth Album From Worst to Best
Welcome to Dissected, where we disassemble a band’s catalog, based on the exact science of personal opinion, late night debates, and the love of music. In this installment, we rank Megadeth’s discography thus far. The origin of Megadeth is a tale of redemption for its central figure, Dave Mustaine. After being fired from Metallica for his erratic behavior and substance abuse, Mustaine was left to his own devices. He formed Megadeth as his new songwriting outlet, filling out the lineup with choice musicians who could execute his songs and ideas. Throughout the band’s career, Mustaine has been the central force behind a revolving-door cast of guitarists, drummers, and bassists. He surrounds himself with those who can achieve his vision for the band. As Mustaine goes, Megadeth goes. Advertise...
Machine Head Announce Fall 2022 US Tour
Machine Head have announced a Fall 2022 US tour in support of their recently released new album, ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN. The outing kicks off November 3rd in Fresno, California and runs through December 23rd in Sacramento, California. Ticket pre-sales go live at 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, September 7th (use code VENUE), with general on-sale beginning at 10 a.m. local time on Friday, September 9th. Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video The tour will see Machine Head playing intimate concerts in smaller venues across the country. The trek will be an extension of the band’s “Electric Happy Hour” online shows, which streamed remotely throughout the pandemic. Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn had this to say in a press statement: “Were fucking STOKED to get out and d...
Megadeth Release New Album The Sick, the Dying… And the Dead!: Stream
Megadeth have released their 16th studio album, The Sick, the Dying… And the Dead! The legendary thrash band’s new LP arrives after many trials and tribulations, starting with frontman Dave Mustaine being diagnosed with throat cancer back in 2019. Progress on the album was halted as he underwent treatment, and Mustaine would reveal that he was 100-percent cancer free in February 2020. Then the global pandemic happened, once again shelving the project. And then longtime bassist David Ellefson was ousted from the band after a compromising online sexual encounter went public. Mustaine would replace Ellefson’s bass parts on the album, with Testament’s Steve DiGiorgio re-recording the studio tracks. He then recruited former Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo to join Megadeth’s touring lineup, later...
First Pantera Reunion Shows Announced as Part of Slipknot’s South American Knotfests
The first Pantera reunion shows have been announced as part of Slipknot’s South American Knotfest dates. The reunited Pantera lineup, featuring original members Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown alongside Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante, appear on all three bills: December 9th in Colombia; December 11th in Chile; and December 18th in Brasil. Pantera will headline the Colombia edition alongside Judas Priest, with the rest of the bill rounded out by Bring Me the Horizon, Trivium, Hypocrisy, Sepultura, Suicide Silence, Sol, and more to be announced. Advertisement Related Video Slipknot will then arrive to join Judas Priest and Pantera as headliners for the Chile and Brasil Knotfests. Those bills feature Bring Me the Horizon, Mr. Bungle, Trivium, Sepultura, Motionless in White, Vended, and Project 4...
Megadeth Unleash Crushing New Song “Soldier On!”: Stream
Megadeth have shared “Soldier On!,” the latest single from their forthcoming album The Sick, The Dying…and the Dead! arriving September 2nd. The new song comes a week before Megadeth’s co-headlining tour with Five Finger Death Punch. The outing kicks off August 19th in Portland, Oregon, and runs through October 15th in Salt Lake City. You can buy tickets via Ticketmaster. “Solider On!” calls back to Countdown to Extinction with its groove metal riffs and prominent vocal melodies. It’s the most compact and accessible single we’ve heard from the new album thus far. And according to Dave Mustaine’s comments in the press release, it might have been inspired by the ousting of former bassist David Ellefson. Advertisement Related Video “Coming to the realization that you need to walk away from a ...
Drowning Pool Announce New Album, Honor Pantera’s Dimebag and Vinnie Paul with Single “Mind Right” Stream
Drowning Pool are returning with the new album, Strike a Nerve, on September 30th. The band has also paid tribute to the late Pantera members Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul with the lead single “Mind Right.” Honoring their fellow Texans, the Dallas-based Drowning Pool wrote the song shortly after Vinnie Paul died in 2018. The tight groove-thrash riffing certainly has a Pantera lean, and the vocals of Jasen Moreno shift between harsh and melodic a la Phil Anselmo. “‘Mind Right’ started with the core Drowning Pool sound, then really dug into our southern metal roots,” remarked guitarist CJ Pierce. “This song was written not long after Vinnie Paul died, as a tribute of sorts to him and Dime and a way for us to to honor the impact Pantera had on our local Dallas scene.” Advertisement Related ...
The Offering Announce New Album, Unleash Pummeling Lead Single “WASP”: Stream
The Offering have announced their sophomore album, Seeing the Elephant, arriving November 4th via Century Media. The Boston thrashers also shared the video for lead single “WASP.” The track is one of the most extreme pieces of groove-oriented thrash we’ve heard this year. Ceaseless torrents of blast beats and technical riffs compliment the aggro growls of frontman Alexander Richichi, creating a sonic fray that waylays the listener. While the lyrics might be hard to make out, both the song and album have a political slant, having been written during the “warzone of cultural upheaval” that was 2020. This is epitomized by the shirt Richichi is wearing in the single’s performance clip, bearing the phrase: “God Isn’t Real – Climate Change Is.” Advertisement Related Video “’WASP’ is first and fo...
Late Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton Immortalized with New Collectible Statue
Late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is being immortalized with a new KnuckleBonz Iconz collectible statue. The finely detailed statues are limited to 3,000 pieces and retail for $164. They’re currently in production with an anticipated ship date of early 2023. A portion of the proceeds will support the Cliff Burton Music Scholarship Fund. The KnuckleBonz statues are hand-crafted by artists using “a fine-arts process where each figure is hand-cast, painted, and numbered.” The 1/9 scale figures stand 8.5 to 9 inches tall and come with a certificate of authenticity on the base. Advertisement Related Video “Working on this design allowed us to go back to the foundations of thrash and this is our way to pay tribute to the ferocity and brilliance of Cliff Burton,” said KnuckleBonz CEO/creative d...
Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante Open Up About Pantera Tour: “It’s Gonna Be Awesome”
Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante have opened up about the highly anticipated Pantera reunion tour in a new interview. Speaking with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, the guitarist and drummer discussed their aspirations for the shows and the legacy of the late brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. In fact, initial discussions took place prior to Vinnie’s passing in 2018. “It’s gonna be awesome…,” Wylde said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “When Vinnie was still with us, it was always rolling around that, ‘Zakk, would you honor Dime and all of us get together and do this thing?’ And I said, ‘Fellows, whenever you wanna do this thing, I’ll be over here waiting in the dugout and in the bullpen. And just call me when you need me and I’ll learn everything and we’ll go do this.’” Advertisement E...
Pantera’s 10 Best Songs
The story of Pantera is bound to the modernization of heavy metal in the 1990s, but the band’s origins began long before that. Formed by guitar virtuoso “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, Pantera began as a rather rudimentary ’80s metal band: big hair, glam riffs, and unfortunate album titles such as Metal Magic and Projects in the Jungle. Bassist Rex Brown was along for the ride from nearly the beginning, but things shifted when vocalist Phillip H. Anselmo joined the band after they had already released three under-the-radar albums. While Anselmo was on board for 1988’s Power Metal, It would be the seminal 1990 album Cowboys from Hell that truly marked the arrival of the Pantera that is now recognized as one of the best heavy metal bands of all time. Perhaps th...
Goatwhore Announce New Album, Unleash Blackened Thrash Ripper “Born of Satan’s Flesh”: Stream
Goatwhore are returning with a new album, Angels Hung from Arches of Heaven, on October 7th via Metal Blade Records. Upon the LP’s announcement, the New Orleans band offered up the video for lead single “Born of Satan’s Flesh.” A vicious brew of blackened thrash and death metal is Goatwhore’s M.O., and “Born of Satan’s Flesh” hits that multi-genre intersection at blinding speeds. Guitarist Sammy Duet rains down precision riffs while frontman Louis Ben Falgoust II spouts blasphemies through his bellowing snarl. The accompanying performance clip offers a glimpse at what it would be like to witness the brutality live. The band again tapped producer Jarrett Pritchard (Exhumed, 1349) and tracked the new album primarily at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana under pandemic restrictions....
Metallica Took a Quantum Leap on Ride the Lightning
The first four Metallica albums are among the genre’s most powerful and enduring documents, and while the band’s debut LP, Kill ‘Em All, was a landmark for thrash metal, Ride the Lightning presented a quantum leap in terms of songwriting and structure. Kill ‘Em All leaned heavily on elements of boogie beats nabbed from ’70s Judas Priest and the heavy swung feel to fast-paced riffs that Dave Mustaine would eventually take with him to Megadeth, but Ride the Lightning, released July 27th, 1984, almost wholly struck the swung-boogie vibe from its mostly slower-paced riffs, focusing instead on a near neo-classical sense of grandeur plucked more from the pages of groups like Rush, Rainbow, Blue Öyster Cult and even Priest’s more grandiloquent epics than bands like Sweet or even the more rock ‘n’...
