Youthanasia

Youthanasia
Cover to the standard edition of the album (both original and remastered versions)
Studio album by Megadeth
Released	November 1, 1994
Recorded	1994
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock
Length	50:02 65:47 (Remaster)
Label	Capitol
Producer	Max Norman, Dave Mustaine
Megadeth chronology
Countdown to Extinction (1992) Youthanasia (1994) Cryptic Writings (1997) Singles from Youthanasia "Train of Consequences" Released: 1994 "A Tout le Monde" Released: 1995
Limited Edition cover

Youthanasia is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994 through Capitol Records. A remixed and remastered version, featuring several bonus tracks, was released in 2004.

It saw Megadeth continuing a trend toward slower, more melodic hard rock-styled songs which began with their commercial breakthrough album, Countdown to Extinction. Lyrically, the album displays a variety of influences: mythology ("Elysian Fields" and "Blood of Heroes"), rape and incest ("Family Tree"), nuclear war ("Black Curtains"), gambling ("Train of Consequences", which can also be seen on the video), and a hit about the last moments in life, "A Tout le Monde". The title is a pun on euthanasia, implying that society is euthanizing its youth, which would be consistent with bandleader and principal songwriter Dave Mustaine's views. The closing track, "Victory", refers to many of the band's previous songs throughout its lyrics.

Conception

Megadeth's previous album, Countdown to Extinction, was tremendously successful and the band was faced with the daunting task of making an album to follow it. It was a time of problems and conflicts for Megadeth, in that every two weeks or so according to Mustaine, there were "outrageous emotional interventions" in order to make the group a democracy. Many band meetings during this period concerned Mustaine's creative control over a "successful formula", so that the band could better exercise their creativity.

Another problem was the indecision on where the recording would take place. Mustaine did not want to record in Los Angeles, so the band eventually decided to record in Phoenix in the home state of the majority of the band, Arizona. They began recording in Phase Four Studios (the studio in which the 2004 remaster was remixed) in March 1994, but due to problems they left and decided to find another studio. There were no likely choices in Phoenix, so producer Max Norman suggested building a studio of their own. The construction process was recorded on Evolver - The Making of Youthanasia. As of 2011, this is the only Megadeth album recorded in E-flat guitar tuning (guitar strings tuned down half a step). All preceding and subsequent albums are in standard tuning, with the exceptions of a few songs on other albums. Live performances of the songs from the album are also played in standard tuning, except for "Train of Consequences".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Allmusic	(2004 Remaster)
Rolling Stone	(favorable) link
Blender
Sputnik Music	link
MetalStorm	link
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

In November 2011, Youthanasia was ranked number seven on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1994.^[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Reckoning Day"	Dave Mustaine, Dave Ellefson	Mustaine, Marty Friedman	4:34
2.	"Train of Consequences"	Mustaine	Mustaine	3:31
3.	"Addicted to Chaos"	Mustaine	Mustaine	5:26
4.	"A Tout le Monde"	Mustaine	Mustaine	4:28
5.	"Elysian Fields"	Mustaine, Ellefson	Mustaine	4:03
6.	"The Killing Road"	Mustaine	Mustaine	3:57
7.	"Blood of Heroes"	Mustaine	Mustaine	3:57
8.	"Family Tree"	Mustaine	Mustaine, Ellefson, Nick Menza	4:07
9.	"Youthanasia"	Mustaine	Mustaine	4:09
10.	"I Thought I Knew It All"	Mustaine	Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Menza	3:44
11.	"Black Curtains"	Mustaine	Mustaine, Friedman	3:39
12.	"Victory"	Mustaine	Mustaine	4:27
Total length:				50:02

2004 Remaster bonus tracks

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
13.	"Millennium of the Blind"	Mustaine	Mustaine, Friedman	2:15
14.	"New World Order" (demo)	Mustaine, Menza	Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson	3:45
15.	"Absolution"	(instrumental)	Mustaine, Friedman	3:27
16.	"À Tout le Monde" (demo)	Mustaine	Mustaine	6:20

Personnel

Megadeth Dave Mustaine – vocals, guitar Marty Friedman – guitar Dave Ellefson – bass Nick Menza – drums Additional musician Jimmie Wood – harmonica on "Train of Consequences" and "Elysian Fields"

Production Produced and mixed by Max Norman and Dave Mustaine Assistant engineer – Mike Tacci 2nd assistant engineer and drum technician – Bruce Jacoby Guitar technician – Michael Kaye Mastered by Bob Ludwig

2004 Remix and Remaster Produced by Dave Mustaine Mixed by Ralph Patlan and Dave Mustaine Engineered by Ralph Patlan with Lance Dean Edited by Lance Dean and Scott "Sarge" Harrison with Bo Caldwell Mastered by Tom Baker

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1994	US Billboard 200	4
	UK Album Charts	6
	Australian Album Charts	9
	German Album Charts	13
	Canadian Album Charts	11

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1994	"Train of Consequences"	US Mainstream Rock Tracks	29
		UK Singles Chart	22
1995	"A Tout le Monde"	US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	31

Cover versions

In 2005, Finland-based melodic death metal band Mors Principium Est covered "Blood of Heroes" on their album "The Unborn".

In 2008, UK-based power metal band Power Quest covered "Reckoning Day" as a Japanese bonus track for their album, "Master of Illusion".

References

1. ^ Grassi, Tony. "Photo Gallery: The Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1994". GuitarWorld.com. http://www.guitarworld.com/readers-poll-results-top-10-guitar-albums-1994. Retrieved 2011-11-08.