MEGADETH’S DOUBLE PLATINUM ‘COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION’ ALBUM REMASTERED AND EXPANDED FOR 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION – OUT NOVEMBER 2

Dave Mustaine Oversees Commemorative Edition of Megadeth’s Best-Selling 1992 Album

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine has personally overseen a new 20th Anniversary Edition of
the band’s most popular album, 1992’s US double Platinum-certified Countdown to
Extinction, to be released on November 2 by Capitol/EMI. 


Presented in a 2CD lift-top box and digitally, Countdown to Extinction’s new
commemorative edition pairs the remastered original album with a 1992 concert,
recorded live at San Francisco’s Cow Palace, which has never before been released in
its entirety. The concert audio has been newly remixed for this release. The
physical and digital versions both include a booklet with a new liner notes essay by
music journalist Kory Grow, and the 2CD box also contains a 24” x 36” poster and
four collectible postcards.

The band will perform the acclaimed album in its entirety this November and
December, on their national US “Countdown to Extinction Tour”.

Countdown to Extinction, Megadeth’s fifth studio album, was recorded in Los Angeles
in 1992 as rioting raged across the city in response to the Rodney King trial
verdicts.  American tensions weren’t limited to LA by any means, as the Gulf War was
still fresh in people’s minds, the state of the environment was becoming headline
news, and President George H.W. Bush was seeking re-election in a heated campaign
season.

Out of this turmoil, Megadeth was inspired to create Countdown to Extinction,
considered by many to be the band’s best and most accessible album. The group’s
previous albums, including So Far, So Good…So What! and Rust in Peace, included
songs that tackled topics like censorship and religious bloodletting in the Middle
East.  But none were as polemical as the sonic missiles launched by ‘Countdown.’ 
Megadeth laced the songs with acid-tongued commentary about subjects ranging from
the futility of war (“Architecture of Aggression”) to the senseless brutality of
caged hunting (“Countdown to Extinction”).  “Foreclosure of a Dream” sampled George
Bush’s infamous “Read my lips” speech, making a statement about taxation endangering
the American Dream.

Thanks to a perfect balance of hard-rock song structures, epic choruses, and
fleet-fingered guitar work, Countdown to Extinction became an instant classic,
benefiting from copious MTV and radio play. Spin magazine raved that ‘Countdown’
“may just be the finest thrash-metal album ever made,” and before long, songs like
“Symphony of Destruction,” “Sweating Bullets,” and “Skin O’ My Teeth” had entered
metal’s canon of essential recordings.  The album shot to No. 2 on the Billboard
chart (it may have hit No. 1, if not for Billy Ray Cyrus’ long chart-topping reign
with Some Gave All), and it was certified double Platinum in the U.S. within two
years, with sales of more than two million copies. 

Megadeth was in top form, with Mustaine, the band’s then 31-year-old singer and
guitarist leading the album’s assault with lyrics like “You know your worth when
your enemies praise your architecture of aggression,” not to mention his venomous
rhythm guitar attack. His band mates completed the picture, as lead guitarist Marty
Friedman blazed with memorable solos, bassist David Ellefson jammed dizzying arrays
of low-end thunder, and drummer Nick Menza attacked his kit. Megadeth sounded
hungry, and the band was rewarded when the album earned a GRAMMY Award nomination
(Best Metal Performance) and when its title cut garnered a Genesis Award from the
Humane Society for raising awareness for animal rights issues.

_______________________________________________________________________

Megadeth:  Countdown to Extinction (20th Anniversary Edition) [2CD, digital]
CD 1
1. Skin of My Teeth
2. Symphony of Destruction
3. Architecture of Aggression
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

CD 2 – Live At Cow Palace, 1992
1. Intro
2. Holy Wars  . . . The Punishment Due
3. Skin O My Teeth
4. Wake Up Dead
5. Hangar 18
6. Countdown to Extinction
7. Foreclosure Of A Dream
8. This Was My Life
9. Lucretia
10. Sweating Bullets
11. In My Darkest Hour
12. The Conjuring
13. Tornado
14. Ashes In Your Mouth
15. Symphony Of Destruction
16. Peace Sells
17. Anarchy In the UK

Category: News