CHRIS POLAND - Return To Metalopolis Live

CHRIS POLAND
Return To Metalopolis Live
Lion Music
4/10




Having made quite a name for himself as the guitarist for Megadeth in the mid-eighties, Chris Poland has always been known as a very talented player. It’s a shame to hear “Return To Metalopolis: Live,” a substandard recording filled with errors, poor mixing and most shockingly, a putrid cover version of “Wake Up Dead,” from the Megadeth classic “Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying.”

The vocals here are unfathomably terrible, so much so that it makes you want to shut the disc right off, and this is only the second track on the record. What’s most hard to accept about this record however, is the purely putrid mixing. By the time Poland and his bandmates have completely run “Wake Up Dead” into the ground, you’ll have the impression that things can’t get any worse.

Unfortunately, the situation certainly gets no better. To put this record out into the public so long after the release of the original studio “Return To Metalopolis,” it would have to be a live album of the highest caliber that had been somehow lost in time, only to be recently resurrected. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case.

Sounding like it was recorded in front of a grand total of fifty people in no way helps.

Between songs, the crowd noise is so sparse; it’s difficult to believe anyone actually had the balls to release the album. Granted, you’ll hear the occasional wicked shred from Poland, but there’s just not enough excitement here to justify recommending “Return To Metalopolis: Live,” even to die-hard collectors.


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