Farewell albums tend to aim for going out with a bang, but just as frequently see a band fizzling out. To Dave Mustaine’s credit: apart from the lyrics of closing track ‘The Last Note’, he doesn’t seem to weigh down Megadeth’s self-titled album with any grandiose farewell statements. Instead, he just set out to make the best Megadeth album he possibly could, as he presumably always does. It’s not a new Megadeth highlight like ‘The Sick, the Dying… And the Dead!‘ was three and a half years ago, but there is enough fantastic guitar work on the album to please longtime fans.

Admittedly, you can take that with whatever grain of salt you’d like, because I don’t actually understand Megadeth’s fanbase, despite being part of it. The reception of ‘The Sick, the Dying… And the Dead!’ was mixed, whereas I thought it contained everything a Megadeth album needs: fantastic riffs that make up the grey area between thrash metal, speed metal and traditional heavy metal, arranged into well-structured songs. Fans were ready to hate ‘Megadeth’ as well, especially on account of the contrarian single ‘I Don’t Care’. Since I don’t like punk, it’s my least favorite song on the album, but it also doesn’t represent the album that well.

Compared to its predecessor, ‘Megadeth’ features slightly more straightforward songwriting, and the overall feel is a little more traditional than the surprisingly dark approach of ‘The Sick, the Dying… And the Dead!’. The production is a bit flatter as well, though I will say that Mustaine, producer Chris Rakestraw and mixing engineer Matt Hyde captured the vibe of a band playing together rather well. Mustaine and fellow guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, who debuts with Megadeth here, clearly took the sophisticated thrash of ‘Rust in Peace‘ and the more mainstream heavy metal sound of ‘Countdown to Extinction’ as inspiration, though fortunately without slavishly copying what made those albums good.

The back half ‘Megadeth’ is stronger than the former, though I quite like the tongue-in-cheek metal guitar homage ‘Let There Be Shred’ and the snappy opener ‘Tipping Point’. The aforementioned closing track ‘The Final Note’ just has a really dramatic flair that appeals to me a lot, and those guitar solos – including an acoustic one by Mustaine – are fantastic. ‘Made to Kill’ is a cool thrasher with some of the best riffs on the album, and the way it develops tempo-wise is very interesting. ‘Puppet Parade’ and ‘I Am War’ are great latter-day Megadeth mid-tempo thrashers. ‘Another Bad Day’ may turn out divisive, but its classy guitar arrangement is excellent.

Ultimately, Megadeth’s final studio is exactly what it should be: an album with all the traits that make Megadeth such an excellent band to begin with. Those expecting something on par with their classic work may come off disappointed, but there is a veritable cornucopia of the sharp riffs, stinging melodies and whirling solos one would want from Megadeth here, all wrapped up in a nice, concise package that maintains its momentum all the way through. And the cover of ‘Ride the Lightning’? Let’s just say that it confirms my belief that Megadeth is a better band than Metallica.

Recommended tracks: ‘The Last Note’, ‘Tipping Point’, ‘Made to Kill’