Album
The System Has Failed
The System Has Failed is Megadeth's tenth studio album, released on 14 September 2004. It was the first record Dave Mustaine made after recovering from the arm injury he suffered in 2002, and the second and last of the band's two albums for Sanctuary Records. It is also the first of four Megadeth albums without co-founder David Ellefson on bass.
Chris Poland, who played on the band's first two albums, returns on guitar, with session players Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and Jimmie Lee Sloas on bass. Critics were warm towards it, seeing a return to form after a run of more commercially accessible 1990s records, and it entered the Billboard 200 at number 18. "Die Dead Enough", "Of Mice and Men" and "The Scorpion" were all released as singles.
The System Has Failed on Riffology
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The System Has Failed: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 48:30Tracklist
- 1Blackmail the UniverseDave Mustaine4:33
- 2Die Dead EnoughDave Mustaine4:19
- 3Kick the ChairDave Mustaine3:58
- 4The ScorpionDave Mustaine6:00
- 5Tears in a VialDave Mustaine5:22
- 6I Know JackDave Mustaine0:40
- 7Back in the DayDave Mustaine3:28
- 8Something That I'm NotDave Mustaine5:07
- 9Truth Be ToldDave Mustaine5:40
- 10Of Mice and MenDave Mustaine4:05
- 11Shadow of Deth2:15
- 12My KingdomDave Mustaine3:04
- Produced by
- Jeff Balding, Dave Mustaine
- Recorded at
- Emerald Sound Studios, Ocean Way Recording, Phase Four Studios, Ocean Way, Nashville, Emerald Entertainment, Nashville, Phase Four, Tempe
- Recorded
- 23 October 2003 – 9 April 2004
- Mixed by
- Jeff Balding
- Mixed at
- Emerald Sound Studios
- Engineered by
- Jeff Balding, David Bryant, Jed Hackett, Dave Mustaine, John Saylor
- Mastered by
- Adam Ayan
- Artwork
- Mike Learn, Dave Mustaine
- Label
- Sanctuary Records
- Length
- 48:30
Line-up
- Vinnie Colaiuta · membranophone, drums (drum set)
- Jimmie Lee Sloas · bass guitar, electric bass guitar
- Chris Poland · guitar, electric guitar
- Tim Akers · keyboard
- Eric Darken · percussion
- Dave Mustaine · electric guitar, lead vocals
- Celeste Amber Montague · vocals · guest
- Darien Bennett · vocals · guest
- Ralph Patlan · vocals · guest
- Chris Rodriguez · background vocals
- Charles Judge · keyboard · guest
- Lance Dean · vocals · guest
- Robert Venable · vocals · guest
- Jonathan Yudkin · strings, banjo
- Justis Mustaine · background vocals · guest
- Scott Harrison · vocals · guest
Singles
- “Die Dead Enough” · 26 June 2004
- “Of Mice and Men” · 2004
- “The Scorpion” · 10 May 2005
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2004 | 18 |
| UK Albums Chart · 2004 | 60 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2004 | 8 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2004 | 10 |
| Finnish Albums · 2004 | 12 |
| Swedish Albums · 2004 | 14 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2004 | 14 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2004 | 15 |
| "Die Dead Enough" · 2004–2005 | 21 |
| French Albums · 2004 | 28 |
All 24 charts
| German Albums · 2004 | 29 |
| Dutch Albums · 2004 | 32 |
| Ireland 2 · 2004 | 32 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2004 | 34 |
| Danish Albums · 2004 | 38 |
| "Of Mice and Men" · 2004–2005 | 39 |
| Italian Albums · 2004 | 40 |
| Austrian Albums · 2004 | 43 |
| Polish Albums · 2004 | 44 |
| Scottish Albums · 2004 | 51 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2004 | 57 |
| Swiss Albums · 2004 | 57 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2004 | 89 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2004 | 95 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
51.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
93k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
776
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 14 September
Every year →
More from Megadeth
Full discography →
Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!
1985
Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?
1986
So Far, So Good… So What!
1988
Rust in Peace
1990
Countdown to Extinction
1992
Youthanasia
1994
Hidden Treasures
1995
Cryptic Writings
1997
Cryptic Sounds: No Voices in Your Head
1998
Risk
1999
Breadline
2000
Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years
2000
The World Needs a Hero
2001
Rude Awakening
2002
Still, Alive… and Well?
2002
Greatest Hits: Back to the Start
2005
United Abominations
2007
That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires
2007
Warchest
2007
Anthology: Set the World Afire
2008
Endgame
2009
Rust in Peace: Live
2010
Th1rt3en
2011
Super Collider
2013
Countdown to Extinction: Live
2013
Icon
2014
Dystopia
2016
Warheads on Foreheads
2019
Unplugged in Boston
2021
The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!
2022
Megadeth
2026
The best of 2004
All of 2004 →
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More on Sanctuary Records
The label →
The Book of Souls
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The Essential Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden · 2005
Kiss of Death
Motörhead · 2006
The Ultimate Collection
Black Sabbath · 2016
Rude Awakening
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Still, Alive… and Well?
Megadeth · 2002
Live Evolution
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The Art of Live
Queensrÿche · 2004
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 2004-09-13 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 13 September 2004 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 14 September 2004 | |
| Wikidata | 14 September 2004 | |
| US release | 14 September 2004 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 13 September 2004 | earliest UK or European date |
7 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 September 2004 | GB | Sanctuary Records | 5050159029723 | original |
| 14 September 2004 | US | Sanctuary Records | 060768470828 | other |
| 27 October 2004 | JP | AVALON | 4527516004910 | other |
| 11 February 2013 | XE | Music on Vinyl | 0600753370889 | other |
| 1 September 2016 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 5414939521478 | other |
| 15 February 2019 | XE | BMG | 4050538373691 | remaster |
| 15 February 2019 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 4050538439991 | remaster |
Cover art sources
itunes · upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1425×1425 | upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 793×793 | upscaled |