In Brief

Compared with 1994’s bracing, incisive “Youthanasia,” Megadeth’s latest is disappointingly uneven. The group strikes a rousing balance between thrash factor and song craft with “FFF” and “The Disintegrators,” and pop experiments such as “I’ll Get Even” are oddly compelling (think Monkees on steroids). But as sharp as the execution is, most of the album is made up of moody, meandering songs that are less cryptic than vague.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).

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