MENZA - Life After Deth

self released

Posted: 11/11/02

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Heavy Metal

Released: 2002

Label URL:

Artist URL: www.menza.com

Nick Menza was certainly the best drummer that Megadeth ever possessed, and while I like Jimmy DeGrasso's (Menza's replacement) work in Y&T, his style was not an appropriate fit for Megadeth. Nick released Life After Deth, his debut solo effort, early in 2002, playing all the instruments and handling lead vocals. While Nick is an accomplished drummer who can always be proud of the classics he shaped on Rust In Peace (1990) and Countdown To Extinction (1992), Life After Deth doesn't do anything to further his career, much less meet the standards that he set previously. The songwriting is average at best, while the production is not much better than that of a demo. Fans will be disappointed with the fact that the songs do not have any stylistic connection to Megadeth. "Through The Lies" is epic in nature, while "Next To You" is a ballad that Megadeth would never have touched, although the bassline is quite cool. Vocally, Nick doesn't seem to have it together. While his voice sounds okay on some of the tracks, there seems to be an awkward quality on "I'm Only Saying" and quite a few others. Nick also makes use of a lot of samples to fill out the sound, but they come off as cheesy.

The Bloody Truth:  There is no life in Life After Deth.  Avoid this one.