MEGADETH
ALBUM REVIEW
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Released 01/23/2026
Producers Dave Mustaine & Chris Rakestraw
Tracks
1 Tipping Point
2 I Don't Care
3 Hey, God?!
4 Let There Be Shred
5 Puppet Parade
6 Another Bad Day
7 Made to Kill
8 Obey the Call
9 I Am War
10 The Last Note
Bonus track
11 Ride the Lightning (Metallica cover)
“You know what I’m hearing? This sounds like it could have been…the sidepiece…to The Black Album…”
There’s almost a strange, sarcastic satisfaction in knowing that the new self-titled MEGADETH album will forever be known (at least in our neck of the woods anyway) as “The White Album”.
“Every time you keep talking, I just see shapes and letters…”
Released on January 23, 2026, MEGADETH is the 17th studio album from Dave Mustaine and Company and represents the final chapter in the 40+ year history of the angriest, snarliest, and most progressively technical thrash band of The Big Four.
And oh yeah, it debuted at NUMBER ONE on Billboard and at the top of the charts all over the world!!!
While MEGADETH represents the band’s epilogue, it contains all of the elements that have defined the band’s sound and the ethos of the genre that they co-created with the rest of The Big Four. All of the essentials are there: insanely technical riffs, face melting guitar solos, triumphant twin guitar harmonies, as well as some more straight ahead, laid back and accessible material that screams “radio friendly” without being dull or boring. If you’re a fan, you’ll dig it. And if you’re not a fan, who knows? You too may also dig it.
“Maybe it’s not pronounced ‘Tey-Muu’…it’s pronounced ‘Steve’.”
Always remember that “Rugby is a man’s sport that should be having grindcore bands playing the halftime show…” and that “You’re gonna paint secret little bushes like you paint secret little bushes… (and don’t you tell anybody).
Get ready for an apology from us regarding the last “White Album” review that we did, prepare for a never before heard “triple record scratch” (because we’re trying to stay out of trouble) and JOIN US for Dave & Vic’s swan song with MEGADETH.
TIPPING POINT
Solid opening track. Excellent shred. Classic Megadeth thrash. (Check out the video).
“Push me I push you back!”
The solo work (courtesy of Teemu) is some of the best since the Rust In Peace era. Dave has always had a good ear for shredders that perfectly fit the Megadeth palette.
3:21 – A nice change of pace that transforms into almost a completely different song altogether.
“Today I may bleed, but tonight you will die,
Snatched in your sleep, in the blackest night,
You buried the truth under layers of lies,
There’s no return, now you’ve crossed the line…”
I DON’T CARE
Punky and old school style, complete with the classic Dave snarl. Teemu is easily the closest to sounding like Marty Friedman of anyone Dave has had in the band since that era.
It’s hooky, and a suitable radio sounding version of the band. The skateboard themed music video fits in with the old school days of thrash when skateboarding used to go hand in hand with the thrash community.
There’s a video for this one, too. It’s fun. The skaters will dig it. The musicality of the 2nd half with the guitar solos doesn’t really fit the overall punky vibe of the song though.
“I don’t care if I’m not your class,
I don’t care, you can kiss my ass…”
HEY GOD?!
Pretty straightforward riff. There’s enough peppering of classic style riffs that will give fans a nice sampling of the band’s output over the last 40 years. The twin guitar work is a nice touch.
This one may be a grower. The riff is very straightforward and kinda basic, but the melodies, guitar solos and the harmony solo at the end are all classic Megadeth.
“Hey, God, I feel my life slippin’ away,
There’s so much left I wanna do,
The years are passin’ by like days…”
LET THERE BE SHRED
This easily sounds like it could fit on Killing Is My Business…as it has that old school Megadeth sound from the days of yore. The lyrics have a very early 80’s vibe to them. Teemu is truly a monster on guitar! What a fantastic addition to the roster of Megadeth shredders that have graced the band’s ever revolving lineup over the last 4 decades.
For the record, it’s got to be a one hell of a challenge to play that riff AND sing over it!
The video concept looks like Mortal Kombat (the video game). At some point you have to have some fun, and perhaps that’s what this album is a return to: FUN! The fun of thrashing and headbanging and just rocking your balls out. And it’s fun for exactly what it is: a smorgasbord of shred.
PUPPET PARADE
In case you’re thinking “That opening riff sounds familiar…” it’s because it sounds reminiscent of Almost Honest from Cryptic Writings. Straight ahead riffing with a flourish here and there. Certainly, some of the most streamlined riffs of the band’s career. And definitely the most radio friendly songs of their catalog.
The slower mid-section around the 2:50 mark is a bit of a change. A lot of excellent guitar work happening there.
ANOTHER BAD DAY
A bit slower and heavier…just like a bad day. Hate to say it, but this one feels more like filler than anything. Sort of a hooky beginning. Like everything else thus far, it’s not bad, but it just doesn’t have the same fire and fury, venom and sneer of past efforts. But it’s still Megadeth, so how bad is it really?
The layered harmony guitars are a nice touch that help dress things up a bit.
“You moved on, and I stayed behind,
Trapped in a life I can’t rewind…”
MADE TO KILL
Nice drum intro…sort of a Take No Prisoners kind of vibe. The riffs sound reminiscent of the Rust era. A nice injection of speed to help pick up the pace and energy a bit. Dave still has some aggression in his arsenal of riffs, and this one is a great example of that.
The change around the 1:12 mark seems like a throwback to their glory days. Definitely a lot of “memorable moments” on this album.
OBEY THE CALL
This has that 90’s Megadeth feel to it, circa Cryptic Writings. Someone needs to pick up the torch that Dave has carried for so long to ensure that the snarl, aggression, and cynicism of this band will continue onward into the future of metal.
If you can listen to it as a band with a 40-year history and enjoy it for what it is, you will enjoy it. But if you’re expecting something mind-blowingly different and innovative, search elsewhere. There’s a lot of guitar trade offs which are nice and definitely harken back to the days of yore.
There’s a strange, disconnected back and forth with some of the songs, where the verses and choruses are pretty straightforward and simplistic before changing up completely in the solo sections with more technical riffs and sections of guitar solo sorcery.
I AM WAR
This one is hooky, for sure, and definitely has ‘radio hit’ written all over it. Of course, ‘radio’ these days is just satellite radio, which isn’t anything remotely close to terrestrial radio as satellite radio will play pretty much everything, regardless of how “offensive” the FCC might deem it to be for the masses on terrestrial radio (which has all but been completely destroyed thanks to corporations and government overreach.).
THE LAST NOTE
This one might be the best song on the album, in terms of style and substance. An appropriate closer not just to this album but to the legacy of the band. This one has a bit more weight than the rest, musically and lyrically. Perhaps it’s the lament of the end of Megadeth not only as a band but also as the most outspoken force of The Big Four bands.
4:30 – this part really hits hard. Thank you for more than 40 years of thrash and shred, Dave. And congratulations to you for going out on top at NUMBER 1!!!
“…So here’s my last will,
My final testament, my sneer,
I came, I ruled, now I disappear.”
Show Notes:
(00:01): ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / #coffeewithdrawal / “That’s my drug of choice…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** /
“It’s a ‘long cold’ now…”/ “Let’s be real…can we have a metal band play the #SuperBowl?”/ “You want me to use the word…can I use the word?” / “They pander…”/ “Rugby is a man’s sport. #Rugby should have #grindcore bands play their halftime show…”/ #FuckYouNFL /
#AmericanIdiot / “The shitty overhyped football show…”/ #FuckYouGrammys for leaving out #BrentHinds from the #InMemoriam / “Give them the minivan…2 in the front and 5 in the back…”/ “Some people need a pat on the back…”
(07:52): #FairUse / “If anything, we are helping people find out about these bands and these albums and this music…”/ “So you know what? #FuckYouRecordIndustry …today is #FuckYouDay …”/ Worst roller coaster ride ever / “Not only our sexy voices but our shitty faces too…”/ ***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / “Whooooooooo….” / #NewShittah #AtomicFreak TWO FACED WOMAN / “This is #ACDC from the 1970’s…”/ “One more…/ LIGHT THE FUSE / “Are we doing an album dive here?” / NUCLEAR MELTDOWN / “What if AC/DC kept recording with Bon Scott?” / #BonFest / “In the same vein…since we’re doing this…”/ #Airbourne TOO MUCH, TOO YOUNG, TOO FAST / “My CD player ate my #DreamTheater CD…”/ “Every time you keep talking, I just see shapes and letters…math equations…”
(22:13): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: MEGADETH (by MEGADETH) / 17th album by #Megadeth (and their first #1 album on #Billboard) / “It wasn’t you it was the door…”/ Released January 23, 2026 / “Yes…math and triangles…”/ “How’d you do that?”/ #vocalburnASMR / “It sounded like he had an effect pedal…”/ “He’s got #Elvis mouth…” / TIPPING POINT / “There’s some stuff on here I could almost hear on ‘Killing Is My Business…’”
(31:13): #skatepunkthrash / “Man, that #Coroner album though…you can’t have that helmet on…”/ “Have you seen the vinyl? It’s animated…”/ I DON’T CARE / “Maybe it’s not pronounced Tee-Muu…it’s pronounced Steve.”/ #SteveRoger / Pronounced TAY-mu…/
HEY GOD?! / “You know what I’m hearing? This sounds like it could have been…‘the sidepiece’ to The Black Album…”/ #radiofriendly / “Secret little bushes…and happy little trees…”/ #dontyoutellanybody / LET THERE BE SHRED / “He’s always been pretty serious…he’s not the ‘fun’ metal guy….that’s the ‘let’s have fun’ song…”/ “Let There Be Shred reminds me too much of Let There Be Rock…it reminds me of his fun side…his secret bush.”/ #surprisebush / “I don’t like all hardwoods down there, I kinda want some carpet…”
(43:32): PUPPET PARADE / “That very beginning riff is almost identical to ALMOST HONEST (Cryptic Writings (1997) / “Listening to it with you guys here…it’s better.”/ “He’s got his own palette…”/ “You’re gonna paint secret little bushes how you paint your secret little bushes…”/ ANOTHER BAD DAY / “Totally makes my secret bush…stand up.” / MADE TO KILL / “See that sounds more like classic Megadeth…”/ #TippingPointASMR / “I don’t mind a #secretbush that’s a little legato…”
(54:32): OBEY THE CALL / “That was not on the boat…”/ “If you’re a #Megadeth fan, you’re gonna love it, if you’re not a Megadeth fan, it’s not gonna convert you…or it might, who knows? They went #NumberOne all over the planet…”/ I AM WAR / “It’s good but that one’s kinda basic…”/ “The most memorable part is the last 30 seconds or so…”/ THE LAST NOTE / “There we go…it’s kinda like his goodbye…”/ “That part kinda got me in the heart balls…”/ “And also, fuck them a little bit for the whole #MickMars thing…”/ #triplerecordscratch / #bonustrack / “Tipping Point is Bill’s favorite, and that’s what matters…”/ “Play the middle of it…”/ RIDE THE LIGHTNING / “Whaddya mean what do I mean?” / THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / “Actually, it’s Set The World Afire…” / #untilthenext #outroreel