MEDADETH’S 16TH ORIGINAL studio album starts with the sound of swooping wind and mournful cries of “bring out your dead.” A suitably ominous mid-paced arpeggio sweeps from left to right before the band rips into a chugging riff underpinned by melodic, harmonized and layered hooks. Augmented with a delicate undistorted midsection, a thrashy middle eight and multifaceted leads, any questions about whether or not Megadeth are still relevant are instantly vaporized by the title track of The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! The follow-up to Megadeth’s Grammy-winning Dystopia, the new album reunites the band with co-producer Chris Rakestraw. The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! is steeped in the technical thrash riffs of Megadeth classics like Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? and Rust in Peace, but updated with the pristine sound and production effects of digital technology.
But the heart of The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! lies as much in its motivation as its sound. Mustaine talked to Guitar World about the life events and thoughts that inspired every song on the album.
“The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!”
people were saying that this was about] Sicily, which pretty much tells you what time period it’s about, how the disease got transmitted and who it got transmitted to. I don’t know that the song was meant to be the first track. I think it came down to the attitude of the song, not so much the performance. If we were going to start with song based on performance we would have used “Night Stalkers” or “Killing Time” because they’re so fast. But this album took on a life of its own and “The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!” seemed like a good way to start it all off.
