Music
Plus One
The 11 best Megadeth songs
As legendary thrashers Megadeth prepare to bring their final world tour to Europe, we look back on their gnarliest moments
Say what you will about Dave Mustaine, but he turned a thirst for revenge into a 43-year career, 50 million album sales, continued chart success and a Grammy Award win. The singer/guitarist formed Megadeth upon his expulsion from Metallica in 1983, only to cement his place as one of thrash metal’s innovators, pushing the genre to faster and more progressive places.
Last summer, long after becoming his band’s sole constant member, he announced his intention to retire following a final album and a farewell tour, which will hit Europe and the UK in March 2027. To celebrate the trail they blazed, here are the 11 best songs from Megadeth’s decades of noise.
11. ‘Trust’
(Cryptic Writings, 1997)
Cryptic Writings was when the wheels started to fall off of Megadeth’s radio-metal era, but ‘Trust’ offered one last flash of excellence. Rising out of a tribal drum beat from Nick Menza, the intro gave every member a moment to shine, leading into a pounding main riff and a lyrical autopsy of a broken relationship. It reached number five on the US Mainstream Rock chart, making it the band’s most successful single, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998.
10. ‘The Right To Go Insane’
![Megadeth - The Right To Go Insane [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m20sJNgZ17U/0.jpg)
(Endgame, 2009)
By 2009, Megadeth had re-embraced their thrash metal ways, although none of their recent output recreated the same blend of melody, technicality and force as the classics. Enter: Endgame. Widely regarded as the band’s latter-day triumph, its 11 songs added up to their finest hour since 1992. ‘The Right To Go Insane’ ended things on a groovier, catchier note – and, when released as a single, came with a brilliant music video inspired by the 1995 San Diego tank rampage.
9. ‘Dystopia’
(Dystopia, 2016)
12th time’s a charm. When it came to the Grammy Awards, Megadeth were always the bridesmaid, never the bride, racking up nomination after nomination but never leaving the ceremony with a trophy of their own. They finally reversed the curse in 2017, when the title track of the previous year’s ‘Dystopia’ beat Korn, Gojira and others to win Best Metal Performance. The organisers played a Metallica song as the band walked onstage, but let’s ignore that. A victory 33 years in the making.
8. ‘Symphony Of Destruction’
(Countdown To Extinction, 1992)
On Rust in Peace, Megadeth built legendary riffs out of a million notes. On ‘Symphony of Destruction’, all they needed was three. This lead single epitomised the new, simplified approach the band took for Countdown To Extinction, favouring knucklehead grooves and irresistible hooks over shows of speed. It was also a fascinating thought experiment, positing what would happen if a regular man were plucked from obscurity and given a position of power. In classic Mustaine style, chaos and devastation ensued.
7. ‘Peace Sells’
(Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, 1986)
The common perception is that Megadeth have always been the fringe alternative to Metallica, less embraced by the mainstream. But in 1986 that wasn’t the case. With ‘Peace Sells’, the four-piece produced their first music video, three years before their rivals. Then, the MTV News team made it their theme song. Who can blame them? That thudding bassline and Mustaine’s near-spoken word snarls – “What do you mean, I don’t believe in God?” – were instantly iconic.
6. ‘A Tout Le Monde’
(Youthanasia, 1994)
In 1993, Mustaine overdosed on Valium and was briefly declared dead. He was thankfully resuscitated, and the experience inspired him to write this earnest piece about saying goodbye to loved ones. MTV banned the video, mistakenly believing that it glorified suicide, but ‘À Tout Le Monde’ persisted and now stands as the band’s most celebrated ballad. Unlike most second stabs at a stone-cold classic, the 2007 re-recording with Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia was also magnificent.
5. ‘Hangar 18’
(Rust In Peace, 1990)
You’ve seen the meme: Megadeth be like, “I don’t trust the government [10-minute guitar solo]”. ‘Hangar 18’ was the start of that. Named after the hangar that allegedly housed the alien from Roswell, the song starts as a slick piece of metal with an earworm chorus, before Mustaine and Marty Friedman spend the latter half trading virtuoso leads. As a show of the band’s technical prowess, it remains unmatched. It was also a rousing preview of the melodic tangent they’d pursue on coming albums.
4. ‘In My Darkest Hour’
(So Far, So Good… So What!, 1988)
Not quite a ballad, but the first half was early proof that Megadeth could impress with the pedal off the metal. Mustaine wrote this anguished track after hearing about the death of Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, and the music channelled the mix of rage and sorrow he felt at the time. Even though the lyrics didn’t address Burton directly, the emotion still leapt off the page thanks to those chilly lead vocals.
3. ‘Mechanix’
(Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!, 1985)
The song that announced their vengeful intent. Mustaine wrote ‘Mechanix’ for Metallica; after giving him the boot, they slowed it down, extended the bridge and renamed it ‘The Four Horsemen’. In response – and living up to his goal of being faster, heavier and more dangerous than his ex-bandmates – he revived the original and made it the finale of debut album Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! Petty? Possibly. But a grimy thrash metal masterpiece all the same.
2. ‘Tornado Of Souls’
(Rust In Peace, 1990)
‘Tornado of Souls’ was never released as a single, yet it’s a must-play at every Megadeth show. That’s how good it is. The seventh track on Rust In Peace came armed with one of the best choruses of the band’s career, but the real show-stopper was that Marty Friedman solo: a blitzkrieg of notes that’s often called the best lead guitar part in heavy metal history. The first time Mustaine heard it, he was left speechless and shook the guitarist’s hand.
1. ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due’
(Rust in Peace, 1990)
Arguably Megadeth’s signature track, ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due’ was inspired by a riot Mustaine kicked off during a show in Northern Ireland. Its main riff, equal parts catchy and intricate, summarised the band at their best, and the way it transitioned to that groovy mid-section proved that they were in a league of their own when it came to arrangement. It was an unadulterated, near-seven-minute onslaught, with three lacerating solos, and it still went Gold in the United States. Crazy stuff.
