Youthanasia
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| Youthanasia | |||||
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| Studio album by Megadeth | |||||
| Released | November 1, 1994 | ||||
| Recorded | 1994 | ||||
| Genre | Heavy Metal[1] | ||||
| Length | 49:57 (Original) 1:05:23 (Remaster) |
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| Label | Capitol | ||||
| Producer | Max Norman and Dave Mustaine | ||||
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Youthanasia is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994. A remixed and remastered version, featuring several bonus tracks, was released in 2004.
The title is a pun on euthanasia, implying that society is euthanizing its youth, which would be consistent with bandleader and principal songwriter Dave Mustaine's views.
Youthanasia continued the band's trend toward slower, more melodic songs which began with Megadeth's commercial breakthrough album, Countdown to Extinction. The tempo was slower than some older fans could tolerate, and contributed to a division amongst Megadeth fans (this was due to producer Max Norman demanding each song would be played at the same tempo; Dave Mustaine has stated that certain songs would've ended up slower or faster than their original BPS tempo was set at).
Lyrically, the album displays a variety of influences: mythology ("Elysian Fields" and "Blood of Heroes"), rape and incest ("Family Tree"), nuclear war ("Black Curtains"), gambling ("Train of Consequences"), and a hit that is about the last moments in life, "À Tout le Monde".
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[edit] Conception
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Megadeth's previous album, Countdown to Extinction, was tremendously successful and the band was faced with the daunting task of making an album to follow it. It was a time of problems and conflicts for Megadeth, in that every two weeks or so according to Mustaine, there were "outrageous emotional interventions" in order to make the group a democracy. Many band meetings during this period concerned Mustaine's creative control over a "successful formula", so that the band could better exercise their creativity.
Another problem was the indecision on where the recording would take place. Mustaine did not want to record in Los Angeles, so the band eventually decided to record in Phoenix in the home state of the majority of the band, Arizona. They began recording in Phase Four Studios (the studio in which the 2004 remaster was remixed), but due to problems they left and decided to find another studio. There were no likely choices in Phoenix, so producer Max Norman suggested building a studio of their own. The construction process was recorded on Evolver - The Making of Youthanasia. As of 2007, this is the only Megadeth album recorded in E-flat guitar tuning (guitar strings tuned down half a step). All previous, and albums followed are in standard tuning, (excluding Killing Is My Business and Peace Sells)and live performances of the songs in the album are also played in standard tuning.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Dave Mustaine, except where noted.
- "Reckoning Day" (Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson) – 4:34
- "Train of Consequences" – 3:26
- "Addicted to Chaos" – 5:26
- "À Tout le Monde" – 4:28
- "Elysian Fields" (Mustaine, Ellefson) – 4:03
- "The Killing Road" – 3:57
- "Blood of Heroes" – 3:57
- "Family Tree" (Mustaine, Ellefson, Nick Menza) – 4:07
- "Youthanasia" – 4:09
- "I Thought I Knew It All" (Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Menza) – 3:44
- "Black Curtains" (Mustaine, Friedman) – 3:39
- "Victory" (Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Menza) – 4:27
[edit] 2004 Remaster Bonus Tracks
- "Millennium of the Blind" (previously unreleased) (Mustaine, Friedman) – 2:15
- "New World Order" (demo) – 3:45
- "Absolution" (instrumental) (Mustaine, Friedman) – 3:27
- "À Tout le Monde" (demo) – 6:20
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- When originally released, the CD contained a sticker directing the purchaser to an Internet site for Megadeth. This is believed to be one of (if not the) first mention of an Internet site on a band's album, having been released in 1994, before most of the general public had ever heard of The Net.
- Megadeth appeared and performed on MTV for a Halloween special called Night of the Living Megadeth on October 31, 1994, counting down to the album's release date. The band played several tracks from the album, and introduced the first music video from the album, "Train of Consequences."
- The bonus track "Absolution" is an early recording that would later be the chorus in the song, "Trust", which later appeared on Cryptic Writings.
- Andorran Progressive Metal band, Persefone covered the song Train of Consequences on their album, Core.
- The riff from this song "Victory" at 2:21 also appears on the song "The Prince" By Diamond Head at 3:07. This could be a tribute to Diamond Head as Dave Mustaine is a big fan of them.
[edit] Charts
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
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| 1994 | The Billboard 200 | 4 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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| 1994 | "Train of Consequences" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 29 |
| 1994 | "Train of Consequences" | UK Singles Chart | 22 |
| 1995 | "À Tout le Monde" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 31 |
[edit] References
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