The System Has Failed is the tenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 14, 2004.

In 2002, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine announced that he was disbanding the band due to an arm injury that rendered him unable to play guitar.

[6] The album was recorded at Ocean Way and Emerald Entertainment in Nashville, Tennessee and at Phase Four Studios in Tempe, Arizona.

Mustaine also noted that he initially took a casual approach to the album, starting out working three hours a night, four days a week.

[8] Upon restarting Megadeth, Mustaine contacted bassist and founding member David Ellefson about resuming bass guitar duties for the band.

[10] The cover art was designed by Mike Learn, and features Vic Rattlehead at a podium in front of the United States Supreme Court building selling a not-guilty verdict to then U.S. President George W. Bush.

[16] In addition, the album had managed to chart in the top 20 in several other countries, including Canada, Finland, and Sweden.

[25] A third video was made for "Back in the Day" in 2005, but was unreleased until September 15, 2014, to celebrate ten years since the album's release.

[27] "Back in the Day" was also featured in an episode of the Duck Dodgers TV series, along with an animated performance from the band.

[29] A remastered version of The System Has Failed, along with The World Needs a Hero, was reissued on CD, vinyl, and digital download on February 15, 2019.

[12][31] Mustaine wrote it when he was asked to write a song for the movie Tomb Raider II, but the proposed budget for recording was too low and the deal fell through.

AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier commented that Megadeth hasn't sounded this vital since Countdown to Extinction, and called the album "damn near perfect".

[42] Jeff Kerby of KNAC gave a positive, if at times slightly sarcastic review, as well as a detailed track-by-track commentary.

In addition, Gehlke noted that Mustaine's vocals were "as strong as ever", but panned the album for the lack of any "thrash burners".

[41] Neil Arnold of Metal Forces had a slightly different opinion, and credited this album for putting Megadeth "back on track".

[50] Nick Lancaster from Drowned in Sound also reacted unenthusiastically towards the album, saying it was a "severe case of St. Anger syndrome".