Megadeth "Countdown to Extinction"

Countdown to Extinction is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on July 14, 1992 through Capitol Records. It was the group's second studio release to feature the "classic" lineup of Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson and Nick Menza, with all of them contributing to songwriting on the album. The album features some of the band's best known songs such as "Symphony of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets" and "Skin o' My Teeth", which enjoyed significant chart success and made a great musical impact.

Countdown to Extinction received positive reaction from music critics, who noted its politically oriented lyrics and simplified sound in comparison to their previous record. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number two, the band's highest position ever. It eventually achieved double platinum status and became their most commercially successful album. The record was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards, while the album's title track won the Humane Society's Genesis Award for raising awareness for animal rights issues.

In 2012, in recognition of the album's 20th anniversary, Megadeth kicked off a 20th anniversary tour in South America, playing the album in its entirety. In addition, a 20th anniversary special edition of the album was released in November 2012, and a live album featuring a performance of the full album was released in September 2013.

Countdown to Extinction is Megadeth's fifth studio album, and the second to feature the line-up of Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson and Nick Menza. In an interview for Billboard at the time, Mustaine admitted that he fired past members Chuck Behler and Jeff Young because they resisted his pleas to seek rehabilitative counseling. He added that it was a "major accomplishment" that all four members of Megadeth contributed material to the album, unlike their earlier releases which were "nearly all Mustaine". Mustaine also revealed that producer Max Norman had significant input to the album by making "a lot of suggestions and a lot of great artistic ideas". Guitarist Marty Friedman said that unlike Rust in Peace, the creation of this record was "completely different". He further stated that the band had changed the songs "a million times" before recording them on demo and entering the studio.

The music for Countdown to Extinction was written in two different sessions. The first session was done following the conclusion of Clash of the Titans tour, while the second session took place after a one-month break, in the fall of 1991. The album was recorded in the first half of 1992, when the Rodney King Riots took place. These events negatively affected the recording process, as the band was forced to leave the studio every night at six o'clock because of the enacted curfew. Dave Mustaine shared his experience: "There’s nothing worse than getting a creative moment and you have to leave. It was like a school bell ringing." The record was produced by Mustaine and Max Norman at The Enterprise in Burbank, California, while the mixing was handed by Norman with the help of Fred Kelly. Referring to the recording process, Mustaine said that Countdown to Extinction "was one of those records where everything was firing on all 12 cylinders and you just know it". He also said that it didn't take the band a long time to record the album because "records were a lot easier to make back then because the pressure wasn't quite as hard".

Following Metallica's mainstream breakthrough in 1991, Mustaine stripped down Megadeth's sound, though the music remained as technically perfectionist as their previous releases. Drummer Nick Menza explained: "Metallica has definitely opened the doors for other bands to step through. We're obviously the next band to step through that doorway." Musically, Countdown to Extinction saw Megadeth beginning to incorporate more melody and mid-tempos into its traditional sound. Bassist David Ellefson noted that the band's goal was to "create music that had more of a groove to it," capitalizing on the melodic playing style employed by Friedman, and further assisted by the input of producer Norman. Author Thomas Harrison wrote that with this album, Megadeth's music became "more virtuosic than noisy and took the next step towards widespread acceptance".

Like its predecessor, many of the songs on the album have political and military undertones. However, the opening track "Skin o' My Teeth" was speculated being about suicide, a theme which differs from the rest of the album. "Symphony of Destruction", with lyrics written by Dave Mustaine, details a story about a regular citizen as the head of a puppet regime, as the country is run by a phantom government. The song was noted by critics for its great social and philosophical impact. "Architecture of Aggression" explores the nature of global conflict; Mustaine revealed that the song was about former Iraq president Saddam Hussein, who was engaged in the Gulf War at the time. "Foreclosure of a Dream" deals with economic concerns and social inequality. According to music critic Eduardo Rivaldivia, "perhaps no other Megadeth song in history deals as directly and soberly" with these issues. The song sampled then-U.S. President George H. W. Bush's infamous "Read my lips" speech, making a statement about taxation endangering the "American Dream". Billboard praised the track, along with "Symphony of Destruction", for being "socially conscious" and described them as "powerful statements for hard rockers".

The fifth track, "Sweating Bullets", shows Mustaine's battle with his inner selves, which is presented throughout a conversational singing style. "Sweating Bullets" was written during the second recording session and was released as the album's third single. Its lyrical theme deals with paranoia. David Ellefson commented that the song's lyrics were "psychotically perfect" and sounded like "the inside of a crazed lunatic's mind". The title track was inspired by environmental concerns about the future of the planet. The name was suggested by Nick Menza, who had read a story in Time magazine entitled "The Countdown to Extinction". "High Speed Dirt" focuses on skydiving. "Captive Honour" is a song about prison and the consequences of crime, while "Psychotron" was written about the Marvel Comics character Deathlok. The album's closing track, "Ashes in Your Mouth", concentrates on the negative aftermaths of war. The longest tune on the record, it is performed at intense tempo and features shredding guitar leads.

The group started the Countdown to Extinction tour in 1992 with Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies as the opening acts. They headlined the Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen on June 27 the same year, and continued with dates in Europe during the summer. The tour carried on throughout 1993, with the band making appearances on a number of large festivals. In January they performed in the United States with Stone Temple Pilots as the supporting act. Although these two bands had scheduled tour dates in Japan during the month of May, the dates were subsequently canceled. In June 1993, Megadeth played at the Milton Keynes National Bowl with Diamond Head and later opened for Iron Maiden and Metallica on their European tour. After finishing their major European tour, the band began a US tour which eventually ended on December 8, 1993.

Megadeth honored the 20-year jubilee of the album's release with a headlining tour on which they played the record in its entirety. The tour began in September 2012 with live performances in South America, and continued the following two months with shows in North America. During this tour, three songs from the record ("Architecture of Aggression", "Psychotron" and "Captive Honour") had their live premiere, and a couple of others ("This Was My Life" and "High Speed Dirt") have been performed for the first time in many years. David Ellefson shared his impressions from playing the set live with newer members Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick by saying that they "executed [the songs] to 100% perfection". A live album which features a performance of the full album was released on September 24, 2013.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dave Mustaine, except where noted.

Side one

1. "Skin o' My Teeth" 3:14
2. "Symphony of Destruction" 4:02
3. "Architecture of Aggression" David Ellefson, Mustaine 3:34
4. "Foreclosure of a Dream" Ellefson, Mustaine 4:17
5. "Sweating Bullets" (5:27 on the 2004 reissue) 5:03
6. "This Was My Life" 3:42

Side two

1. "Countdown to Extinction" Ellefson, Nick Menza, Mustaine Marty Friedman, Mustaine 4:16
2. "High Speed Dirt" (4:21 on the 2004 reissue) Ellefson, Mustaine 4:12
3. "Psychotron" 4:42
4. "Captive Honour" Ellefson, Mustaine Friedman, Menza, Mustaine 4:14
5. "Ashes in Your Mouth" Ellefson, Friedman, Menza, Mustaine 6:10

Total length: 47:26

There was also a promo box set issued that included the album on CD and cassette.

Original sound version now out of print.

Music videos were made for the songs Foreclosure of a Dream, High Speed Dirt, Symphony of Destruction and Skin 'o My Teeth.

This is the first Megadeth album not featuring Vic Rattlehead, their mascot, on the cover. According to a Dave Mustaine interview at the time, it was Ellefson who suggested it, and, after some initial resistance, Mustaine agreed.

Recording information:

Recorded from January 6th to April 28th, 1992 at The Enterprise Studio in Burbank, California.