October 09

Risk (album)

You may have been looking for Risk (Terminaator album).

Risk is an album by American heavy metal band Megadeth released in 1999. Risk is the last original Megadeth release to feature long time Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman. This album is the first Megadeth recording with drummer Jimmy DeGrasso.

The title stems from Dave Mustaine's decision to take a "risk" with the musical direction of this album. This decision resulted in mixed reviews for both the band and the album; a good portion did not favor the new sound and image, while the rest praised the band for attempting something different and experimenting rather than sticking to their roots.

This is the last album not to feature Vic Rattlehead in a physical form (the other two being the albums Hidden Treasures and Cryptic Writings), although his head does appear on a mousetrap shown repeatedly in the albums booklet.

Track listing

All songs written by Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman and Bud Prager except where noted.

"Insomnia" (Mustaine) – 4:34
"Prince of Darkness" (Mustaine) – 6:26
"Enter the Arena" (Mustaine, Prager) – 0:52
"Crush 'Em" – 4:57 ()
"Breadline" – 4:23
"The Doctor Is Calling" – 5:44
"I'll Be There" – 4:19
"Wanderlust" (Mustaine, Friedman) – 5:21
"Ecstasy" (Mustaine, Friedman) – 4:28
"Seven" (Mustaine, Ellefson) – 5:00
"Time: The Beginning" (Mustaine, Friedman) – 3:04
"Time: The End" (Mustaine) – 2:26
"Duke Nukem Theme" (The Japanese version of Risk)

Duke Nukem theme song is also available in compilation "Duke Nukem: Music to score by" and Warchest, which is a slightly different version from Japanese version of Risk.

2004 Bonus Tracks

"Insomnia" (Jeff Balding Mix) (Mustaine) – 4:20
"Breadline" (Jack Joseph Puig Mix) – 4:29
"Crush 'Em" (Jock Mix) – 5:10

The cover for the remaster was noticeably different from the original, showing a drawing of Megadeth's mascot Vic Rattlehead on the mousetrap.

Singles were made for "Insomnia", Crush 'em", and "Breadline".

Music videos were made for "Insomnia", "Crush 'em" and "Breadline".

Song notes

"Crush 'em" was also featured in Jean-Claude Van Damme's 1999 movie Universal Soldier: The Return. Mustaine described "Crush 'em" as Megadeth's Arena Sports Anthem. The song was used as entrance song by professional wrestler Bill Goldberg of the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) fame, who also starred in Universal Soldier: The Return. "Crush 'em" also can be frequently heard in Ice Hockey arenas, and the Tom Leykis radio show regularly uses snippets of "Crush 'em" in between segments. Drummer Jimmy DeGrasso has claimed to vehemently hate the song.

Dave Mustaine has stated that "I'll Be There" was inspired by the devotion of Argentine fans. The song was played live only in Argentina and Chile. In the October 09, 2005 show in Buenos Aires, Mustaine said, "'I'll Be There' is a gift for you, because we will not play this song ever again."

In the song "Time: The End", between utterances of the phrase "beat the clock" Mustaine sneaks in a "beat the cock". This is more noticeable on the remaster.

Personnel

Dave Mustaine - guitar, lead vocals
Marty Friedman - guitar
David Ellefson - bass, backing vocals
Jimmy DeGrasso - drums

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1999	The Billboard 200	16

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1999	"Crush 'Em"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	6
1999	"Breadline"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	6
1999	"Insomnia"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	26

Breadline

Breadline is a single by the heavy metal band Megadeth off their album Risk. The remix single was released only in Japan.

While not necessarily a ballad, the song is a standout of Megadeth's discography in that it features a considerably lighter melody than most of their work. Its lyrics describe a poor man with no money or possessions to call his own. A music video was produced for "Breadline," which parodies the hit ABC game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.