Megadeth - The World Needs A Hero (2001)

A new millennium had come, the world had survived the so called Y2K, but still faced a lot of various problems. So to say that the world needed a hero was more or less an understatement. The only hero that seemingly could save Megadeth now after the horrific "Risk" was their almost forgotten mascot Vic Rattlehead, whom makes his first album cover appearance for Megadeth since the 1990 classic "Rust In Peace". Okay, so Vic cannot really save Megadeth and make them create good music again, but just the clear sight of him gave at least some hope to the few Megadeth fans that was still out there. Could this be a turning point for the band?

Even if "The World Needs A Hero" is continuing on the same style that Megadeth has developed during the 90's, it is something different with this album. It is still mainstream hard rock that dominates the album, but it contains a little more bite, it is a little angrier. The music still has a groovy and catchy factor to it, but it feels more heavy metal than before, which is just what the band needed after the meltdown that happened 2 years before.

I would not go as far as saying that "The World Needs A Hero" is a fantastic album, because it is not, but compared to its predecessor, it is a very big improvement. There are still some mediocre and bad songs that I do not think holds up very well, and also some decisions are just weird, like the "phone call" parts in both the title track and "1000 Times Goodbye", but the overall quality is actually decent. "Moto Psycho" has a sweet groove and some nice riffs, while the opener "Disconnect" impress me with its solos. There are also some song in this album that has small thrash vibes, but still holds a good hard rock foundation to mix the old and new Megadeth in a good way, like "Dread And The Fugitive Mind" and "Recipe For Hate... Warhorse".

The only thing that "The World Needs A Hero" and "Risk" have in common is the feeling that Megadeth sometimes acts like a cover band. Even if "Return To Hangar" is a great track and one of the thrashier ones the band has done in ages, it is more or less the same as "Hangar 18", which is of course intended since it is a sequel to the track, but I feel like they could have been a little more imaginative about with it (at least put in more elaborate lyrics in). What is an even bigger rip off is the final song "When", which is more or less a complete replica of the Diamond Head classic "Am I Evil?", but with different lyrics. I think it is a disgrace to this classic song and a big middle finger to Diamond Head from Megadeth. I know that Dave have done covers before and altered some lyrics, but he is just stealing here and labels it as his own product. The worst part is that it is not even a good pirated copy. It is like one of those Iphone replicas from China. Might look decent on the outside, but is complete shit compared to the original.

This is a huge step forward for Megadeth and a glimpse of hope that the band might bounce back towards the top of the metal chain once again. "The World Needs A Hero" is not an amazing album that will go to the history as one of Megadeth's finest, but it is a album that at least shows that "Risk" was a one time thing, and nothing more. So if the band gets rid of the non-covers covers and brings a little more anger to the music, we might look at a really interesting future for the band.

Songs worthy of recognition: Return To Hangar, Recipe For Hate... Warhorse, Dread And The Fugitive Mind

Rating: 5,5/10 Moto Psychos