Review by Luka on May 23, 2001.

If this album doesn’t do it, Dave Mustaine’s calling it quits with Megadeth, his own words. Should he call it quits? Nah, give ‘em a year or two more! This is better than he’s done in a long time.

He has redeemed himself at last, more or less, anyway. The album certainly has its parts. Rather than trying something original with heavy metal, he seems bent on taking a straight road back to the old days. The title track is a dead "Peace Sells" imitation. "Burning Bridges" would fit perfectly on "Countdown to Extinction" or "Peace Sells", his voice here brought so many memories, I loved it, and "Return to Hangar", well I don’t need to explain about this one, however, it’s a third-rate rehash of the classic...

The guitar wizard Marty Friedman is gone and the wound is felt. Sure Al Pitrelli can play, but what is he compared to Friedman? Jimmi DeGrasso seems almost fearful of hitting the drums, rarely adds any fills and painfully keeps up the slow tempos. Like in the old days, Mustaine is the only significant member in the band. His voice continues to improve steadily as it has with each previous Megadeth album.

"Moto Psycho" is just about the most mainstream song here, and I hate it. "Promises" is a cheesy, clichë ballad the likes of which has plagued the last few albums, but there is more than a generous share of the heavy cuts here, like "1000 Times Goodbye" (hilarious song about a break up, it’s as funny as it is cheesy) Dave’s superb riffing is back and the shredding is as tight as ever.

"I’m still the guy who wrote ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Holy Wars’ " says Dave in a recent interview, I didn’t believe him when I heard "Risk", but this album brings back the sweet taste of old Megadeth.

Bottom Line: Good stuff, but simply too many flaws. They’re finally improving, let’s hope the trend continues!

Rating: 7 out of 10