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MEGADETH”Countdown to Extinction” Capitol * * *Move...

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MEGADETH

“Countdown to Extinction”

Capitol * * *

Move over, Metallica, make room for Megadeth.

Hard-rock cult heroes Metallica splashed down in the pop mainstream last year and turned into a commercial juggernaut. Now the L.A.-based Megadeth--led by former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine--is taking the megabuck route too, putting the brakes on its speed-metal blitzkrieg and making itself more accessible to the masses.

The result is surprisingly appealing, gritty pop-metal that’s much more melodic than the usual Megadeth fare--and probably too tame for the hard-core fans who will always prefer the group in its old savage attack mode.

There might be less fury in Megadeth’s fifth album, but there’s more substance. On several cuts, chief writer Mustaine flashes his social consciousness, trashing crooked politicians on “Symphony of Destruction” and taking potshots at George Bush on “Foreclosure of a Dream.” But the achingly personal songs, like “Skin o’ My Teeth” and “Sweating Bullets,” which refer to his old drug horrors, pack more punch.

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Still, this isn’t the old Megadeth. You’re not swept away in torrents of swirling music or mesmerized by buzz-saw guitars. And while you can’t help miss the old Mustaine, with his searing, on-the-edge, don’t-give-a-damn approach, the new Mustaine isn’t all that bad.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).

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