Wtorek 10 Lut 2009, 16:35

Megadeth / Trust / Cryptic Writings (1) / Jun 1997

sablespecter's Album of the Year for 1997 (RDF: 75.0%)

At last, Dave Mustaine scores an AotY! After finishing in a close second twice - once to Metallica in 1986 (which I am sure grates on him) and to Judas Priest in 1990 with what was Megadeth's strongest album - Megadeth receives the honor with the final album to feature my favorite lineup, with David Ellefson, Marty Friedman, and Nick Menza. Go ahead and pillory me for doing this with this album, but I'm glad to do this for one of my favorite bands/artists.

A lot of Megadeth fans don't like this album because it does veer away from thrash metal, but objectively evaluated - and please do put the album into context, considering the two that would follow! - it's a good album with good music. It's important to understand what was going on behind the scenes. Basically, regardless of how much success Dave had had, he didn't think it complete without a #1 (see the infamous "Lars meets with Dave" scene in Some Kind of Monster). That's what was going on here with the more "mainstream" rock songs on the album: a chase for a #1. And that's exactly what he got with today's album-opening selection. What great drums to open the song!

If you can get past the mainstream songs on here like that one, Almost Honest (how did they get that great opening sound?), the very interesting I'll Get Even, and A Secret Place (all of which get dots from me), there is also some kick-ass old-school Megadeth aggression on here, particularly The Disintegrators and the three tracks that close the album. So while it may not be a "typical" Megadeth album and plenty here to give the critics fuel, I think it's objectively a good album. It just does seem odd to be the one to finally score Megadeth an AotY, when two stronger albums couldn't!

Overall another weak year, with just a Top 5 and only two more honorable mentions and just five altogether at the time taking those marked with the "Ø" off the list.

——–
Rounding out the Top Five of 1997 (in order of descending RDF):

Bruce Dickinson: Accident of Birth (70.8% RDF)
Of all the AotY Awards to this point, the final decision for AotY 1997 is the closest and toughest. Odd considering what a weak year it is overall. The difference in the RDF numbers is only half-dot (Freak gets just a pink dot). This album was also released just two weeks prior to Cryptic Writings. I desparately wanted to give Bruce an AotY award for this, my favorite of his solo albums. I think what I like best about it is his bringing in elements of "otherworldly influences" and aspects of eastern religions. I have an amatuer interest in theories of the former and an intellectual interest in all of the latter, and the alignment with those two interests of mine outside of music are what make the album so appealing to me.

ØIn Flames: Whoracle (63.6% RDF)
When is it OK for a leading melodic death metal band to cover Depeche Mode? (1) When it turns out great. If you listen to DM at all, the darkness of their music is not all that much of a stretch to be so covered anyway. (2) When it fits thematically within a concept album about the fall of human society. And yes, doubtless this album will be debated in metal circles until the actual fall. But it stands as one of their best.

Sarah McLachlan: Surfacing (60.0% RDF)
What's something as soft and wispy as this doing in the AotY rankings of an avowed metal fan? Of course, you have to consider the weakness of the year overall and the lack of competing material, particularly metal material. But still! Frankly, this is one of those instances that demonstrates the eclectic nature of my music interests. I don't mean to sell her short, though. She's got an amazing voice, writes great material, and this album is full of some of her classics.

ØRammstein: Sehnsucht (54.5% RDF)
No matter how much fans around the world may like Rammstein, there is still something peculiarly German about them. That sounds like a stupid thing to say. Of course, they're German. But let me see if I can explain what I mean. With so many bands, their music and performance doesn't necessarily hold so fast or so close to their heritage or country. You know they hail from a particular place, but there's not a lot which makes you aware of it when you listen to the music. (Language is obviously the most common sign. e.g. you listen to Max Cavalera and even though he's singing English lyrics, you know he's from Brazil.)

That's true of course for Rammstein, too, since they sing in German - decisively - listen to Till Lindemann's emphatically rolled R's. In this case, though, I'm talking beyond the language. The German culture has so many facets that are unique to the world, and without being German or at least having a lineage that was German until only relatively recently, they can be - not merely misunderstood - but missed entirely. Many of those facets appear in the music of Rammstein. In some cases, word choices which are merely interesting may actually have a second meaning, or else an allusion which is not clear outside the context of German culture. The title of this album is a particularly interesting case. In the German experience, "sehnsucht" is a "craving" or an intense "yearning" somewhat like nostalgia, but without a definite time or place or thing being missed. There's no great translation for it, but it's like missing something terribly but without being able to describe exactly what it is, or maybe not even knowing what it is, leaving a sense of contented melancholy that accompanies you on your journey through your life. I understand it completely - it very much describes how I feel anytime I take time to look around me and live that examined life. This is touched on not only in the title track, but you can feel it in Alter Mann as well. You can also find some of that great double-meaning wordplay in Du Hast.

Honorable Mentions (in roughly alphabetical order by band/artist name):
Foo Fighters: The Colour and The Shape
Fu Manchu: The Action Is Go

Is your favorite album from 1997 on this list? Are there any others you would add?

\m/ (ò_ó) \m/

Ø: For the 1990s AotY Awards, albums which were discovered after the 1990s have been noted with an "Ø" This provides a perspective on how much thinner the album lists were at the time.