Megadeth - Anthology: Set the World Afire Review

Posted by Jesse Coy on 09.26.2008

With 35 tracks, Megadeth’s entire catalogue from ‘85 to ‘01 finds itself represented on this 2-disc release. Find out how this anthology compares with our “lost in space” discographer’s Best of Megadeth collection, as well as thoughts on the differences between the original and remastered versions of said tracks.



Megadeth
Anthology: Set the World Afire
September 2008
Capital Records

Another Megadeth best of release? We’ve had Capital Punishment: The Megadeth Years (released 2000, with 14 tracks including the mandatory “only on this best of release” track, “Kill the King”) (a crappy practice most best of albums engage in) and Greatest Hits: Back to the Start (released in 2005, with 17 tracks), those tracks picked by fans. Only three years later, we have a 2-disc set with 35 tracks.

One of the things this addresses is some fans saying that the prior two best of releases did not cover what it should have covered. Of course, if you’re a fan, you probably own most or all of Megadeth’s albums, so why care too much over what is and isn’t on a best of release?



I am one such person who has all of Megadeth’s releases up to and including The World Needs a Hero (no, I haven’t gotten the last two albums yet), which works out fine for purposes of this anthology, because that’s where the anthology stops, too. If you have all of the band’s albums, but neither prior best of compilation, is this worth getting?

For me, it sort of is. While I care little for demos (this one has a demo version of “High Speed Dirt”) or the tacked on live tracks (“Symphony of Destruction” and “Peace Sells” are added here), there are three tracks not on the other albums IF (stressing IF here) you did not get the remastered versions of Megadeth’s catalogue. I did not, nor would I. Those tracks are “Kill the King” (on both previous best of compilations), “Crown of Worms” (appearing on the Countdown to Extinction reissue), and “New World Order” (appearing on the Youthanasia reissue).

If they REALLY wanted to be sweet, they could’ve thrown a couple more on, like “My Creation,” “Millennium of the Blind,” or the Spanish version of “Trust.” Those are the other non-demo extra track tack-ons from the reissued albums. Which brings me to point number two of why this is sort of interesting to have. I have all the original versions of the Megadeth catalogue. I have no intention of ever getting reissued versions of these albums. I’m perfectly happy with the production and sound of the originals. If Dave wanted to go in and tinker around, fine. Of course, Christian Dave made “These Boots,” the Nancy Sinatra cover off their first release, sound like crap, adding in beeps for the naughty words. And there was some rerecording done on many of the classic Megadeth albums. You can keep those reissues. I don’t want them. But with this anthology, I can sample the slightly or more than slightly altered originals.

For the bulk of this review, we’re about to have a fight.

Jesse Coy’s Best of Megadeth Compilation Vs. Anthology: Set the World Afire

Anyone who listens to Starship Exile knows that I run a discography segment where I include a best of portion. That is basically a best of CD I make, with material from every album, whether the album is good, bad, or ugly. So I’ve done the same with Megadeth. I am a bit handicapped here, because if an album is shorter, my general rule is, it gets shorter representation than a longer album. Bearing that handicap in mind, I’m about to go into the arena against Capital Records and Dave. So here we go…

Killing Is My Business…- the picks from this album by the Anthology are “Mechanix” and “Rattlehead.” My picks are entirely different, being “Skull Beneath the Skin” and “Chosen Ones” (anyone else pick up on the Monty Python and Holy Grail reference in the lyrics of this one?) (phenomenal bass solo, too!). I have no issue with the Anthology picks. Sometimes I like “Mechanix,” and sometimes it feels a little too much like sour grapes to me (yes, I understand the history behind it). Also, while I really like my picks, they clock in shorter than the Anthology picks because Megadeth’s debut is shorter at a little over 31 minutes. No comparison notes on original versions versus remastered versions.

Peace Sells…- the Anthology goes with “Peace Sells,” “Wake Up Dead,” and “Devil’s Island,” in that order. We’re not too far off here. The only difference with my Best Of is that (for time purposes) I swap out “Devil’s Island” with “I Ain’t Superstitious” (shorter song… and I know, a cover, but a pretty cool one). And I also put “Wake Up Dead” first. I didn’t notice much difference on the reissued tracks from the original ones.

So Far, So Good…- we both pick “Set the World Afire.” The Anthology then goes pretty heavy on this album, including “Anarchy in the U.K.,” “Into the Lungs of Hell,” and “In My Darkest Hour” (“Lungs” leading into “Hour” here, and not “Afire”). Well, I only went with two tracks, not because I don’t like the album (it may be one of my favorites by them), but again, for time purposes. My two were “Set the World Afire” and “Hook in Mouth,” a very cool anti-PMRC anthem. This is also where I start hearing some differences with the reissued tracks. The “Anarchy in the U.K.” solo sounds different, as does some guitar bits on “Set the World Afire.” “Into the Lungs of Hell” has a weird horn flourish before it kicks in and “In My Darkest Hour” has a different (very short) opening bit. I’m not going to say it’s better. I’m too used to the old version. But these little differences don’t distract me either. I think they sound quite good for what they are.

Rust in Peace- “Holy Wars/Punishment Due” is a great track. We both went with that. The Anthology includes “Tornado of Souls,” “Hangar 18,” and “Take No Prisoners.” Granted, “Hangar 18” is a great track. But I figured I’d one day pick it up on a live release. So I went with “Poison Was the Cure” (it’s just got a very odd, almost schitzo sound to it) and “Dawn Patrol.” I love that short track. So I know the vocal track on “Take No Prisoners” was rerecorded. It sounds like there’s also some backing vocals added, even on “Holy Wars.” Now we’re getting into the unnecessary and distracting. These tracks should’ve been left alone.

Countdown to Extinction- we both agree on “Sweating Bullets,” but then I go with the obvious choice of “Symphony of Destruction” (it’s on the Anthology in live form, as I mentioned), while the Anthology takes “Skin O’ My Teeth” and “Ashes in Your Mouth.”

Hidden Treasures- this out-of-print release is labeled an EP, clocking in at just under a half an hour, but it’s got 8 tracks. Anyway, the Anthology used “Breakpoint” and “Angry Again” from that one (both of which are on other soundtracks). Good songs, yes, but I like the balance of a pair of covers from this, so I went with “Paranoid” and “Problems” (Black Sabbath and Sex Pistols respectively).

Youthanasia- well, both the Anthology and myself pick “Train of Consequences,” though I regard my version as MUCH better. On the reissued version, the harmonica is replaced. To me, that was most of what made that particular song unique. I went with “Elysian Fields” and “Family Tree.” The Anthology chose “Reckoning Day” (which sounds quite different), “A Tout Le Monde,” and “The Killing Road.”

Cryptic Writings- here, my Megadeth attention begins to greatly wane. Through reissuing, the Anthology’s picks could have been changed in all sorts of ways and I wouldn’t have recognized it. They went with “Trust” and “She-Wolf.” I went with “I’ll Get Even” (a surprisingly mellow yet intense track), “Have Cool, Will Travel,” and “FFF” (those last two trying to grasp onto some old Megadeth fire).

Risk- it’s waning attention once more, nearly at the lowest point. There’s the mutual pick of “Insomnia,” a song I do like… but while the Anthology goes with “Prince of Darkness,” I prefer and went with “The Doctor Is Calling.”

The World Needs a Hero- the Anthology goes with “Dread and the Fugitive Mind,” probably because although this track appears on this album, it was released as a new, bonus track on a prior Capital Records best of Megadeth compilation. Any other track inclusions would run into the sticky issue of this album being from a different label. My two picks from this album are “Promises” and “Recipe for Hate.”

So there you have it… the full rundown.

The 411: I give it this rating only because, while very interesting to hear, more often than not I prefer the original versions of these songs. If it were the original versions, I’d probably give it a 9.5. I like the fact that all albums are represented, and though I differ on favorite tracks here and there, it’s a very good overview. If you only have a few Megadeth albums and want to hear more, this is pretty good. If you’re like me, with all the original albums, and are curious about the reissued tracks, it’s not a bad add at all, considering you get about a half dozen goodies. If you have all the albums in reissued form, this is probably a redundant release for you.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]