Much like Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album, its status as a gateway metal album is indisputable. There’s certainly no doubting the album’s importance for fans who were introduced to Megadeth or metal in general via Countdown to Extinction. Every Megadeth release has its fervent fans and equally fervent detractors, and that’s always been one of the best aspects of the band – it evokes passion, one way or another. Of course, this is Megadeth, the band founded and fronted by Dave Mustaine, an artist with a notable history of provocative sermonizing, so it’s really no surprise that the album’s virtues are disputed. Depending on how you look at it, the band’s fifth full-length was either an exemplary illustration of nimble-fingered thrash metal that introduced Megadeth to a legion of new fans, or it was an unimaginative, artistically cynical stab at arena-baiting commercial success – unapologetically chasing Metallica’s coat tails in vying for upper-echelon, chart-topping triumph.
For all the success and acclaim Megadeth’s 1992 album, Countdown to Extinction, has accumulated over the years, it’s still a polarizing release for many a metal fan.
