Megadeth Countdown To Extinction Numbered Gold CD
Double-Platinum Metal Touchstone Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: Features Four Bonus Tracks and Remixing by Band Leader Dave Mustaine
Ranked #53 in Martin Popoff’s The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time
Megadeth’s Countdown to Extinction is one of the most brilliant and precise metal records ever released. The 1992 set features obsessive band leader and virtuosic guitarist Dave Mustaine exploring personal demons, social problems, and world issues with a rapier wit and savage frankness that earned the legendary band critical accolades, mainstream exposure, and commercial success.
Countdown to Extinction merges the best of all worlds—prescient intelligence, outspoken lyrics, crushing energy, memorable riffs, and giant hooks. It is in every way at least the equivalent of Metallica’s 1991 Black Album, the record that inspired Megadeth to attempt a less-complex crossover statement of its own.
Demonstrated on the swinging “Symphony of Destruction,” sympathetic “Foreclosure of a Dream,” and twisted “Sweating Bullets”—all radio staples—songs dance like puppets on strings to finessed melodies and classically inspired leads. This is music that’s at once rugged, contagious, and gorgeous. And, to a man, note-perfect.
“That was probably the hardest record to record because it was done by perfectionists—three perfectionists, Mustaine, Max Norman, and myself. And we had just gotten into recording stuff on computer, so you could see how accurate you were. And it got into a competition to see who could make stuff more perfect. There’s not a single thing that’s out of sync on that record.”
–Megadeth guitarist Marty Freidman talking to Martin Popoff
Couple the recording process with Mobile Fidelity’s remaster from the original master tapes, and what you have a record that sounds as good as any hard-rock album on the planet.
“Mobile Fidelity’s audiophile pressing meets the label’s exacting standards. Depth, width, and height are considerably opened up and expanded. The intricacies of leader Dave Mustaine's virtuosic guitar playing are more easily detected, while vivid vocal clarity and presence illustrate the extent to which balances have been improved.”
–Bob Gendron, The Absolute Sound, January 2009
Megadeth Countdown to Extinction Track Listing:
1. Skin O' My Teeth
2. Symphony of Destruction
3. Architecture of Agression
4. Foreclosure of a Dream
5. Sweating Bullets
6. This Was My Life
7. Countdown to Extinction
8. High Speed Dirt
9. Psychotron
10. Captive Honour
11. Ashes In Your Mouth
Bonus Tracks:
12. Crown of Worms (previously unreleased in U.S.)
13. Countdown To Extinction - (demo, previously unreleased)
14. Symphony of Destruction (demo, previously unreleased in the U.S.)
15. Psychotron (demo, previously unreleased)
