Dystopia (album)

Dystopia
Studio album by Megadeth
Publication (s)	22nd January 2016
Label (s)	Tradecraft / Universal Music
Format (s)	CD, LP, download
Genre (s)	Thrash metal
Title (number)	11 or 13 (Deluxe Edition)
running time	46:51 (album) 54:54 (Deluxe Edition)
occupation	Vocals , guitar : Dave Mustaine Guitar, backing vocals : Kiko Loureiro Electric bass , backing vocals: David Ellefson Drums : Chris Adler
production	Dave Mustaine, Chris Rakestraw
Studio (s)	Latitude Studio South, Leiper's Fork , Tennessee
chronology Super Collider (2011) Dystopia -
Single releases October 1, 2015 Fatal illusion November 25, 2015 The Threat Is Real

Dystopia ( English for " dystopia is"), the 15th studio album of American thrash metal - band Megadeth . It was released on January 22nd, 2016 by Dave Sustaines label Tradecraft on Universal Music .

Before recording Dystopia , longtime drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick left the band. Those roles on the album were taken by Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro , with only Loureiro remaining in the band. A short time later, Adler was replaced by Dirk Verbeuren .

Origin and content

prehistory

In June 2013 Megadeth had released the 14th studio album, Super Collider . In the months after the album was released, front man and guitarist Dave Mustaine announced that he and the rest of the band had already started discussing a follow-up album.

During 2014 the band announced their intention to begin pre-production of the album. The band had been working on new material since December 2013, and in January 2014 Mustaine revealed that many riffs had already been written for the record. In May 2014, before leaving, Drover announced that he and Mustaine had gone into the studio and started pursuing some demo ideas. The band originally planned to record in August 2014 and release the album in 2015. Instead, it was only planned to record new material as a demo in October and to start the actual recording in January 2015. Mustaine stated that due to a reduced touring schedule for summer 2014, the band had more time to focus on songwriting .

However, the band struggled with some problems in 2014. Bassist David Ellefson's brother died of cancer in May, causing the band to cancel a number of scheduled shows. On October 4th, Mustaines' mother-in-law, who had Alzheimer's disease, went missing at a campsite. Her remains were discovered on November 26th. In addition, drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick announced their retirement from the band in November. The two soon played in a new band, Act of Defiance .

Despite everything, Ellefson announced that the band wanted to start working on the album in early 2015. Ellefson also indicated that the album's recording process would "help determine the replacements for Broderick and Drover."

Production and recording

In February 2015 Ellefson announced that the album was "written in good parts". The band moved to Latitude South Studios in Leiper's Fork , Tennessee in April 2015 , and recording ended in July. It was initially unclear who would produce the album. Mustaine said that instead of using Johnny K , who produced both Thirteen (2011) and Super Collider (2013), the band might choose a new producer. While Mustaine initially expressed interest in working with producer Max Norman , who mixed Rust in Peace (1990) and produced Countdown to Extinction (1992) and Youthanasia (1994), it was soon announced that Mustaine would produce with Toby Wright . Wright was released early, however, and Mustaine instead produced the album with Chris Rakestraw.

While there was initial speculation that Mustaine and Ellefson might attempt to reunite the cast of Rust in Peace , there was initially no official statement from the band on the matter. It later emerged that the band had actually gotten into conversation with former members Nick Menza (drums) and Marty Friedman (guitar), but couldn't reach an agreement. Menza finally died of a heart attack in May 2016.

In March 2015, several rock news websites wrote that Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler would play drums on the album, which was later confirmed by the band. That same month it was also announced that Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro had joined the band. Mustaine revealed a playlist for the then-unnamed album on July 27, announcing that production of the album would be completed a month later.

Cover design

The cover was designed by New York artist Brent Elliott White , who had the idea to take a post-apocalyptic approach. With clouds of smoke and the destruction in a big city, it also makes you think of September 11th . Vic Rattlehead is depicted as a cyborg , with a virtual reality headset instead of the riveted visor he usually wears, a headset instead of metal caps on his ears, and a mouthpiece that resembles a mask. The pose with the head of a cyborg resembling the Statue of Liberty and a katana pays homage to The Seven Samurai . The backdrop is with the abandoned and destroyed city, among other things, a tribute to 12 Monkeys and Mad Max by placing Vic under the Sydney Harbor Bridge , and The Walking Dead with the " drones , who like Michonne's enslaved zombie friends should be". In 2016 the cover in the Burrn! Magazine voted best album cover by readers.

content

Mustaine went in advance on possible topics of the texts and said that he had read about world history and "crazy scientific stuff". Both Mustaine and Ellefson had indicated that the album would have a different musical and stylistic approach than the previous album, including a move away from a radio-oriented sound that has been characterized by some reviewers as a return to the thrash sound. Mustaine also stated his belief that the album's sound and songwriting would be influenced by his 2014 guest appearance with the San Diego Symphony .

In May 2015 the band released several video clips on PledgeMusic with excerpts of new songs called The Emperor and Conquer ... or Die . In Poisonous Shadows , Kiko Loureiro took over piano parts. Additionally, Mustaine stated that the album would include orchestral arrangements by Ronn Huff, father of record producer Dann Huff , who worked with the band in the late 1990s. It was also announced that the album would feature a guest appearance by country musician Steve Wariner , who would play steel guitar parts. However, neither Huff nor Wariner were mentioned in the liner notes of the album.

Track list

All songs were written by Dave Mustaine except where noted.

Side one
No.	title	length
1.	The Threat Is Real	4:22
2.	Dystopia	5:00
3.	Fatal illusion	4:16
4th	Death from Within	4:48
5.	Bullet to the Brain	4:29

Side two
No.	title	Songwriter	length
6th	Post American World	Mustaine, Kiko Loureiro	4:25
7th	Poisonous Shadows	Mustaine, Loureiro	6:02
8th.	Conquer or Die! ( Instrumental )	Mustaine, Loureiro	3:33
9.	Lying in State		3:34
10.	The Emperor		3:54
11.	Foreign Policy ( Fear Cover)	Lee Ving (anonymous)	2:28
Overall length:			46:51

reception

Reviews

The album received mostly positive reviews, some of which highlighted the performance of Kiko Loureiro. Some reviewers found fault with some of the texts. For the title track of the album, the band received a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for the first time after a few nominations at the Grammy Awards 2017 .

Charts and chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	10 (5 weeks)	5
Austria (Ö3)	14th (4 weeks)	4th
Switzerland (IFPI)	7th (4 weeks)	4th
United Kingdom (OCC)	11 (2 weeks)	2
United States (Billboard)	3 (9 weeks)	9

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Talks About Writing Process for Next Album . Blabbermouth.net . September 3, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Jackie Kajzer: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Talks Creative Risks, "Super Collider" Album + Band's Future Plans . In: Loudwire . January 15, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
3. ↑ Megadeth Tracking 'Heavy' Demo Ideas For Next Studio Album . Blabbermouth.net . May 30, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
4. ^ Megadeth to Enter Studio Next Summer . Blabbermouth.net . December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
5. ↑ KS Wang: Celebrity Drive: Grammy-Nominated Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine . In: Motor Trend . July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
6. ^ Megadeth to Enter Studio in January, Says Dave Mustaine . Blabbermouth.net . November 6, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
7. ↑ Jackie Kajzer: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Talks Touring, New Album Progress + More . In: Loudwire . July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
8. ↑ Stef Lach: Megadeth Cancel Gigs as Ellefson Mourns Brother . May 22, 2014. Accessed June 21, 2015.
9. ^ Body of Missing Woman Found in Julian . November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
10. ^ Martin Kielty: Broderick & Drover Quit Megadeth . In: Classic Rock . November 26, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
11. ↑ Chad Childers: Chris Broderick + Shawn Drover Name New Band Act of Defiance, Ink Deal With Metal Blade . In: Loudwire . February 26, 2015. Accessed February 27, 2015.
12. ↑ David Ellefson: Megadeth To Start Work On New Album In Early 2015, Spend Much Of Next Year 'Off The Road' . Blabbermouth.net . December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
13. ↑ Megadeth's David Ellefson: The New Album is Gonna Help Determine the Band's Lineup . Blabbermouth.net . February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
14. ↑ David Ellefson Says Megadeth's Next Album is "Pretty Much Written", Comments on Possible Reunion With Menza, Friedman . Blabbermouth.net . February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
15. ^ Megadeth: First Photo of New Recording Lineup . Blabbermouth.net . April 24, 2015. Accessed April 24, 2015.
16. ↑ Steve Rosen: Dave Mustaine Interview . Ultimate Guitar Archive . May 10, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
17. Jump up ↑ Jackie Kajzer: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Discusses San Diego Symphony, Motorboat Cruise + More . In: Loudwire . April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
18. ↑ Megadeth's Dave Mustaine: Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover 'Didn't Even Say Goodbye to Me' . Blabbermouth.net . June 26, 2015. Accessed June 26, 2015.
19. ↑ Jonathan Horsley: Dave Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro Talk Megadeth's Dystopia . February 9, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
20. ^ Richard Bienstock: Dave Mustaine on New Megadeth LP and 'Rust in Peace' Reunion That Wasn't . In: Rolling Stone . May 14, 2015. Accessed May 14, 2015.
21. ↑ ^{a b c} Richard Bienstock: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Discusses New Megadeth Album and Working with Guitarist Kiko Loureiro . June 16, 2015. Accessed June 21, 2015.
22. ↑ Maev Kennedy: Former Megadeth Drummer Nick Menza Dies After Collapsing on Stage . May 22, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
23. ^ Graham Hartmann: Did My Chemical Romance's Former Drummer Just Confirm Megadeth is Recording with Chris Adler? . In: Loudwire . March 20, 2015. Accessed March 20, 2015.
24. ↑ Nick Menza to Chris Adler: 'Good Luck' With Rumored Megadeth Studio Gig . Blabbermouth.net . March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
25. ↑ Chad Childers: Megadeth Reveal Lamb of God's Chris Adler as Their New Drummer . In: Loudwire . March 29, 2015. Accessed March 29, 2015.
26. ↑ Chad Childers: Megadeth Officially Announces Kiko Loureiro as Their New Guitarist . In: Loudwire . April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
27. ↑ Megadeth: New Album Track Listing Revealed . Blabbermouth.net . July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
28. ^ New Megadeth Album Is Complete, Mustaine Proudly Announces . Ultimate Guitar Archive . August 29, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
29. ↑ Don Campbell: Interview: Megadeth's 'Dystopia' cover artist Brent Elliott White . MetalInsider. April 19, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
30. ↑ Megadeth To Take 'Different Approach' On Next Album, Says David Ellefson . Blabbermouth.net . February 21, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
31. ↑ Dave Mustaine: Fans Don't Want Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick in Megadeth . Blabbermouth.net . January 30, 2015. Accessed January 30, 2015.
32. ↑ Dave Mustaine listening back to a couple new tracks . PledgeMusic . May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
33. ^ New Megadeth Album to Feature Guest Appearance by Country Singer Steve Wariner . June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
34. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US