Kings Of Thrash - Best Of The West…Live At The Whisky A Go Go (2023)
After his second expulsion from Megadeth, bassist and part-time internet exhibitionist David Ellefson teamed up with former Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young, drummer Fred Aching, and vocalist and guitarist Chaz Leon to pay tribute to Megadeth’s early years with a short tour focused on the band’s first three albums. For this recording former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland also accompanied the band for a few songs.
- Last Rites - A more epic rendition of the debut album’s opener, with some synth chorals and strings along with the piano and bass. Well done, 7/10.
- Rattlehead - Musically this is a strong version of the song played well, with a couple of minor flubs. Chaz Leon’s vocals are uneven, often sounding tired or hitting the notes a bit flat. I appreciate the difficulty of trying to sing while playing these complex riffs, but he’s just not quite getting there. On balance let’s say 6/10.
- The Skull Beneath The Skin - After a somewhat more drawn out intro that slowly accelerates the tempo, this settles into another generally well-executed version of the song musically, though there are places where the rhythm guitars are a bit out of sync. Leon sounds remarkably like Mustaine at times, and he doesn’t sound as tired and flat here as he did on the previous song. Probably still a 6/10, though.
- Good Mourning / Devil’s Island - “Good Mourning” sounds haunting and great here, and dropping into “Devil’s Island” instead of “Black Friday” works fine. Musically this is performed really well, and Leon sounds much better on this track, especially toward the beginning where he pretty much nails it. This is borderline, but I think enough of this is great that I can round it up to an 8/10.
- Wake Up Dead - A mostly great rendition of the song, with Leon sounding quite good aside from a flub in the second vocal section. Another one I can comfortably round up to an 8/10.
- 502 - The opening is slightly sloppy, but the rest of the music is played really well here, and the ending is extended into a miniature drum solo. Leon sounds a little tired and flat again, but this probably does enough to just barely cling onto a 7/10.
- In My Darkest Hour - Another well-executed song musically, and Leon generally sounds pretty good on it, though he gets a little screamy and has a few stumbles. Still a 7/10 overall.
- Orange Light - Helicopter sounds and “Reveille” give way to some synths and air raid sirens. Nothing special, 6/10.
- Into The Lungs Of Hell - A mostly great rendition of a great instrumental, with only a couple of minor flubs. 8/10.
- Set The World Afire - Another strong performance musically, and Leon is a bit uneven but generally sounds pretty good here. Let’s say 7/10.
- Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good! - The music is played well, but the vocals are really uneven on this one, and Leon and Ellefson are often out of tune with each other on the harmonized vocals. I think this still manages to cling onto a 6/10, but it’s close.
- Chosen Ones - Another one that generally works well musically, but Leon sounds tired and is missing a lot of notes. The soloing around the 3/4 mark is also disappointingly simplified, dropping a number of notes. Another one that just barely hangs onto a 6/10.
- Liar - Well executed musically, and Leon mostly acquits himself well here, though he kind of shouts his way through the chorus. He does manage to pull off the single-breath long-winded rant successfully, though. Good stuff, 7/10.
- Hook In Mouth - Another one that’s strong musically, but Leon’s vocals are uneven, sometimes sounding tired and missing notes and words. 6/10.
- Mechanix - A strong rendition of the song with only a few flubs musically and vocally. Good stuff, 7/10.
- These Boots - A jazzy jam with some great soloing eventually works its way into the main song, which is performed well musically. Leon once again is a bit uneven, and I’m guessing he’s performing the original Nancy Sinatra lyrics, because he’s definitely not singing Mustaine’s altered version from the original album. There’s another extended jam in the middle where Leon introduces the band members, and yet another one in the outro that plays a bit of the Allman Brothers’ “Jessica”. Another good one overall, 7/10.
- Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? - Strong music and Leon sounds pretty good, though he throws the choruses to the audience until the final round. Still, this one comes across with most of its original power, so I feel comfortable giving it an 8/10.
Average: 6.9/10
Weighted: 7.0/10
This is a mostly successful presentation of classic Megadeth material, dragged down a bit by an uneven vocal performance. Still, everything here stays in the OK-to-great range and leaves a good impression overall, and it’s great to hear some of these rarely-performed songs delivered live again.
When I saw the Kings Of Thrash on their broader U.S. tour, they played the Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good! and So Far, So Good…So What! albums in their entirety and dropped most of the Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? material. Due to that I think the only really glaring omission in this live album’s set is “Looking Down The Cross”, which is a great song that came across really well live. That said, the extra Peace Sells tracks are nice to have here, especially with Chris Poland also playing on them.
Not an essential record by any means, but still a good one, and a nice document of an enjoyable tour.
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