Countdown to Extinction is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on July 14, 1992, through Capitol Records. It was the group's second studio release to feature the "classic" lineup of Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson and Nick Menza, with all of them contributing to songwriting on the album. The album features some of the band's best known songs such as "Symphony of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets", and "Skin o' My Teeth", which enjoyed significant chart success and made a great musical impact.
Countdown to Extinction received positive reviews from music critics, who noted its politically oriented lyrics and simplified sound in comparison to their previous record. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 2, making it the band's highest charting album up until the release of their final studio album, Megadeth. It eventually achieved double platinum status and became their most commercially successful album. The record was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards, while the album's title track won the Humane Society's Genesis Award for raising awareness for animal rights issues.
In 2012, in recognition of the album's 20th anniversary, Megadeth kicked off a 20th anniversary tour in South America, playing the album in its entirety. In addition, a 20th anniversary special edition of the album was released in November 2012, and a live album featuring a performance of the full album was released in September 2013.
Production and musical style
Countdown to Extinction is Megadeth's fifth studio album, and the second to feature the line-up of Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson and Nick Menza. He added that it was a "major accomplishment" that all four members of Megadeth contributed material to the album, unlike their earlier releases which were "nearly all Mustaine". Mustaine also revealed that producer Max Norman had significant input to the album by making "a lot of suggestions and a lot of great artistic ideas". However, Norman later accused Mustaine of attempting to steal some credit from him. Guitarist Marty Friedman said that unlike Rust in Peace, the creation of this record was "completely different". He further stated that the band had changed the songs "a million times" before recording them on demo and entering the studio.
The music for Countdown to Extinction was written in two different sessions. The first session was done following the conclusion of Clash of the Titans tour, while the second session took place after a one-month break, in the fall of 1991. During pre-production rehearsals, Menza and Norman worked meticulously to program and map out the songs' tempos as a click track on computer that the former could record drums to, in order to achieve feel as well as precision. The album was recorded in the first half of 1992, when the Rodney King Riots took place. These events negatively affected the recording process, as the band was forced to leave the studio every night at six o'clock because of the enacted curfew. Dave Mustaine shared his experience: "There’s nothing worse than getting a creative moment and you have to leave. It was like a school bell ringing." The record was produced by Mustaine and Max Norman at The Enterprise in Burbank, California, while the mixing was handed by Norman with the help of Fred Kelly. He also said that it didn't take the band a long time to record the album because "records were a lot easier to make back then because the pressure wasn't quite as hard".
Countdown to Extinction received generally positive reaction from critics. Spin wrote that the album "may just be the finest thrash metal album ever made, although purists may find it a bit too polished and easy to swallow". AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey said that "Megadeth guns for arena thrash success and gets it on Countdown to Extinction". However, Huey noted the simplification of Megadeth's sound on the album in response to Metallica's commercially successful self-titled album released the previous year. By contrast, Holger Stratmann of Rock Hard concluded that the disc is "a compact album with a few strokes of genius".
Sales and impact
Countdown to Extinction was released on July 14, 1992, through Capitol Records and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 128,000 copies. It was prevented from entering the chart at number one because of Billy Ray Cyrus' long chart-topping reign with Some Gave All. The album was acknowledged as the band's commercial breakthrough, and according to authors Pete Prown and Harvey P. Newquist, Megadeth "reached the heights of popularity and critical acclaim" with this particular record. Two years after its original release, Countdown to Extinction was certified double platinum and became the band's most commercially successful album, confirming that they had retained their audience in the wake of grunge. The record was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards, while the album's title track won the Humane Society's Genesis Award for raising awareness for animal rights issues.]]
The record enjoyed similar chart success outside of the United States. It managed to peak within the top 5 on the charts in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and charted for eight weeks on both of them. It also entered the top 10 on the Japanese and Norwegian albums chart, while it charted slightly lower in several other countries as well. and received a silver award from the British Phonographic Industry for having a shipment of 300,000 copies. The album was also eventually certified Gold in Japan and sold 100,000 copies.
Asked how does he think that the album has aged, Dave Mustaine responded: "I think it's timely and timeless at the same time, and I think that's one of the most difficult things for a musician to do. Very few records in our genre are like that. Musically it's heavy and the lyrics are very symbolic." They headlined the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on June 27 the same year, and continued with dates in Europe during the summer. and continued the following two months with shows in North America. During this tour, three songs from the record ("Architecture of Aggression", "Psychotron" and "Captive Honour") had their live premiere, David Ellefson shared his impressions from playing the set live with newer members Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick by saying that they "executed [the songs] to 100% perfection".
Reissues
In July 2004, Capitol Records released a remixed and remastered version of the album with four bonus tracks. The remixed edition was a part of the band's reissued catalog during their tenure at Capitol. Dave Mustaine himself was in charge during the remixing process. In June 2006, two audiophile remasters of the album were released; an Ultradisc II Gold CD version by the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, and a 180-gram vinyl 2LP version, both mixed by Mustaine. A 20th anniversary edition was released on November 6, 2012. This release features the original album on disc one, omitting the bonus tracks from the 2004 re-release. Disc two features a recording of the band's performance at San Francisco's Cow Palace in 1992, a show never before released in its entirety. Additionally, a 24 × 36-inch poster and four collectible postcards are included in the package. The liner notes have also been written by music journalist Kory Grow, and the reissue includes a poster and four postcards featuring head shots of each member from the album's lineup.
Track listing
All lyrics and music written by Dave Mustaine except where noted.
| title12 = Breakpoint
| lyrics12 = Mustaine, Ellefson, Menza
| music12 = Mustaine, Ellefson, Menza
| length12 = 3:28
| title13 = Go to Hell
| note13 = originally from the soundtrack to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
| lyrics13 = Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Friedman, Menza
| music13 = Mustaine, Ellefson, Friedman, Menza
| length13 = 4:37
| total_length = 55:31
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
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