Greatest Hits - Back to the Start

iTunes Review

The no-filler greatest hits collection Back to the Start shows that Megadeth were much more than a thrash band. Over a twenty-year span, their brand of anti-establishment metal touches on the locomotive hard rock of AC/DC, the sneering punk of the Sex Pistols, and the alternative rock innovations of groups like Tool. If Back to the Start warrants any criticism, it’s that it feels a little tame. Even though it draws heavily from the flawless five-album run (from 1986’s Killing Is My Business to 1992’s Countdown to Extinction) that established Megadeth as one of thrash metal’s top acts, the album could use a little more of the lacerating power that made them one of metal’s most venomous forces. How about “The Conjuring” from Peace Sells? Or “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” from Rust In Peace? Then again, Megadeth always prided itself on its non-conformist stance, and more than anything else, Back to the Start proves that they refused to define themselves according to the conventions of the thrash metal movement.