MUSTAINE SLEEPWALKS THROUGH NEW SONG

There’s a new Megadeth live DVD. I haven’t seen it yet (they couldn’t come up with a better title than That One Night? Why not just call it A Not Especially Memorable Concert?), but the review at KNAC.com doesn’t exactly make my mouth water: “[The] Brothers Drover… seem downright mechanical.”

I mention it because yesterday, Megadeth posted another new song, “Sleepwalker,” from their upcoming album, United Abominations, on their MySpace page. The song has since (kind of mysteriously) been removed, although this being 2007, an mp3 of the track is just a Google search away.

I know some people probably think I rag on Dave Mustaine too much, but, seriously, this song is just as unpromising as the “Gears of War” demo we’ve all heard. The intro is pretty cool and sounds, to my ears, more like classic Megadeth than anything Mustaine has done in awhile; but the melody is totally forgettable (I listened to the song three times just this morning but couldn’t hum back a note for you), and the guitar solos are lightening fast but go nowhere. Mustaine and the Drover brothers seem mechanical? Maybe “Sleepwalker” is all too apt a title.

-AR