Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along with Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer, responsible for the genre's development and popularization. Their music features complex arrangements and fast rhythm sections, dual lead guitars, and lyrical themes of war, politics, religion, death, and personal relationships.
Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on June 12, 1985, by Combat Records. At the beginning of 1985, the band was given $8,000 by Combat to record and produce its debut album. The band was forced to fire their original producer and produce the album by themselves, after spending half of the album's budget on drugs, alcohol, and food. Despite the poor production, the album was a well-received effort that obtained strong reviews in various music publications. Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! played an essential role in establishing thrash metal as an authentic subgenre of heavy metal music. It explores themes of death, occultism, and violence.
Rust in Peace is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 24, 1990, by Capitol Records. It was the first Megadeth album to feature guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. The songs "Hangar 18" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" were released as singles. A remixed and remastered version of the album featuring four bonus tracks was released in 2004.
Countdown to Extinction is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on July 14, 1992, through Capitol Records. It was the group's second studio release to feature the "classic" lineup of Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson and Nick Menza, with all of them contributing to songwriting on the album. The album features some of the band's best known songs such as "Symphony of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets", and "Skin o' My Teeth", which enjoyed significant chart success and made a great musical impact.
Hidden Treasures is a compilation EP by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on July 18, 1995, via Capitol Records. The album features songs that originally appeared on film soundtracks and tribute albums. Four of the tracks were released as singles, and three have received Grammy Award nominations for Best Metal Performance. Despite having garnered mediocre or negative reviews, the material on the EP has been credited with helping expand the group's MTV audience in the early 1990s.
Cryptic Writings is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on June 17, 1997, through Capitol Records, it was the band's last studio album to feature drummer Nick Menza. His departure would mark the end of the band's longest lasting lineup to date, having recorded four studio albums. Megadeth decided to produce the record with Dann Huff in Nashville, Tennessee, because they were not satisfied with their previous producer Max Norman. The album features twelve tracks with accessible song structures, specifically aimed for radio airplay. The lyrics were also altered, in order to make the music more inclusive for wider audience. These changes were met with mixed opinions from music critics, who noted the band moving away from their thrash metal roots.
Risk is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on August 31, 1999, by Capitol Records, the band's last album to be released by the label. The first Megadeth album since 1990 to feature a lineup change, Risk marks the studio debut of drummer Jimmy DeGrasso with the band, as well as the final appearance of longtime guitarist Marty Friedman, who announced his departure a year later. Meant to be a breakthrough on alternative rock radio, Risk received a mixed response because of the great deviation from the band's traditional sound. The backlash ultimately resulted in the band returning to a heavier sound on their next album, The World Needs a Hero.
The World Needs a Hero is the ninth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on May 15, 2001, by Sanctuary Records. After the critical and commercial failure of the previous album Risk (1999), The World Needs a Hero represented a change back to a heavier musical direction. Subsequently, the album charted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 upon release.
"Peace Sells" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth from their 1986 album Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, written by Dave Mustaine. The song was released as the band's second ever single in November 1986. "Peace Sells" was the group's breakthrough hit, and is regarded as one of the best songs in the history of heavy metal. Since 1985, the song has since been a constant at Megadeth concerts. According to David Ellefson, it became quickly apparent when playing the song live prior to recording the album that "Peace Sells" would be a hit. In 2006, VH1 ranked "Peace Sells" at number 11 on their list of the "40 Greatest Metal Songs" of all time. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the song number nineteen on their list on the 100 greatest heavy metal songs.
"Tornado of Souls" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on their 1990 studio album Rust in Peace. Despite never being released as a single nor having any promotion surrounding it, the song remains a staple of the band's discography. The song is well-known for its distinctive guitar solo played by Marty Friedman, which is regarded as one of the greatest metal guitar solos of all time. It is also widely considered to be one of the hardest songs to play on guitar.
American thrash metal band Megadeth has released sixteen studio albums, six live albums, seven compilation albums, one EP, fifty-nine singles, ten video albums, and fifty music videos. After he was fired from Metallica in 1983, guitarist and vocalist Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth along with bassist Dave Ellefson, guitarist Greg Handevidt, and drummer Richard Girod. After some initial lineup changes during 1984, Megadeth's lineup was cemented, consisting of guitarist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson, guitarist Chris Poland, and drummer Gar Samuelson. The band toured and gained a following, signing with the independent label Combat Records in late 1984. Megadeth's debut album Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985), sold very well for an independent release, and the group attracted the attention of major record labels. By the end of the year, the group signed with Capitol Records. Megadeth's first major-label album, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, was released in 1986.
"Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth. Released in 1990, it is the opening track off the band's fourth studio album Rust in Peace (1990).
"99 Ways to Die" is a song by the American thrash metal band Megadeth. The song was recorded for the soundtrack to The Beavis and Butt-head Experience, and was released as a single and a music video. The song was nominated in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 1995 Grammy Awards.
"I Ain't Superstitious" is a song written by bluesman Willie Dixon and first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1961. It recounts various superstitions, including that of a black cat crossing the pathway. The song has been recorded by a number of artists, including Jeff Beck, whose blues rock adaptation in 1968 was named one of Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time".
"Good Mourning/Black Friday" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth from their 1986 album Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, written by Dave Mustaine. Despite not being released as a single nor having a music video filmed, the song has become very popular over time.
"My Last Words" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth from their 1986 album Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, written by Dave Mustaine.
"Use the Man" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released as the third single from their seventh studio album, Cryptic Writings (1997). The song was one of the band's biggest hits, at #15 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
"Moto Psycho" is a song by the American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released in 2001 as the lead single from their ninth studio album, The World Needs a Hero. A music video for the song was made, directed by Nathan Cox.
"Dread and the Fugitive Mind" is a song by the American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released in 2001 as the second single from their ninth studio album, The World Needs a Hero. It was originally released on the 2000 compilation album Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years as one of the two new tracks.
Dystopia is the fifteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released on frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft label via Universal on January 22, 2016. It is the first Megadeth album to feature guitarist Kiko Loureiro, the only album with drummer Chris Adler, and their last with bassist David Ellefson. The album was produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw and features cover artwork by Brent Elliot White.
