Megadeth/France 1992

This is the best live album that captures the peak of the peak period. The peak period is, of course, “COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION TOUR 1992-1993”. It was the era when they reached No. 2 on the US charts and “Catch up with METALLICA and overtake them!” reached its climax. This is the best audience recording of that act, “September 20, 1992 Mulhouse Performance (France)”. This tour was the shining peak of MEGADETH’s career, but at the same time, it was a disappointing time when they stumbled along the way. First of all, let’s check the position of the show from that journey. [1992] May 22nd – July 14th: Warm-up (4 shows) {“COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION” released on July 14th} September 12th – October 27th: Europe #1 (34 shows) ←★Here★ October 31st – December 31st: North America #1a (36 shows) [1993] January 3rd – February 12th: North America #1b (19 shows) – Activities suspended – April 30th – May 10th: Japan (7 shows: cancelled!) – Activities resumed – June 3rd – 22nd: Europe #2 (7 shows) June 26th – July 19th: North America #2 (12 shows) This is an overview of the tour related to the masterpiece “COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION”. They set out to conquer the world with this rare masterpiece, but in 1993, Dave Mustaine’s drug problem recurred and the band was put on hold. The Nippon Budokan live performance also disappeared into obscurity. If they had gone all over the world on a large-scale tour, they might have been able to catch up with METALLICA, but they were just a little short of achieving this. And the Mulhouse performance in this work is the sixth performance of “Europe #1” at the beginning. Since it is only the beginning, there are still no drug problems, and this live album has plenty of momentum to “catch up and overtake!”. This work captures such a delicious moment, and the sound is superb. Although the enthusiasm of the venue is a real audience recording, the direct feeling is intense. If you listen with headphones, the guitar and vocals are thrust in front of you while the venue sound is absorbed slightly. In particular, the drums are almost explosive! Of course, it’s a beautiful sound that is not explosive or roaring (at all!), and has no noise (at all!), but the attack sound is so realistic that you can even feel the impact of the skin shaking with a bang. While entangled with each hit, Mustaine’s merciless riff cuts the air, and Marty Friedman, who is full of exoticism, dances wildly. It’s a bullet sound that would not be strange if it was distributed as a sound board at the time. The show depicted with that sound is the apex MEGADETH that Japan could not experience. Speaking of the apex record of this tour, the Hammersmith performance pro shot, some of which was also made official, is famous, but that is an excerpt version that follows the broadcast frame. In contrast, this work is a full recording of an audience with no restrictions, and also includes “Go To Hell” and “Mechanix” that could not be heard at the Hammersmith performance, and the breathing between songs is also real. You can fully experience the full show. More than that, it’s the performance itself that is crisp and crisp. “COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION” boasted an unparalleled sense of tightness even in the vast world of thrash, but MEGADETH in this work shows off their band potential to the fullest. Since it was the beginning of the tour, there was no fatigue, and since it was the 10th performance including the warm-up, the unamble was perfect. It was much faster than the studio take, and it ran, ran, ran with a tightness that was squeezed to the limit! It ran!!! Although it is a period where it is difficult to call it pure “thrash metal”, this sharpness is the highest peak in MEGADETH history… no, in metal history. It is a super sharp show that is no longer in a category of genre. The familiar super masterpieces explode with fierce and tight versions that you have never heard before. The momentum of a big hit, the intense concentration of METALLICA saying “Just a little more!” If the performance of this work is like a race, it is a performance that competes with rivals just before the finish line. It’s a live album like an athlete who squeezes out everything beyond his original ability. This is a full show of such a peak MEGADETH with the best sound. MEGADETH at the peak was amazing up to this point. Evidence that proves it with sound. Live at Le Phoenix, Mulhouse, France 20th September 1992 TRULY AMAZING/PERFECT SOUND Disc 1(45:02) 1. Intro 2. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due 3. Skin O My Teeth 4. Hangar 18 5. Lucretia 6. Go To Hell 7. Sweating Bullets 8. In My Darkest Hour 9. Tornado Of Souls Disc 2(41:04) 1. Foreclosure Of A Dream 2. Countdown To Extinction 3. Guitar Solo 4. The Mechanics 5. Ashes In Your Mouth 6. Symphony Of Destruction 7. Peace Sells… / Wake Up Dead / Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying 8. Anarchy In The UK Dave Mustaine – Guitar & Vocals David Ellefson – Bass & Vocal Marty Friedman – Guitar & Vocals Nick Menza – Drums