Risk [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Megadeth
Engineer: Jeff Balding; Ralph Patlan; Jeff Balding
Producer: Dan Huff; Dave Mustaine; Dan Huff; Dann Huff
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Megadeth: Marty Friedman (guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson, Jimmy DeGrasso. Personnel: Dave Mustaine (vocals, guitar); Marty Freidman (guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); David Ellefson (bass guitar, background vocals); Jimmy DeGrasso (drums). Audio Mixers: Dave Mustaine; Jeff Balding; Ralph Patlan. Liner Note Author: Dave Mustaine. Recording information: Masterfonics, Inc (01/04/1999-04/22/1999); The Tracking Room, Nashville, TN (01/04/1999-04/22/1999). Editors: Lance Dean; Scott Harrison; Keith Schreiner. Photographers: William Hames; Annamaria DiSanto; Myriam Santos-Kayda; Ross Halfin; Neil Zlozower. Unknown Contributor Roles: Michael Muller; Bo Caldwell; Michael McRobb; Kevin Lefebvre. Megadeth has always been a "progressive" metal band in that the musicians take a thrash approach and expand upon it. RISK is no different. The album title stems from the experimental approach taken by the band. RISK will definitely please the Mega-diehards and may draw in some new listeners as well. "Insomnia" features techno guitar riffs and violin and is primed for album-rock airplay. "Prince of Darkness," which also features violin, is a 6:25 metal opus done right. "Crush 'Em" is a fist pumping, arena rock gem. It is also the band's most commercial single to date. "Breadline," a brooding tale of homelessness, lacks the metallic punch of the group's early material but is a melodic winner. "I'll Be There" takes this a step further, going in a Bon Jovi-like direction. Drummer Jimmy DeGrasso's (formerly of Suicidal Tendencies) synchronized talents are featured on "Seven." One of the few '80s metal bands still prospering in the '90s, Megadeth shows no lack of creativity on RISK. The band has matured while still waving the metal banner. RISK pays off�with dividends. In many ways, Megadeth's career trajectory has run parallel to Metallica's; both bands started out as speed-metal outfits, then broadened into technically adept progressive thrash, and in the early '90s, streamlined and slowed down their songs for mass-market acceptance. While that mainstreaming process was initially viewed as both commercially and artistically successful, it also meant that neither band represented heavy metal's cutting edge any longer. As MTV combined its appetite for new trends with decreased music programming, Megadeth found themselves unable to rely on it or a cultish underground fan base to promote their music. So, they began to concentrate on a medium that had all but ignored them during the '80s: album-rock radio. Certainly, radio had become more willing to accept their music as time passed, and Megadeth cultivated that more conservative audience with polished production and reduced fury. And that's what they continued to do with 1999's Risk. To their credit, Megadeth never went as far as trying to reshape their sound around AOR's rampant '70s worship, so even if their music lost a good deal of its danger and excitement, it has aged gracefully (something that can't always be said of Metallica's '90s output). Risk is not much of a departure from its two predecessors; more reflective, melodic, and conventional than the Megadeth of old, it delivers a well-played set of hard rock tunes suitable for metal and AOR fans alike. Some of those tunes are catchier than others, and they're enough to carry the album if you're a fan of this style. Even if the album's title is a misnomer, it's startling to see Megadeth still around -- and still successful. ~ Steve Huey

Entertainment Weekly (10/1/99, p.75) - "...The headbangers prove their mettle when they modernize their bone-crushing rock: The electronically enhanced 'Insomnia' is reminiscent of BROKEN-era Nine Inch Nails and several tracks even pack hummable choruses..." - Rating: B- Q (10/99, p.126) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...strong on heaving riffs, anthemic choruses and a newly aquired sense of melody....overall this is suprisingly vibrant stuff."

Before founding Megadeth in 1983, Dave Mustaine was an original member of Metallica (his songs were recorded by them after his departure). With Megadeth, however, he pursued his own vision; equally inspired by heavy metal and punk, Mustaine and company released some pioneering thrash-metal in the '80s. Over the years, through personnel changes and stylistic evolution towards a more melodic, accessible sound, Megadeth sold millions of records and became one of the most influential metal bands of their era.

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