Megadeth - Risk revisited

I hated Risk when it first came out. It was clearly an attempt to win over the pop rock crowd, and the band have admitted as such since that time. It was Dave Mustaine giving up control to outside forces.

I have been reading David Ellifson's biography recently and I started going back through their catalog and listening as I read about where the band's head were at during certain years and albums. Dave has some interesting things to say about the album in the book.

In retrospect after giving this one a few spins years after the initial disappointment, I still don't find a whole lot on this record to redeem it. I have grown to appreciate "Crush 'Em" for the anthem that it is. It's a fun song, even if it is outside the normal Megadeth boundaries. I also find "Prince of Darkness" to be an interesting song and the one bright spot on an otherwise abysmal pop record. The song is dark, somewhat heavy and could have fit neatly on "Youthanasia" or "Cryptic Writings". The song is a warning about the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.

I thought Risk was a good album, but I also thought that it shouldn't have had Megadeth's name on it. The album completely failed to live up to the brand. Of course, it was a strange time for all the main thrash metal bands. Metallica had taken a lot of heat for cutting their hair and altering their music, and we were heading the same way.
-David Ellifson, p131, My Life With Deth

Dave (Mustaine) was emphatic that we take our musical direction back to thrash metal. To his credit, he didn't want to pretend to be a pop  band band any longer.
-David Ellifson, p132, My Life With Deth

"It is a lesson I've tried to learn from him (Dave Mustaine): do what you love and the money will follow. Risk may have been a lesson to all of us that when you put the attraction of success before the actual success comes, you have placed the cart before the horse"
-David Ellifson, p136, My Life With Deth

I agree with you. I tried to listen with an open mind, but there's just not much of worth on the album. There are a few good tunes, but even those are only okay. And this is coming from a huge fan of Cryptic Writings.

I still listen to Risk from time to time. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.

When it first came out it got such universally savage reviews that I decided to put off buying it till I could find it cheap. I finally picked it up used for 2.99 or 3.99 about a year after its release. For that price I thought it was an OK album. If I'd paid full price I might not have been so charitable. Haha.

...I actually like Risk better than the supposed "return-to-form" album that followed it (The World Needs A Hero), which I've always thought sounded pretty half-assed.

Put together the decent songs from Risk and TWNAH and you still don't have a whole album.

I bought the album based on the single, "Breadline" which I actually enjoyed. Over time, "Wanderlust" became my favorite song on the album. I love the chorus and the guitar solo to that song. While it may not fit the "brand" Megadeth, it's an album that I return to more frequently than the majority of the more celebrated Megadeth albums. That said, it is not one that I play straight through.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I still listen to Risk from time to time. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.

That is where I stand as well. I don't hate it, not that I love it either, but I like.

I always liked it, and wished it was heavier, or had a few more "heavier" songs, but at the time, I was mostly listening to the radio, and had not yet fully re-immersed myself into underground / thrash metal.
You would find me playing Triumph albums instead of Razor when this came out.

I totally hate the remixed version.

I still think about half of it has got a lot of heart. I can't say that about most of the stuff after. Having the elements present doesn't magically make the spark return to the songwriting. If anything most of the stuff after strikes me as more lame because it seems like a show - "give em what they want..", them being every kind of metal fan at once, so we get mostly 'Cryptic Writings' kind of stuff with a random drunken smattering of thrash now and then..... yawn.

I prefer Risk to Supercollider and 13

Boris and OCI, I think you guys are nuts. :-p

"13" has some great stuff on it IMO. "Sudden Death", "Public Enemy", "Deadly Nightshade", "New World Order", "Black Swan", even if those last two are older tracks that the band recorded.

"SuperCollider" I like some songs too, especially "Kingmaker", but I'd rather be forcefed a daily diet of "13" and "Super Collider" than have to listen to much of "Risk".

MoonChild wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I still listen to Risk from time to time. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.

That is where I stand as well. I don't hate it, not that I love it either, but I like.

Same with me. It's not a total train wreck but it's also not something I really listen to too much. It's mainly a collection filler.

Risk is just not a good album. It was their attempt at trying to follow Metallica's more commercial footsteps. And they didn't succeed at it.

It's awful. Their worst album by far.

Liked Risk the day it came out and still do but I prefer the original release to the '04 remaster.

I listened to it once and vowed never to listen to it again, and that was without any knowledge of all the negative hype. It truly is a weak, watered-down, substandard Deth record without a single convincing song on it.

Going beyond that, I've really been trying hard to wrap my head around their discog since Countdown, as to why they've been following that album's formula or worse. Why haven't we heard anything akin to the first four albums? With one chance after another you'd figure there'd be at least one instance where Dave revisits the technical and progressive twists and turns that made those albums so eclectic and head-turning, but there's still so much commercial application. Sure there have been a couple songs here and there that have done this, but why can't we have a whole album?

corplhicks wrote:

I listened to it once and vowed never to listen to it again, and that was without any knowledge of all the negative hype. It truly is a weak, watered-down, substandard Deth record without a single convincing song on it.

Going beyond that, I've really been trying hard to wrap my head around their discog since Countdown, as to why they've been following that album's formula or worse. Why haven't we heard anything akin to the first four albums? With one chance after another you'd figure there'd be at least one instance where Dave revisits the technical and progressive twists and turns that made those albums so eclectic and head-turning, but there's still so much commercial application. Sure there have been a couple songs here and there that have done this, but why can't we have a whole album?

Well, my favorite era is Countdown to CW, so I'm not complaining.   

Risk is an okay album. There are a few duds, but also a few great songs. The rest kind of sit in between those.

My favorite is...



Sounds like a long lost Danzig song.

I have always liked Risk too.....except for "crush em"....what a terrible song and doesn't fit with the rest of the album whatsoever. For me, Cryptic Writings is easily their worst by a mile.

I really like Risk. In fact all of Megadeth since Countdown to Extinction are winners in my book.

Rex wrote:

I have always liked Risk too.....except for "crush em"....what a terrible song and doesn't fit with the rest of the album whatsoever. For me, Cryptic Writings is easily their best by a mile.

Fixed it for ya!   

 

Youthanasia is their best.

Eyesore wrote:

Youthanasia is their best.

I'd go:

Cryptic Writings
Countdown to Extinction
Youthanasia

But those are subject to change depending on my mood and the day.   

Like FF said I don't love it nor do I hate it. It has been awhile since I have spun the disc and may give it a go before I go to bed, but overall I don't completely dislike it, I think there are some good songs on the album but whether its his take on pop metal/ alternative rock or Mega-Lite, IMO whatever genre you want to file this tunes, I just don't think the songs are as memorable as he has written in the past.

manny wrote:

Like FF said I don't love it nor do I hate it. It has been awhile since I have spun the disc and may give it a go before I go to bed, but overall I don't completely dislike it, I think there are some good songs on the album but I just don't think the songs are as memorable as he has written in the past.

This is how I would describe all Megadeth albums since Youthanasia...