Background and Reception
The title stems from a comment by Dave Mustaine's former Metallica bandmate Lars Ulrich, who suggested to Mustaine that he take more "risks" with his music. 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 others praised the band for attempting something different and experimenting rather than sticking to their roots.
Allmusic reviewer Steve Huey gave a sympathetic, if not exactly favorable review of the remixed and remastered 2004 pressing of Risk. Huey stated that the album had "aged gracefully," compared to Metallica's Load (1996) and ReLoad (1997). However, he did note that the band had lost their edge on the album. Entertainment Weekly reviewer Laura Morgan compared "Insomnia" to Broken-era Nine Inch Nails and gave the album a B-, though she criticized Mustaine's vocal performance on the album. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide gave the album three stars out of five and noted that the album "had its moments." Mike Stagno of Sputnikmusic, taking into account that the album has a different appeal, was somewhat positive in his review. Stagno cited the first few tracks as the album's "harder edge". However, he noted that some of the following softer tracks were "standout tracks" as well. Stagno did note, however, that some of the emotion on the album was "cheesy".
Dave Mustaine has since expressed that although he believes that Risk is a great record, it "should not have had the name Megadeth on it, because if anybody else's name was on 'Risk,' it would have sold".
The original issue of the album was released as an Enhanced CD, and featured a brief documentary about the making of the album as bonus content.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | (2004 remix/remaster) |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Sputnikmusic | 3.5/5 |
Read more about this topic: Risk (Megadeth album)
Famous quotes containing the words background and, background and/or reception:
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)