The song was a financial success; it charted well and was positively received by critics.[4] It was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 1993 Grammy Awards, which was the band's fourth consecutive nomination in the category.[5] It became a fan favorite and continues to be played live on a semi-regular basis.[6][7]
Development
Dave Mustaine wrote "Angry Again" in one day, penning the lyrics while half asleep, listening to the melody of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash.[8] The song was initially recorded during the Countdown to Extinction tour but wasn't actually featured on the album.[citation needed] When Mustaine wrote the song, he was angry with his band, promoters, and a lot of different parts of the organization, and had problems with drug use at the time. The culmination of his stress and problems inspired him to write the track, which was appropriately titled "Angry Again".[8] According to Mustaine, he wrote the song during a spur of the moment: "I wrote 'Angry Again' right after I got out of a treatment center in Arizona. They had done one of those happy little 1990s interventions where everybody who's not loaded gets to point the finger at everyone who is. And the day I got out of rehab, they threw me into a studio in Phoenix where I wrote 'Angry Again' for the movie The Last Action Hero."[9]
"Angry Again" was written for inclusion in the film Last Action Hero, which was expected to be a blockbuster. The film had followed the success of Arnold Schwarzenegger's previous film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and was directed by John McTiernan, the filmmaker behind popular films like Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October, and had an $85-million production budget.[10] The movie, however, was viewed as a large financial disappointment in its theatrical release, earning only $137,298,489 worldwide, and was considered a flop.[11] Though panned by several critics,[12][13]Last Action Hero became a cult classic several years later.[14]
The song became a live staple for Megadeth in the 1990s and appeared on the 1995 EP Hidden Treasures, which debuted at ninety on the Billboard 200 and featured two additional Grammy-nominated songs by Megadeth.[3] The song developed a fan following within the Megadeth community and became a fan favorite, being featured on the 2005 album Greatest Hits: Back to the Start. Fans voted on the track listing on the album, and "Angry Again" came in at number five, beating out more well-known songs like "Hangar 18" and "Symphony of Destruction".[6] It also appeared on further compilations, such as That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires, Arsenal of Megadeth, Anthology: Set the World Afire, and Warchest.[17] The track continues to be played live and remains a semi-regular staple, praised for Mustaine's unique vocal performance.[7]
Music video
"Angry Again" was accompanied by a music video, directed by Wayne Isham, who directed several other Megadeth videos, including "Train of Consequences", "Sweating Bullets", "99 Ways to Die", and "Symphony of Destruction".[18] The video, which was played heavily by MTV, contains shots of each of the band members in very foggy and atmospheric shots and is intercut with scenes from Last Action Hero. The video promoted the song, band, and the film.[19]