Editing Countdown to Extinction (section)

==Critical reception==
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = [[About.com]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="About">{{cite web|first=Chad|last=Bowar|title=Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction 20th Anniversary Edition Review|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/megadeth/fr/Megadeth-Countdown-To-Extinction-20th-Anniversary-Edition-Review.htm|publisher=[[About.com]]|access-date=December 30, 2012|archive-date=December 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218074311/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/megadeth/fr/Megadeth-Countdown-To-Extinction-20th-Anniversary-Edition-Review.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev2 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=Allmusic>{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|title=Countdown to Extinction - Megadeth|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/countdown-to-extinction-mw0000082896|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=August 4, 2012|archive-date=August 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820050202/http://www.allmusic.com/album/countdown-to-extinction-mw0000082896|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
|rev3Score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref name="Chicago">{{cite news|last=Herrmann|first=Brenda|date=July 30, 1992|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/07/30/megadethcountdown-to-extinction-capitol-starstarstarstarlike-metallica-megadeth/|title=Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction (Capitol)|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=February 16, 2014|archive-date=August 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808104406/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-07-30/features/9203080461_1_star-countdown-extinction|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[Consequence of Sound]]''
|rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="CoS">{{cite magazine|first=Jon|last=Hadusek|title=Album Review: Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction Reissue|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/11/album-review-megadeth-countdown-to-extinction-reissue/|magazine=[[Consequence of Sound]]|date=November 8, 2012|access-date=December 30, 2012|archive-date=January 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116020605/http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/11/album-review-megadeth-countdown-to-extinction-reissue/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
|rev5score = A−<ref name=EW>{{cite magazine|last=Sandow|first=Greg|title=Countdown to Extinction Review|url=https://ew.com/article/1992/07/24/countdown-extinction/|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=July 24, 1992|access-date=August 4, 2012|archive-date=October 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014060942/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311184,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[PopMatters]]''
|rev6score = 8/10<ref name=Popmatters>{{cite magazine|last=Hayes|first=Craig|title=Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction: 20th Anniversary Edition|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/165473-megadeth-countdown-to-extinction-20th-anniversary-edition/|magazine=[[Popmatters]]|date=November 30, 2012|access-date=August 21, 2012|archive-date=December 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203031612/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/165473-megadeth-countdown-to-extinction-20th-anniversary-edition/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
|rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="CD Universe">{{cite web|title=Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction CD|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8816027&style=music&fulldesc=T|work=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|publisher=[[CD Universe]]|access-date=August 28, 2013}}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[Record Collector]]''
|rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Record Collector">{{cite web|first=Joel|last=McIver|url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/countdown-to-extinction-deluxe-edition|title=Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction: Deluxe Edition|work=[[Record Collector]]|year=2012|access-date=October 23, 2013|archive-date=December 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231055515/http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/countdown-to-extinction-deluxe-edition|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev9 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev9score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref name=RSReview>{{cite magazine|last=Csengeri|first=Karen|title=Megadeth: Countdown To Extinction: Music Reviews|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/megadeth/albums/album/93440/review/5941182/countdown_to_extinction|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=January 27, 1997|access-date=November 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001223457/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/megadeth/albums/album/93440/review/5941182/countdown_to_extinction |archive-date=1 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|rev10 = ''Rock Hard''
|rev10score = 9/10<ref name="Rock Hard">{{cite web|last=Stratmann|first=Holger|title=Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction (1992)|url=http://www.rockhard.de/megazine/reviewarchiv/review-anzeigen.html?tx_rxsearch_pi1%5Breview%5D=11536|work=Rock Hard|access-date=May 22, 2013|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924125741/http://www.rockhard.de/megazine/reviewarchiv/review-anzeigen.html?tx_rxsearch_pi1%5Breview%5D=11536|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev11 = ''Sputnikmusic''
|rev11score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=SputnikReview>{{cite web|last=Stagno|first=Mike|title=Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/8586/Megadeth-Countdown-to-Extinction/|website=Sputnikmusic|date=August 6, 2006|access-date=August 4, 2012}}</ref>
}}
''Countdown to Extinction'' received generally positive reaction from critics. ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' wrote that the album "may just be the finest [[thrash metal]] album ever made, although purists may find it a bit too polished and easy to swallow".<ref name=Spin>{{cite journal|first=Anna Lisa|last=Pessin|title=Dressed for Success|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|date=October 1992|volume=8|page=52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJumg6TLv8EC&q=countdown+to+extinction+thrash+metal&pg=PT53|access-date=September 20, 2013|archive-date=September 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917214438/https://books.google.com/books?id=wJumg6TLv8EC&q=countdown+to+extinction+thrash+metal&pg=PT53|url-status=live}}</ref> [[AllMusic]] reviewer Steve Huey said that "Megadeth guns for arena thrash success and gets it on ''Countdown to Extinction''". However, Huey noted the simplification of Megadeth's sound on the album in response to [[Metallica]]'s commercially successful [[Metallica (album)|self-titled album]] released the previous year.<ref name=Allmusic/> Sputnikmusic reviewer Mike Stagno praised Mustaine's vocals as well as a number of the album's tracks. Despite calling this effort "Megadeth's first step into the world of mainstream music", he also noted that "the band still maintains its identity".<ref name=SputnikReview/> [[Reflex (magazine)|Reflex]] described the sound as "impressively clean, streamlined, and sharp, brimming with killing riffs". They highlighted the vocal delivery on the record, saying "Mustaine's never sounded more confident, verbally and vocally".<ref name="CD Universe"/>

[[Popmatters]] writer Craig Hayes opined that ''Countdown to Extinction'' was "either an exemplary illustration of nimble-fingered thrash metal that introduced Megadeth to a legion of new fans" or "an unimaginative, artistically cynical stab at arena-baiting commercial success".<ref name=Popmatters/> According to Greg Sandow from ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', Megadeth's "music has lost its former hurricane verve but keeps its crunch, and feels more rooted, even more melodic".<ref name=EW/> Chad Bowar from [[About.com]] raved the album's 20th anniversary edition, describing the songs as "more straightforward" and the lyrics predominantly being "politically charged".<ref name="About"/> Jon Hadusek, writing in [[Consequence of Sound]], labeled ''Countdown to Extinction'' as Mustaine's "political record" and said that the record "saw Megadeth moving away from thrash metal and closer to generic hard rock, a sonic shift they would embrace on subsequent albums".<ref name="CoS"/> In an unfavorable review, Karen Csengeri of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' wrote that "while ''Countdown'' echoes the band's earlier work thematically, it's stylistically disappointing".<ref name=RSReview/> However, the magazine would later rank the album 33rd on their 2017 "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" list.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Begrand|first1=Adrien|title=100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-100-greatest-metal-albums-of-all-time-w486923/pantera-far-beyond-driven-1994-w487081|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|publisher=Wenner Media LLC|access-date=21 June 2017|date=21 June 2017|archive-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810090739/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-100-greatest-metal-albums-of-all-time-w486923/pantera-far-beyond-driven-1994-w487081|url-status=live}}</ref> By contrast, Holger Stratmann of ''Rock Hard'' concluded that the disc is "a compact album with a few strokes of genius".<ref name="Rock Hard"/> Reviewing the album's deluxe edition for ''[[Record Collector]]'', journalist [[Joel McIver]] eulogized it as a "masterpiece of technical, melodic thrash" and a showcase of Megadeth "at their best and most coherent".<ref name="Record Collector"/>