The thrash metal legends go out on their own terms with their 17th studio album.
After more than 40 years of guitar-shredding thrash metal, Megadeth are calling it.
The band’s self-titled final studio album dropped today via Dave Mustaine’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label. It’s the 17th studio album from the Grammy Award-winning metal titans, and early critical acclaim suggests they’ve saved some of their best work for last.
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Leading up to the release, Megadeth released four singles: “Tipping Point,” “I Don’t Care,” “Let There Be Shred!,” and this week’s “Puppet Parade.”
“‘Puppet Parade’ is about somebody’s mundane life and how they go through life with everyday being the same as the day before,” Mustaine explains. “It is about a person who has a dead-end job, a dead-end relationship, a dead-end life. Many of us are going through this monotony, even right now. I wanted to share ‘Puppet Parade’ to try and illustrate how we often show people what we want them to see, instead of how we really feel.”
The album also includes a special bonus track: a reimagined version of “Ride The Lightning,” which Mustaine co-wrote with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich for the title track of their 1984 album.
Critical response has been enthusiastic. The Associated Press praised the album for establishing “this is no sappy farewell,” noting it “oozes classic Megadeth with blistering guitar solos, crunchy riffs and some mile-a-second double-bass.” Glide Magazine highlighted that “if Dupuytren’s contracture is already affecting Mustaine’s playing, it’s not apparent on Megadeth,” with Mustaine and Mäntysaari tearing through complex, heavy riffs and blistering solos with speed and precision.”
Last night also marked the worldwide debut of Megadeth: Behind The Mask, a cinematic legacy event via Trafalgar Releasing that hit screens globally.
Since ’83, Megadeth have sold 50 million records worldwide, received a Grammy Award (with 12 additional nominations), and generated billions of streams. Their catalogue includes platinum classics like Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (ranked #8 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time”), Rust In Peace and double-platinum Countdown To Extinction.
If this truly is the end, it’s hard to imagine a better send-off.
Head here to listen to Megadeth’s final run.
