Countdown to Extinction
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226144746
2008-07-17T00:48:59Z
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{{Infobox Album | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name = Countdown to Extinction
| Type = studio
| Artist = [[Megadeth]]
| Cover = Countdown.jpg
| Released = [[July 14]], [[1992]]
| Recorded = Between January 6 and April 28, 1992
| Genre = [[Heavy metal]]<br />[[Thrash metal]]<br />[[Speed metal]]
| Length = 47:31 (Original)<br>1:06:25 (Remaster)
| Label = [[Combat Records]]<br/>[[Capitol Records]]
| Producer = [[Max Norman]] and [[Dave Mustaine]]
| Reviews =
* [[Allmusic]] {{rating-5|4}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:9kq5g4gttv6z link]
* [[Rolling Stone]] {{rating-5|2.5}} [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/megadeth/albums/album/93440/review/5941182/countdown_to_extinction link]
| Last album = ''[[Rust in Peace]]'' <br /> (1990)
| This album = '''''Countdown to Extinction''''' <br /> (1992)
| Next album = ''[[Youthanasia]]'' <br /> (1994)
}}
'''''Countdown to Extinction''''' is the fifth studio [[album]] by [[United States|American]] [[Heavy metal]] band [[Megadeth]], released in 1992 (see [[1992 in music]]). It is the band's best-selling album selling over two million copies and achieving Double platinum status. The album also produced the band's biggest hit songs "Symphony of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets", "Skin O' My Teeth" and "Foreclosure of a dream". Countdown to Extinction is considered{{cn|date=June 2008}} one of the albums that kept [[Heavy metal]] in the mainstream in the wake of [[Grunge]] and [[Alternative rock]] alongside [[Metallica]]'s ''[[Metallica (album)|Metallica]]'', [[Pantera]]'s ''[[Vulgar Display of Power]]'', [[Kiss (band)|KISS]]'s [[Revenge (Kiss album)|Revenge]], and [[Ozzy Osbourne]]'s ''[[No More Tears]]'' in the early 1990s.
==Production and marketing==
''Countdown to Extinction'' was the second album featuring the [[Dave Mustaine]]/[[David Ellefson]]/[[Nick Menza]]/[[Marty Friedman (guitarist)|Marty Friedman]] line-up. It was produced by Mustaine and [[Max Norman]] at ''The Enterprise'' in [[Burbank, California]]. It was pre-produced by [[Ryan Greene]].
The band's change in musical style meant that many songs on the album follow a more traditional structure, with verses and choruses (unlike many of the band's previous albums). This format change was unpopular with some fans at the album's release, however it turned out to be the band's most commercially successful album.
Like its predecessor, many of the songs on the album have political and military undertones. For example, "Symphony of Destruction" is a song about military dictators, "Architecture of Aggression" focuses on the complexity of military operations, and "Ashes in Your Mouth" concentrates on the negative aftermaths of war ("sweet taste of vindication, it turns to ashes in your mouth"). In a similar vein, "Psychotron" details a merciless cyborg killing machine of the same name, and is based on the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] comic book character [[Deathlok]]. Other political songs include "Captive Honour", a song about prison and the consequences of crime, "Countdown to Extinction", a song about [[canned hunt]]s (which many believed was a jab at Metallica frontman [[James Hetfield]] and his love for hunting), and "Foreclosure of a Dream", a song that looks at rise and fall of political and economic ideologies, which also includes the infamous 1988 "[[Read my lips: no new taxes|Read my lips]]" quote by [[George H. W. Bush]] (and on a more personal level, about Ellefson's parents who lost their jobs under the [[Reagan Administration]]). The title song "Countdown To Extinction" also won Megadeth the [[Humane Society of the United States]] "Genesis Award" for its dealings with issues of [[animal welfare]].
The rest of the songs' undertones are more spread around. "[[Skin o' My Teeth]]" is about Mustaine's numerous attempts at suicide but "just couldn't get the fucking job done" as Mustaine said during a 1992 concert. "Sweating Bullets" has been referred to be about [[Schizophrenia]]. Before the song is performed, Dave Mustaine tells the audience it's about Schizophrenia and has described it as a song "about me... and me." "This Was My Life" refers to a failing relationship where that despite wanting to kill your spouse, you'll be sent to the [[electric chair]] regardless for your actions. The slow melodic section at the end of "This Was My Life" is the same chord progression as Mustaine's contribution to the breakdown section in the middle of his former band Metallica's "Phantom Lord" from Kill 'Em All. "High Speed Dirt" is about [[skydiving]].
The song "Symphony of Destruction" was covered by the band [[Arch Enemy (band)|Arch Enemy]] on the EP ''[[Dead Eyes See No Future]]'', and by [[Nightwish]] on their single for the song "[[The Siren (song)|The Siren]]". It is also featured in the [[PlayStation 2]] game ''[[Guitar Hero (2005 video game)|Guitar Hero]]'' and ''[[True Crime: Streets of LA]]'' for the [[Personal computer|PC]]. A remix is also included on ''WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2006'' for PlayStation 2. In 2005, the game ''[[FlatOut 2]]'' included it as a soundtrack.
The song "[[Skin o' My Teeth]]" was covered by the band [[Kalmah]] on the album ''[[They Will Return]]''.
According to the [[2004]] remastered version liner notes, [[Dave Mustaine|Mustaine]] was upset with the record only reaching number two on the charts, and thus set out to make a number one record.
==Track listing==
All songs written by [[Dave Mustaine]], except where noted.
# "[[Skin o' My Teeth]]" - 3:14
# "[[Symphony of Destruction]]" - 4:02
# "Architecture of Aggression" (Mustaine, [[David Ellefson]]) - 3:34
# "[[Foreclosure of a Dream]]" (Mustaine, Ellefson) - 4:17
# "[[Sweating Bullets (song)|Sweating Bullets]]" - 5:26
# "This Was My Life" - 3:42
# "Countdown to Extinction" (Mustaine, [[Marty Friedman (guitarist)|Marty Friedman]], Ellefson, [[Nick Menza]]) - 4:16
# "High Speed Dirt" (Mustaine, Ellefson) - 4:21
# "Psychotron" (Mustaine, Friedman) - 4:42
# "Captive Honour" (Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Menza) - 4:14
# "Ashes in Your Mouth" (Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Menza) - 6:10
===2004 Bonus Tracks===
# "Crown of Worms" (Mustaine, Sean Harris) – 3:17
# "Countdown to Extinction" (Demo) (Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Menza) – 3:55
# "Symphony of Destruction" (Demo) – 5:29
# "Psychotron" (Demo) (Mustaine, Friedman) – 5:28
==Credits==
* [[Dave Mustaine]] - [[guitar]], [[singer|lead vocals]]
* [[Marty Friedman (guitarist)|Marty Friedman]] - [[electric guitar|guitar]], [[backing vocals]]
* [[David Ellefson]] - [[bass guitar|bass]], backing vocals
* [[Nick Menza]] - [[drums]], backing vocals
==Cultural references==
Parts of the opening lyrics of ''Captive Honour'' ("''Kill a man and you're a murderer, kill many and you're a conqueror, kill them all, you're a god''") are in fact a quote from the French biologist and philosopher [[Jean Rostand]] ("''On tue un homme, on est un assassin. On en tue des millions, on est un conquérant. On les tue tous, on est Dieu''").
==Charts==
===Album===
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 width="100%"
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Chart
!align="left"|Position
|-
|align="left"|1992
|align="left"|The Billboard 200
|align="left"|2
|-
|}
===Singles===
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 width="100%"
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Single
!align="left"|Chart
!align="left"|Position
|-
|align="left"|1992
|align="left"|"Foreclosure of a Dream"
|align="left"|Mainstream Rock Tracks
|align="left"|30
|-
|align="left"|1992
|align="left"|"Symphony of Destruction"
|align="left"|Billboard Hot 100
|align="left"|71
|-
|align="left"|1992
|align="left"|"Symphony of Destruction"
|align="left"|Mainstream Rock Tracks
|align="left"|29
|-
|align="left"|1992
|align="left"|"Symphony of Destruction"
|align="left"|UK Singles Chart
|align="left"|15
|-
|align="left"|1993
|align="left"|"Skin o' My Teeth"
|align="left"|UK Singles Chart
|align="left"|13
|-
|align="left"|1993
|align="left"|"Sweating Bullets"
|align="left"|Mainstream Rock Tracks
|align="left"|27
|-
|align="left"|1993
|align="left"|"Sweating Bullets"
|align="left"|UK Singles Chart
|align="left"|26
|-
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Megadeth}}
[[Category:Megadeth albums]]
[[Category:1992 albums]]
[[Category:Capitol Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Max Norman]]
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