United Abominations - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

United Abominations received generally positive reviews, and was thought of as a return to form for Megadeth by critics. Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.net said the album "is an unabashedly guitar-driven album, stuffed with riffs and leads coming from all directions. The sense of explosive instrumentation under precise control that was a hallmark of early Megadeth efforts is back, which means that Megadeth, in many ways, is back too." About.com reviewer Chad Bowar stated the album "is the best Megadeth album in at least a decade." Greg Prato of Allmusic praised the album, stating "Megadeth's crunchy, venomous thrash has remained intact. Megadeth were never afraid to show off their prog-worthy chops, and the 2007 lineup appears custom-made for tackling 'tricky bits'. Mustaine and company certainly sound reborn." Rolling Stone reviewer Evan Serpick noted a downside to the album, stating it sounded too much like all of the band's previous albums. Ed Thompson of IGN praised the album and its political lyrics, giving it an 8.5 out of 10 and saying it "cranks out so much attitude, so much opinion, and so much firebranded speech that the album could be mistaken for a political rally." Commenting on the Megadeth's new lineup, Jon Weiderhorn from MTV said "Once again, the system is fully operational." United Abominations was voted the best metal album of 2007 by the reader's poll in the June 2008 issue of Guitar World and the Brave Pick of 2007 by Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles.

On July 10, 2007, a rebuttal was posted by Mark Leon Goldberg on the United Nations affairs blog against the accusations made in the title track of the album, "United Abominations". Goldberg reviewed the song verse-by-verse, pointing out what he believed were false accusations. The blog stated that "we at UN Dispatch refuse to let Megadeth's witless screed go unchallenged. We listened so you don't have to".