After the critical and commercial success of Megadeth’s previous release “Cryptic Writings” that featured a perfect mix of heavy metal and commercial hard rock, Dave and the boys decided to go more down that road and try their luck at radio. Mustaine felt if the sound/songs on “Cryptic Writings” worked, even more of that would work on “Risk”. The band’s manager, Bud Prager, who received several song writing credits on “Risk” wanted Megadeth to do an album that made other bands think, “why didn’t we think of that?”. Absent on the album is the vicious riffing and snarling vocals of the past and present is the melodic, pop rock sound. The title of the album stems from Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich who criticized Dave Mustaine in the press for not taking enough ‘risks’ in his music.
This is the first album to feature Jimmy DeGrasso on drums, replacing long time Megadeth drummer Nick Menza. It is also the last album to feature legendary guitarist Marty Friedman as he departed in early 2000.
The notorious “Risk” album opens with a track entitled “Insomnia,” a song bursting at the seams, oozing in radio friendly hard rock. It ain’t a far stretch to say that this song could have appeared on their previous album “Cryptic Writings” but it seems this song is more commercial, the sound even more “poppy-er” than ever before. However, it’s still heavy duty hard rock with shades of tinted darkness. The verses aren’t bad, decently heavy and satisfying enough. When you listen to the choruses, it’s very radio friendly and it’s clear Megadeth are trying to go down that path. Some parts of the song (the pre-chorus for example) I’m not the biggest fan of the production, for better or worse, it has a techno or ‘electronic’ tinge to it. There is a heavy duty bridge/breakdown about halfway through the song where Mustaine lets loose a solo over. The “weird notes” at the beginning were the last notes Marty Friedman ever recorded as a member of Megadeth.
What follows is one of my favourite Megadeth tracks “Prince of Darkness,” a song that doesn’t get enough love in my opinion. I don’t know if it’s because it is on Megadeth’s most hated and disrespectful album or not, but this song always gets overlooked. This is a killer track. The song begins with a monstrous bass line from David Ellefson and Mustaine talking about the evilness of the devil. Around the 1:20 mark, the guitars kick in right before the fury is unleashed. The first verse is just incredible with a heavy duty riff and Mustaine delivering excellent pinpoint vocals. Mustaine belting out “More evil than violence!” certainly gets my attention. The verses are great as well as the choruses but one of the bright spots is the post-chorus with the furious breakdown from the fiery pits of hell. Mustaine’s vocals have his signature bite to ’em on this banger. It’s catchy, it’s heavy, it’s relentless, it’s a mammoth of a track. Who said “Risk” is just commercial, radio friendly pop rock? Well, this track spits in the face of that claim.
“Enter the Arena” is a short 44 second intro to “Crush ‘Em” where Mustaine chants “Crush! Crush! Crush! Crush ‘Em” for the entire duration over a slow and simplistic heavy metal riff.
Then there’s the notorious “Crush ‘Em,” the album’s lead single. Where do we start? Well, when hearing the albums “Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?” or “Rust In Peace” did you ever think there would come a time where Megadeth would do a disco song? No? Unfortunately, that is precisely what they did with this song. And thanks to Megadeth’s then-manager Bud Prager who suggested Megadeth do such a track (he also received a song writing credit). Do I hate this song? No, I don’t. Ellefson’s has a thumping bass line throughout which is a positive and the chorus is actually pretty damn catchy. The production just oozes techno, disco, radio pop rock which ain’t a good thing. The production falls flat due to disagreements between members, producers, and management on the way the song should sound. The track is way too complicated to be what it’s trying to be, merely a sport’s anthem. Too many cooks in the kitchen was the track’s down fall. I don’t find this track as atrocious as most people and on some days I can really get into this track. But obviously, this is far from Megadeth at their best.
It is followed by “Breadline” and I am 100 percent truthful when I say this, it’s not only my favourite track off of this album but one of my all time favourite Megadeth songs. To me, when people think of Megadeth’s “Risk” this is one of the tracks they think of first. There isn’t a trace of the outrageous riffs and venomous vocals of the old days. Instead, it’s a straight up soft, radio pop rock track. So, if it’s a soft radio rock song, why do I love this song so much? It’s just a beautiful sounding song. I don’t care if you hate the album and sure this isn’t what you typically want to hear out of a Megadeth song but take it for what it is: a beautiful rock song. I love the verses but I absolutely dig the hell out of the choruses. It just makes me happy and puts me in a good mood whenever I listen to this track. Awesome solo by Mustaine on this track that fits the overall tone of the song perfectly as well as great solo fills done by Marty Friedman. This song is misunderstood in my opinion. This is an awesome, awesome track. Try to look past the fact this ain’t 80’s Megadeth.
“The Doctor is Calling” is one of those songs that frustrates me because it’s a song that doesn’t live up to its full potential. It just has so much promise but ultimately falls flat. The intro is killer with a super heavy as hell riff that is equal parts dark and eerie and it bleeds right into the phenomenal opening verse. At this point I’m thinking this is probably the album’s best track. Everything is going great as the verse is heavy with Mustaine providing a perfect vocal melody. Then everything goes awry when the chorus begins. It’s a let down and the perfect flow the song has goes straight out the window. One of the coolest parts of the song is after the 2nd verse/chorus where there’s this cool spoken word section followed by a ripping good solo by Marty Friedman as he shreds the face off the planet. Then the chorus is repeated and the track is ended in a very lackluster way. Overall, it’s a great song with a lackluster chorus that almost ruins it for me.
Then there’s “I’ll Be There,” a track Mustaine called the song of the people of Buenos Aires, Argentina on the “That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires” CD/DVD. This is a nice little rock song. Incredible vocals performed by Mustaine here as he’s signing his heart out. A lot of guitar textures done on this one. It’s not the heaviest song nor is it the softest track on the album as it lands somewhere in the middle. The verses are nice and choruses are kind of catchy but I really dig the bridge/pre-chorus, it’s just sung so beautifully. Around the 3:20 mark, the “ohhhhhh oh ohhhhh oh oh” part is especially pretty cool and gets the listener to kind of chant or hum along with the track. It’s an upbeat track for sure. Respectable song but I’m sure it doesn’t win over any of the thrash heads.
It is followed by a track entitled “Wanderlust,” one of the more under appreciated tracks that are featured on this album. The track begins with an eerily dark sounding guitar lick accompanied by a stomping bass drum provided by DeGrasso as Mustaine grimly delivers his vocals. It slowly builds to an extremely catchy chorus with the pace, tempo, and heaviness ratcheted up. The chorus most certainly is the highlight of the track, a truly underrated and under appreciated chorus. The breakdown around the 2:50 is also phenomenal as Ellefson delivers a super slick bass line and then before you know it, the band is really starting to fly. Some great solo fills done by Marty Friedman here. It may be radio friendly but damn is this a great track.
Then there’s “Ecstasy,” a super poppy, soft rock, water downed, radio-friendly track. This track along with “Breadline” and “Crush ‘Em” are probably the songs people think of when they think of “Risk”. But I’ll be 100% honest, I absolutely love this track. Sure, the heavy distortion, furious picking, and snarling vocals that the fans love can’t be found whatsoever on this track. Instead, we have an ultra-soft, lighthearted track. Awesome drumming from DeGrasso on this one, great drummer. You may love it or hate it but damn does Dave Mustaine provide some tremendous vocals on this. He’s really singing his heart out here. And for me, what takes this track over the top is the phenomenal, catchy as hell chorus. Believe it or not, this is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It might not be a bone crushing, thrasher’s delight but this is a beautiful song with a lot of heart. Awesome track.
“Seven” was originally entitled “Anti-Hero,” then “Hornet Fuck” before the title “Seven” was settled on. This is one of the heaviest songs on the album. It is also probably the purest as this is how Megadeth sounded like without all the sound effects and samples thrown in. The drumming is outstanding on this track. Jimmy DeGrasso doesn’t nearly get enough respect for the work he put in during his time with Megadeth as he should which is a shame. It still may have a commercial vibe to it but nonetheless it’s dark and heavy. Parts of the track also have a real rock ‘n roll vibe as well which is cool. Catchy as hell choruses, kind of has an ominous feel to them. Marty Friedman and Dave Mustaine trade off splitting lead solos right before the song’s breakdown where Mustaine spits out the seven deadly sins. During that time, a monstrous funky bass line is unleashed by David Ellefson. The track ends with the band jamming its way to a glorious conclusion.
“Time” was a concept split into two songs, first being “Time: The Beginning” and the second “Time: The End” as the music were very closely related however they couldn’t possibly be further apart, according to Dave Mustaine. “Time: The Beginning” is more of a classy ballad that still has the eerie Megadeth quality to it. The track has a dark tinge to it and overall it’s a really depressing track. The vocal melody is phenomenal and once again Dave Mustaine is lacing the track with more incredible vocals. Mustaine really showed his potential as a vocalist on this album but never got the respect and attention it should have garnered. Once again, awesome solo fills done by Marty Friedman. It’s a delicate, depressing yet soothing track that is a real standout. Awesome track.
And Finally, “Time: The End” closes the notorious “Risk” album. Now this song has some vintage Megadeth bite to it. The track starts off with a super heavy, ultra-crunchy guitar riff that bleeds into the opening riff where Mustaine spits out some vicious vocals. Around the 50 second mark, the song hits a bit of a lull before the world is destroyed by an earth shattering guitar solo by Mustaine followed by a just as genius solo by Marty Friedman as the song and album fades into the sunset.
Some people, Dave Mustaine included, believe that if “Risk” was released under a Dave Mustaine solo project or anything not called Megadeth that the majority of people would have liked the album. Some believe that others just can’t get pass the idea of Megadeth doing a radio friendly, commercial rock album and that because that’s what “Risk” precisely is, most people hate the album. I can’t say I disagree with that sentiment because realistically most people hate this album because they see it as “selling out” and Megadeth abandoning their thrash metal heritage. If those people could just get by the fact that this ain’t suppose to be a “Rust In Peace 2” and just listen to the album for what it is, they would be pleasantly surprised by the quality of good material that inherent the album.
Megadeth’s artistic approach on “Risk” was greatly influenced by management and people around them, whispering in their ear as “Risk” is the most experimental album in the Megadeth discography and is the furthest departure from their thrash metal roots than any record they have ever done, before or after. On this album, Megadeth try to prove that they’re more than just a (thrash) metal band as they expand their horizons and explore new and unfamiliar avenues. It’s an extremely unique album, especially in the Megadeth catalog, and as for myself would like to commend Dave Mustaine and Megadeth on trying something different and experimenting with their sound. I think it took a lot balls as it was certainly a huge “risk” for them to release such an album that could potentially (which it eventually did) cause a fan backlash. The major downfall of “Risk” is that there were too many cooks in the kitchen. However, I absolutely love this album. I always have and always will stand up for “Risk”.
RYM Rating: 4.5/5 Retrospective Rating: 9.25/10 (A +)
Recommendation: For the true and diehard Megadeth fans. Don’t expect another “Rust In Peace,” take it for what it is: a radio friendly rock album.
3 Favourite Songs: Breadline, Prince Of Darkness, Ecstasy.
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