Youthanasia (Remastered)

Released at a time when Megadeth’s patented brand of metal was being eclipsed by an onslaught of alternative rock bands, 1994’s Youthanasia has in time come to be regarded by diehard fans as the band’s most underrated album. Longtime producer Max Norman helped Megadeth develop a harder, heavier sound for the changing tastes, and the churning bluesy riffs of “Train of Consequences,” “Addicted to Chaos,” and “Youthanasia” show that the band was paying attention to the innovations of their younger contemporaries Pantera and Alice In Chains. The album is bookended by two classics: “Reckoning Day” and “Victory” are pulverizing anthems that reinforce the band’s bag of thrash riffs and feature some of Mustaine’s strongest singing. The single “A Tout Le Monde” turned out to be one of Megadeth’s most popular numbers, and though the track is somewhat pretentious, there are isn’t another metal band out there that could pull off a foreign language chorus with as much aplomb.