Megadeth has such a sprawling landscape of good music that narrowing it down to their best performances is so tough. But I’m gonna try.
To be transparent, my personal favorite Megadeth album is Countdown to Extinction. I’m a sucker for “Symphony of Destruction” and “Sweating Bullets” and “Skin O’ My Teeth.” But I’m also not so naive as to presume that these are the best or most impressive Megadeth songs ever recorded.
So, allow me to present what I think they are.
“Tornado of Souls”
We’ll start pretty easy… Megadeth fans widely consider “Tornado of Souls”, from Rust in Peace (1990), to be one of the band’s better songs.
I won’t go into a whole lot about here, because I already talked about it on this face-melting guitar solos list back in January. But suffice it to say, this one is an absolute beast and a great example of how talented these thrash legends have always been.
“Peace Sells”
In 1986, Megadeth released their second album: Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? The record is 36+ minutes of some of the best thrash metal ever written, including the title track, “Peace Sells”.
When taken in the context of the mid-80s, the riffy tune showcases Dave Mustaine and Co.’s bold skill set. They were masters of their instruments and not afraid to get confrontational. “What do you mean I couldn’t be the President of the United States of America?” Mustaine snarls in one verse. “Tell me something, it’s still ‘we the people,’ right?”
Peace Sells might be a tad more subdued than some of what their contemporaries were doing at the time, but Megadeth’s ability to blend classic hard rock riffs with killer solos is a big part of what makes “Peace Sells” such a classic song.
“À Tout Le Monde”
To call “A Tout Le Monde” could seem like a surprise to some metalheads, but I feel like Megadeth fans get it. This song is so wildly different from the majority of their catalog. It’s almost an experimental ballad, which I deeply respect.
Its music video also has a wild backstory. MTV banned the clip, in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s death, after rumors swirled that the song was about suicide. Ultimately, Mustaine clarified that this perspective of the song was not accurate, but that it was in part about death.
“Holy Wars…The Punishment Due”
Another track from Rust in Peace, “Holy Wars”, is as impressive as it is relentless.
Like, this IS thrash metal. When we talk about Megadeth being an important part of the BIG 4, this song is the evidence. Back in 1990, the band dropped this as their first single off Rust in Peace, and it proved that while grunge might have killed glam metal, thrash remained unscathed. (For the time being, at least.)
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