Dave Mustaine is back in business -- and business is looking good. The veteran speed-metal guitarist has apparently recuperated from the strained nerves in his left arm and hand that forced him to put down his axe and walk away from Megadeth in 2002.

Even better, with The System Has Failed, he hasn't just saved the band from extinction -- he's made his best disc since Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction.

Reuniting with long-lost lead guitarist Chris Poland and getting back in touch with his inner shredder, Mustaine cranks up the voltage, the volume and the vitriol on these dozen cuts.

Although the thrashing is a little less frenzied and Mustaine's playing is a tad more deliberate than the old days, the rest of the Megadeth template is more or less intact.

The chugging bottom-string riffs, the acrobatic arpeggios, the screaming solos, the growling vocals, the political polemics -- close your eyes and it's almost as punishing and powerful as Peace Sells.

We'll buy that.

Track Listing
1. Blackmail the Universe
2. Die Dead Enough
3. Kick the Chair
4. Scorpion
5. Tears in a Vial
6. I Know Jack
7. Back in the Day
8. Something That I'm Not
9. Truth Be Told
10. Of Mice and Men
11. Shadow of Deth
12. My Kingdom