Review by Luka on May 23, 2001.

If this album doesn’t do it, Dave Mustaine’s calling it quits with Megadeth, his own words. Should he call it quits? Nah, give ‘em a year or two more! This is better than he’s done in a long time.

He has redeemed himself at last, more or less, anyway. The album certainly has its parts. Rather than trying something original with heavy metal, he seems bent on taking a straight road back to the old days. The title track is a dead "Peace Sells" imitation. "Burning Bridges" would fit perfectly on "Countdown to Extinction" or "Peace Sells", his voice here brought so many memories, I loved it, and "Return to Hangar", well I don’t need to explain about this one, however, it’s a third-rate rehash of the classic...

The guitar wizard Marty Friedman is gone and the wound is felt. Sure Al Pitrelli can play, but what is he compared to Friedman? Jimmi DeGrasso seems almost fearful of hitting the drums, rarely adds any fills and painfully keeps up the slow tempos. Like in the old days, Mustaine is the only significant member in the band. His voice continues to improve steadily as it has with each previous Megadeth album.

"Moto Psycho" is just about the most mainstream song here, and I hate it. "Promises" is a cheesy, clichë ballad the likes of which has plagued the last few albums, but there is more than a generous share of the heavy cuts here, like "1000 Times Goodbye" (hilarious song about a break up, it’s as funny as it is cheesy) Dave’s superb riffing is back and the shredding is as tight as ever.

"I’m still the guy who wrote ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Holy Wars’ " says Dave in a recent interview, I didn’t believe him when I heard "Risk", but this album brings back the sweet taste of old Megadeth.

Bottom Line: Good stuff, but simply too many flaws. They’re finally improving, let’s hope the trend continues!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 9, 2019.

Three decades of Desaster is a long period and what is better than a great band with the necessary portion of stamina? Two exclusive tracks form the musical content of the newest release of the German re-vitalizers of black thrash. The title track is accompanied by "Primordial Obscurity" and this song is really good, a typical black thrash hammer the band is famous for. Yet there is a little thing that slightly mars the joy of listening. Its melody lines lie in close proximity to those of the fantastic "Tyrants of the Netherworld", if my ears don't play a trick one me. I wonder that nobody realized this. Okay, their new drummer is maybe not familiar with all of their classics so far, but what about Infernal Kuschke and his deaf comrades?

Well, let's leave this astonishing detail aside and have a look at the A side of the vinyl. Desaster show impressively that they still burst of energy and Hont, the (short-haired!) man behind the drum kit, provides evidence that he is in no way inferior to Tormentor aka Husky, the dude whose new boss is called Angelripper. Hont's rabid drumming supports a great riff of Kuschke and the dark barking of Sataniac at the beginning makes clear that the band is not willing to change even an iota of its style. Good decision! Kuschke probably appreciates the old Protector albums very much, just listen to his screaming guitar in the solo part. It does not sound the retreat, it sounds the alarm. In short, the mix of ultra-fast double bass sequences and very dense, mid-paced parts forms a piece that can do anything but disappointing a supporter of Desaster. It's not just a typical, but also a fanatic and hellish song that explains the listener the fascination of black thrash in a matter of minutes. The band encapsulates "30 years of Teutonic blasphemies" in less than three and a half minutes and that's simply great.

The nagging and growling of Sataniac is put in the right light, albeit the production does not score with transparency. It seems as if the singles of the group always want to transport five percent more underground vibes than their full-lengths. Speaking of their albums, their names show up nearly chronologically in the lyrics of the title track and this approach leaves no doubt: Desaster celebrate themselves - and they do it for very good reason. Let's see what the three coming decades will bring. I am curious.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10