Dystopia | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Megadeth | ||||
Released | January 22, 2016 | |||
Recorded | April–July 2015 | |||
Studio | Lattitude Studio South, Leiper's Fork, Tennessee | |||
Genre | Thrash metal | |||
Length | 46:51 | |||
Label | Tradecraft/Universal | |||
Producer | Dave Mustaine, Chris Rakestraw | |||
Megadeth chronology | ||||
|
||||
Singles from Dystopia | ||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.0/10 |
Metacritic | 69/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
The A.V. Club | D |
Blabbermouth.net | 8.5/10 |
Consequence of Sound | C+ |
Exclaim! | 6/10 |
The Guardian | |
Metal Hammer | 9/10 |
Now | |
Rolling Stone | |
Slant Magazine |
Dystopia is the fifteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released on frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft label via Universal on January 22, 2016. The album was produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw and features cover artwork by Brent Elliot White.
Prior to Dystopia's recording, longtime drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick announced their departure from the band. It is the first album by the band since 2004's The System Has Failed not to feature the former, and the first not to feature the latter since 2007's United Abominations. These roles have been filled by Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro, respectively.
Following the lukewarm response to the band's previous album, 2013's Super Collider, Dystopia received largely favorable reaction from critics, being considered a return to form for the band. The album holds a Metacritic score of 69/100 as of August 2016. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, making Dystopia the band's second highest charting album in the U.S. after Countdown to Extinction, which peaked at number two in 1992. Additionally, the title track earned the band its first Grammy win (for Best Metal Performance) at the 59th Grammy Awards after eleven unsuccessful nominations.
In June 2013, Megadeth released its fourteenth studio album, Super Collider, to mixed critical reaction. In the months following the album's release, frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine revealed that he and the rest of the band had already begun to discuss a follow-up, an urgency somewhat influenced by the then-recent death of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, which had reportedly given Mustaine a sense of mortality.