My favorite pure metal album ever.
Saw them open for Heaven And Hell in '07, and they played a lot off this album. Great set.
The best song is either Holy Wars or Tornado of Souls, depending on which way the wind is blowing at the time. If forced to pick, I’d go with Holy Wars because it is VERY difficult to find an album that starts with a better riff which in turn is part of a great song. Off the top of my head only 2 come close: Pantera’s Cowboy’s from Hell and GnR’s Welcome to the Jungle.
The only songs I’d rank as not amazing (but still quite good) are Hangar 18 and Dawn Patrol. I think my problem with Hangar 18 is that it’s pretty much there to give Dave and Marty a bunch of solos. I love their solos, but wish they were contained in a better overall song.
I wish Mustaine could have found a way to keep that lineup together. I know Marty gets a ton of well deserved praise, but to me the drumming on that album is very distinctive.
I remember just after high school, I had a pretty decent sound system in my car. One time my dad had to move my car for some reason, and my stereo was always at a decent volume and Rust in Piece was on at the time. My dad told me later, “that CD you have in sounds really really good.” He didn’t mean the music of course, but he was right, that CD is mixed beautifully.
Ok, one more point before I end my babbling…In the re-released version Take No Prisoners sounds like ass. I read somewhere that they couldn’t find the original vocal track, so Dave redid it. Bad move. He should have just left that track alone.
I went with Tornado - love how the intro collapses into the riff…