On drums, after Dystopia was released, Dirk Verbeuren joined Megadeth and Dirk is an extreme metal drummer. I just reviewed his latest project – Kill Division – Peace Through Tyranny on here and if you want monstrous grindcore get that album now. I read something last year about Dirk wanting to do some blast beats on the new Megadeth album and Mustaine mulling it over and then eventually saying he did allow Dirk a little blasting. Since the release of the album Megadeth have welcomed back previous bassist, James LoMenzo to the fold. Kiko Loureiro returns and his guitar shredding, alongside Dave, is great.

All the Megadeth signature sounds and beats are here and on full display, but more so. Dirk’s extensive underground metal drumming has definitely made this 16th album the fastest Megadeth album since their debut 1985 album Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! and this is their best album since their finest release, from 1990, Rust in Peace.

This is 12 songs in 55 minutes and then there are various special editions of this album with extra songs, which I will get to later on. This album opens with the title track, which has a Countdown to Extinction vibe, sound wise. The song is actually one of the mellower songs on the album. Expecting Megadeth to jump out the gates with a speedy number, this song remains pretty much mid-pace and is melodic and catchy…but then the band rips into the speedier and thrashy moments, which are terrific. The end part of the song, with Dirk throwing in the monster double bass over the fast part,——-when was the last time Megadeth sounded that vicious—JFC!!! “Life in Hell” is up next and is pure thrash metal. Megadeth truly sounding their fastest since their debut album, even faster. Dave’s menacing vocal snarl is devilish. Excellent drum rolls and guitar solos and killer snare solo early on in the song.

“Night Stalkers” is up next and is the longest song at over six and a half minutes. DiGiorgio’s monster fretless bass guitar sound boosts this speedy song in the rhythm section. This song is fast!! Guest vocals from Ice-T give this track attitude. The guitar solos over the 3.50 section are killer as the song is in the fast zone and the atmospheric slow down a minute later allows us to catch our breath until the monstrous isolated bass guitar comes in, then the rest of the instruments, as the song gets back into the thrash metal. Seriously, this must be in their live set. This song is so killer.

“Dogs of Chernobyl” could have been on Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? Another monster song. “Soldier On!” is the first song to feature blast beats-something new on a Megadeth album. The first noticeable part on this song is it has a Meshuggah vibe. Poly-rhythms with the jumpiness and almost djent quality to this song makes this groovy song one of the best and more complicated Megadeth songs in some time. The first blast beat happens when the chorus starts at the 46-second mark and Dirk throws in a little ditty of a blast at the 1.05 section and it rules. This section repeats multiple times, with the blast beat, and this truly is a milestone for the band. It’s things like this that get me hyped.

“We’ll Be Back” ends the regular edition of the album and it’s a heavy thrashing song. One of the very best and catchiest Megadeth songs in decades and this is the second song with blast beats. Solos are all over the place on this song and the fast guitar riffing is razor sharp and shows Dave Mustaine has no intention of slowing down. For chrissakes, he’s released the fastest Megadeth album in over 3 freaking decades. The vocals and rhythms on this track are insane and Dirk’s drumming just destroys. As the song is winding down, with the groove at the end with only a few seconds left, Dirk slides in a quick little ditty of a blast and then the song ends. Vicious.

The other songs are great with many speed metal and thrashy moments with exceptional songwriting. There are a total of three bonus songs depending on which bonus edition you picked up. The Target bonus edition has an error as it lists one of the bonus live songs as “Dystopia”, when it’s actually “The Conjuring”. Sound quality is great and then there is “This Planet’s On Fire (Burn in Hell)” (Sammy Hagar cover) which actually has Sammy doing vocals on this. It’s a super fun song and keeps to the original, just heavier, of course. “Police Truck” (Dead Kennedys cover) is a great song for Megadeth to cover. Classic song and hearing Dave get all venomous with cursing is funny.

The production on The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! is great. Crisp, heavy and all the instruments sound freaking insane. The bass guitar is thumping and the drum sound is pummeling. Those are the standouts, for me. Songwriting is super strong and catchy. With no disrespect to past Megadeth drummers, Dirk, is the finest drummer to be featured on a Megadeth album. His addition and Dave not resting on his laurels have helped create the most extreme Megadeth album in ages. If you liked Dystopia and enjoyed more of the speed metal moments, that record had to offer, then you will love this, as The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! offers up more speed and more thrash. The Target cd edition also features an expanded booklet and lenticular 3D album cover insert. Megadeth is back baby and this album is terrific. An easy top 10 for me for 2022.

I admit the move left me puzzled. It’s a tried and true recipe for failure. Usually a failing band slaps the title of its most popular work on its latest album and puts a “2” behind it to draw some interest from fans who have wandered away. It’s never a good idea because it creates a certain expectation that the new record can never match. In fact, most of them suck.

Of course, there are a few differences between most bands and Alice Cooper. First and foremost, Alice Cooper has never really faltered. Sure, he’s had a few off records, but for the most part, he’s never completely disappointed. That doesn’t change here. Secondly, he’s Alice fucking Cooper. He can do whatever the hell he wants … and make it work. Or, in the case of Welcome 2 My Nightmare, turn it into a moment of mad genius.

You often hear bands describe their latest effort as “(insert most popular record here) updated for the 21st century,” or something to that effect. In the case of Welcome 2 My Nightmare, that statement is actually pretty accurate. It’s been more than 35 years since the original Welcome to My Nightmare hit the scene, and this record is truly like a modern version of that one. The music here is all over the map. There are dark, classical-tinged Halloween-style numbers, there are all-out garage rockers, there are poppy ballads, there’s a Vaudeville piece, a surf-rock song, there are even a couple of country songs and a rap song – all, of course, with Alice’s signature sense of black humor stamped across them. It’s what every good Alice Cooper record should be – a three-ring circus with Alice as the evil, yet likeable ringmaster.

For an album promised to be a worse nightmare than the original, things start strangely. After a horror movie-worthy piano piece, opener “I Am Made of You” is actually kind of a heartfelt ballad with some poppy vocal effects here and there. It’s like the sweet part of the dream before things go horribly wrong. Things start to go a little darker with the high-energy rocker “Caffeine,” one of the more memorable tracks, as our main character fights sleep, and it overcomes him on track 3, “The Nightmare Returns.” A wicked nursery rhyme melody gives way to a darker classical piano and some Savatage or Trans-Siberian Orchestra-like flourishes. It’s brief but powerful.

Like most of his works since the 1980s, there’s also a large list of guest stars. Some you’d expect – Alice’s disciple Rob Zombie, Zombie’s guitarist John 5, and former Cooper bass player Kip Winger. Others are a little surprising, particularly pop singer Ke$ha and country singer Vince Gill.

Gill makes his first appearance on the fourth track, “A Runaway Train,” another of the album’s best moments. It’s a driving country-tinged trip on the rails to hell, and the country star gives a chicken-pickin’ shred lesson on the guitar solos. He appears again toward the end of the record on “I Gotta Get Outta Here,” a great track that blends country with some Tom Petty-like sounds. It makes call backs to all of the previous songs on the record and gives Gill a chance for a more soulful, sincere solo – well, as sincere as anything on this manic masterpiece gets.

Some of the brightest moments come on the offbeat numbers. The Vaudevillian thumper “Last Man on Earth” is absolutely one of the best songs on the record despite having no real rock elements at all. You can almost visualize Alice in his top hat and ragged tails addressing a crowd of rubes from the back of a wagon as he delivers the tune.

Other forays into stranger musical stylings have mixed results. “Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever” shouldn’t work at all. It is, as the title suggest, a disco tune that features Alice rapping. It ends up being a lot of fun though, in a Weird Al‘s evil twin sort of way. The surf rocker “Ghouls Gone Wild” is the album’s weak spot, getting kind of annoying after a few listens, though I admit it could just be my dislike of surf rock. Somewhere in between is the synth-pop “What Baby Wants,” featuring Ke$ha. I disliked it the first few times through, but it’s grown on me. If not for the slasher movie imagery in the lyrics, it wouldn’t be out of place on some cheesy 1980s soundtrack. It’s not even close to being one of the better tracks, but I like it more every time I hear it.

Of course, there is more typical Alice Cooper fare to be found here. The lead single “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” is an old-school rock ‘n’ roll number with a big, memorable hook that’s a lot of fun. “Something to Remember Me By” is the record’s answer to “Only Women Bleed.” It’s not bad, but not likely to become the classic the song from the first record is. Then there’s the flashy showman number, “The Congregation,” where we’re introduced to the hierarchy of hell. It’s a great song with a mix of darkness and humor.

The only truly disturbing moment on the record is the story of a real-life monster, “When Hell Comes Home.” It’s an alternately heavy and creepy piece that focuses on an abusive father from the viewpoint of his child. It’s particularly chilling when you realize it’s something that happens everyday in the real world.

There is, appropriately, a little history on Welcome 2 My Nightmare. Three of the 13 tracks on the album – “A Runaway Train,” “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” and “When Hell Comes Home” – feature guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith, members of the original Alice Cooper band. Their appearance is somewhat ironic since Welcome to My Nightmare was considered Alice’s first “solo” record without those former members of his band. Themes from the original album also run through this one, most notably the intro to “Welcome to My Nightmare” echoed in the intro to “The Congregation,” and the instrumental album closer “The Underture,” which blends themes from both records together.

More than anything, what makes Welcome 2 My Nightmare so great, though, is that it’s obvious to the listener that Alice is having a blast on the record – and his long-time fans are all in on the joke. If you’re looking for a full-on heavy rock album along the lines of Brutal Planet or Along Came a Spider, you’ll be disappointed. But fans of Cooper’s classic 1970s work should be thrilled and excited by the return of the twisted ringmaster who commands the ability to take such disparate elements and blend them into a cohesive, rocking unit. Welcome 2 My Nightmare is an amazing record and the rare sequel that’s absolutely worthy of the name on the cover, which just goes to show that no matter how bad most sequels are, every now and then, you get an “Empire Strikes Back.”

Now keep that image in your head as you consider the title of their newest album: Liebe Ist Für Alle Da. Translation: There is Love For All. It’s yet another ironic wink from a band that’s always put schmaltzy, melodramatic album titles like Heartache (Herzeleid), Longing (Sehnsucht) and Mother (Mutter) to their monstrous, Teutonic brand of industrial stomp. So clearly, they’ve not lost their perverse sense of humor.

Case in point, first single “Pussy.” It’s about exactly what you think it’s about, and it’s as simple and stupidly catchy as breakout single “Du Hast” (“You Hate”) from Sehnsucht. Not the best track on the album, but when Lindemann barks “You have a pussy, I have a dick-ah, so what’s the problem, let’s do it quick-ah,” I couldn’t help but chuckle. (Sorry, I’m easily entertained). Yeah, it’s kind of a retread of “Yo Quiero Puta” from Rosenrot (and minus the sassy mariachi horns or crazy cackling senora) but it’s a better, poppier song overall, and it should introduce Rammstein to a whole new generation of fans.

The rest of the album isn’t as silly – this band proved long ago that they’ve got more tricks up their muscled sleeves than just a few punchlines. Herzeleid was surprisingly thrashy, Sehnsucht darker and more menacing, and Mutter brought in sweeping symphonic grandeur. So what does Liebe Ist Für Alle Da bring to their discography? The short answer: nothing really new.

Sure, it sounds like Rammstein – bombastic, militant and all with a terrific, bludgeoning production. And there are some great tracks on here, like the blitzkrieg assault of “Waidmanns Heil” or the mysterious, rousing “Ich Tu Dir Wen” (“I Do Pain To You”), one of the best songs they’ve done in years. The title track also features a faster pace and a stuttering machine-gun riff that will go over really well in a live setting.

But then there are tracks that should have made a bigger impact, like opener “Rammlied” (“Ramming Song”). All the Rammstein elements are there, but the synthesized orchestration lacks the warmth, the grandeur and the tragedy of “Mein Herz Brennt” off of Mutter. Same goes for “Haifisch” (“Shark”), with a pounding, ratatat drum beat that suggests a sly 1930s gangster stomp. However, its tootled keyboard flourish would’ve been more convincing if it were a trio of trumpets or something you’d expect to hear in a smoky speakeasy. The song just winds up feeling goofy instead of jaunty and menacing. Other tracks, like “Wiener Blut” (it doesn’t mean what you think) or the coyly named “B******” bring the hammer but forget the hooks.

There are a few gentle ballads – wistful album closer “Roter Sand” (“Red Sand”) combines moody acoustic guitar with a wandering Clint Eastwood whistle, and “Frühling in Paris” (“Spring in Paris”) borders on lullaby until its final soaring minutes. However, neither is as striking or moving as “Stirb Nicht vor Mir” off Rosenrot, which basically sounded like Rammstein covering Kent. That song, for me, is still one of Rammstein‘s finest and most surprising moments, and nothing here ever came close.

So ultimately, what we’re left with is another very solid Rammstein offering, which I would say is better than the disappointing Reise, Reise and its interesting, though uneven follow-up Rosenrot, but it’s not as memorable as the best moments off any of the first three albums. The classic Rammstein muscle, menace and theatricality is here, but some underwhelming synth choices and a lack of big melodies in enough of the tracks fail to make Liebe Ist Für Alle Da the big return I was hoping for.