The System Has Failed marks a return from the dead for Megadeth -- and quite a glorious return, it must be said. When bandleader Dave Mustaine was diagnosed in early 2002 with radial neuropathy -- strained nerves in his left arm and hand -- the snarling guitar shredder was forced to disband his once groundbreaking group after nearly two decades of activity. Granted, it wasn't that big of a loss at the time, chiefly so because Megadeth had long passed its prime. The band's key recordings date back to the speed metal era, from 1986 (the year of Peace Sells, Reign in Blood, and Master of Puppets) to 1992 (the year Megadeth, like Metallica a year earlier, made a distinct, more commercial shift, releasing Countdown to Extinction -- to the dismay of many longtime fans). Following Countdown, Megadeth struggled. The band continued to release albums, but they weren't well received and, very sadly, one of metal's once preeminent acts became a bitter has-been. So after Mustaine's injury, the disbanding of Megadeth didn't seem all that unfortunate at the time -- it seemed overdue, some would argue. Then in 2004, shortly after an exemplary reissue campaign, Mustaine resurrected Megadeth for The System Has Failed. And frankly, the band hasn't sounded this vital since Countdown to Extinction, if not Rust in Peace (to risk overstating just how much of a return to glory this album is). Mustaine is joined on guitar by Chris Poland, the very talented guitarist whom he'd fired after the masterful Peace Sells album back in the day. It's a surprise return, and no doubt a very exciting one for fans of Peace Sells (note the shred-fest "Kick the Chair" in particular). That re-pairing of Mustaine and Poland alone makes The System Has Failed worthwhile, but there are also the songs themselves. Put simply, they're ferocious! No, this isn't a good old-fashioned thrash album, but you can tell Mustaine is going for that vibe, especially on songs like "Back in the Day," one in particular that should give dyed-in-the-wool headbangers a giddy sense of déjà vu. The System Has Failed is actually more of a synthesis, taking the reckless abandon of pre-Countdown Megadeth and infusing it with the melodic songwriting of latter-day diamonds in the rough like "Symphony of Destruction" and "A Tout le Monde." Add to this some especially thoughtful lyrics (archly political, nakedly personal, and shamelessly mature), and you have the recipe for an excellent, damn near perfect Megadeth album, up there with Peace Sells, Rust in Peace, and Countdown -- as unlikely as that may seem. Regardless of where The System Has Failed ranks alongside Megadeth's other standout albums, however, it most certainly blows away practically every other aboveground metal album of 2004. No joke. This is the sort of latter-day masterpiece Metallica struggled in vain for a decade-plus to record to no avail. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
Megadeth (Main Performer), Chris Poland (Guitar), Chris Poland (Soloist), Chris Poland (Fills), Chris Poland (Musician), Eric Darken (Percussion), Eric Darken (Musician), Jeff Balding (Producer), Jeff Balding (Engineer), Jeff Balding (Mixing), Vinnie Colaiuta (Drums), Vinnie Colaiuta (Musician), Mark Hagen (Digital Editing), Charles Judge (Keyboards), Charles Judge (Musician), Dave Mustaine (Guitar), Dave Mustaine (Guitar (Rhythm)), Dave Mustaine (Vocals), Dave Mustaine (Producer), Dave Mustaine (Engineer), Dave Mustaine (Cover Art Concept), Dave Mustaine (Soloist), Dave Mustaine (Musician), Jimmie Lee Sloas (Guitar (Bass)), Jimmie Lee Sloas (Musician), Jonathan Yudkin (Banjo), Jonathan Yudkin (Strings), Jonathan Yudkin (Musician), Ralph Patlan (Vocals), Ralph Patlan (Voices), Ralph Patlan (Assistant), Ralph Patlan (Musician), Tim Akers (Keyboards), Tim Akers (Musician), Jed Hackett (Engineer), Jed Hackett (Digital Editing), Jed Hackett (Assistant), John Saylor (Engineer), Mike "Frog" Griffith (Production Coordination), Scott Harrison (Vocals), Scott Harrison (Musician), Scott Kidd (Assistant), Adam Ayan (Mastering), Michael Davis (Sound Effects), Michael Davis (Musician), Lance Dean (Vocals), Lance Dean (Assistant), Lance Dean (Musician), Chris Rodriguez (Vocals (Background)), Chris Rodriguez (Musician), David Bryant (Engineer), David Bryant (Assistant), Jesse Amend (Assistant), Mike Learn (Cover Art), Celeste Amber Montague (Voices), Justis Mustaine (Musician), Justis Mustaine (Spoken Word), David Bryant (Engineer), David Bryant (Assistant), Robert Venable (Vocals), Robert Venable (Musician)
The System Has Failed is the tenth studio album released by American heavy metal band Megadeth, and the first album to be released following the band's re-establishment in 2004 after its disbandment in 2002 as well as the first not to officially feature David Ellefson. It was released on September 14, 2004.
The "system" referred to in the album's title is "the American system and western civilization" which in Mustaine's opinion dictates what the world follows. Mustaine cites examples of such failure in America's educational system, which underpays its teachers, and its court system, which allows criminals to escape punishment.
Singles as well as music videos were made for "Die Dead Enough" and "Of Mice and Men".
Originally intended to be a solo album by its author Dave Mustaine, the record was re-branded with the Megadeth name as a result of contractual obligations owed to Mustaine's publishing company EMI (Mustaine also admitted that, after listening to and playing the songs multiple times, he claimed "they were Megadeth songs, not solo songs"). In an effort to avoid the financial cost and interpersonal conflicts associated with re-assembling the band's classic Rust In Peace-era line-up, Mustaine hired session musicians Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) and Jimmy Sloas (bass) to perform on the record. In a surprising move, Mustaine also hired former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland to perform lead guitar on the album.
Mustaine co-produced the record with Jeff Balding, who had previously engineered Cryptic Writings and Risk.
On several military installations, the cover art was deemed inappropriate and replaced by the back cover, which features a closeup of Vic Rattlehead in flames, hovering above the city streets.
Track listing
#
Title
Lyrics
Music
Length
1.
"Blackmail the Universe"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
4:33
2.
"Die Dead Enough"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
4:18
3.
"Kick the Chair"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
3:57
4.
"The Scorpion"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
5:59
5.
"Tears in a Vial"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
5:22
6.
"I Know Jack"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
0:40
7.
"Back in the Day"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
3:28
8.
"Something That I'm Not"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
5:07
9.
"Truth Be Told"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
5:40
10.
"Of Mice and Men"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
4:05
11.
"Shadow of Deth"
David Ellefson
Mustaine
2:15
12.
"My Kingdom"
Dave Mustaine
Mustaine
3:04
The Best Buy!! bonus track
#
Title
Lyrics
Music
Length
13.
"Strange Ways" (A Hidden cover)
Paul Frehley
Frehley
2:47
"Blackmail the Universe" also has numerous quotes from the movie "Thirteen Days", which was about the russian missile crisis.
The booklet states that all lyrics - except "Shadow of Deth" - are written by Mustaine, and it includes the lyrics for "I Know Jack". Hence, Mustaine would be the author. However, the song's lyrics only consist of a sample of TexasSenatorLloyd Bentsen'sfamous response to Indiana Senator Dan Quayle during a 1988 vice-presidential debate.
"Shadow of Deth" is a recitation of the King James version of Psalm 23, traditionally said to have been authored by David. The Latin phrase heard at the beginning of the track, "Auxilium meum a Domino," translates to "My help comes from the Lord."
"Of Mice and Men" was selected as the second video from the album, in this video the new Megadeth line up is performing - Dave Mustaine, Shawn Drover, Glen Drover and James MacDonough. The majority of the video was shot on January 20, 2005 in Los Angeles. Numbers of Megadeth fans turned up to be in the video through a "contest" held by Sanctuary Group who funded the video. The video follows the autobiographical lyric of the song which tells the life of Dave Mustaine between the age of 17 to 25 years old. The title of the song is taken from the famous novel of the same name.
This is the band's fourth studio album that is not named after a specific song on the album, following So Far, So Good... So What!, Cryptic Writings and Risk. However, the title is heard in a lyric for the song "Kick the Chair".
On the original cover, the politicians depicted resemble George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. It also shows a $100 bill with Vic Rattlehead's face in instead of Benjamin Franklin.
"Back in the Day" was featured in the Duck Dodgers episode "In Space, No One Can Hear You Rock".[2]
This was the first album in Megadeth's history on which David Ellefson did not appear.
The song "Die Dead Enough" was originally set to be featured in the movie, Saw.[3] It was not used for undisclosed reasons.[4]
