2019  ·  Released March 1985

The debut album that started everything. Mustaine met Ellefson just two months after being fired from Metallica — all he could think about was being faster and heavier. Given $8,000 to record, they spent half on food, alcohol, and drugs, then fired their producer and finished it themselves. The album cover was an unhappy accident — Combat Records lost the original artwork and improvised. Last Rites/Loved to Deth. Mechanix (aka The Fifth Horseman — the song Dave brought to Metallica which became The Four Horsemen). "Those guys are women — you can't use keyboards in metal." The Megadeth Drug Tracker begins here. Killing Is My Business is covered alongside all four Big Four debut albums.

2020  ·  Released September 19, 1986

The sophomore slam that announced Megadeth to the world — "a razor-sharp refinement of the revenge originally presented on Killing Is My Business, only with greater vitriolic commentary and exponentially greater virtuosity." Dave Mustaine needs a cape. Recorded in studios seemingly all over the place — don't deny the power of homelessness. The MTV News theme. Wake Up Dead. The Conjuring — a thinly veiled symbolic representation of addiction (or sorcery, or all bolthree). Dave Mustaine: a revolutionary hippie calling out hypocrisy and bullshit wherever he saw it, with a snarl you can actually SEE as you hear it. Smart thrash. #scrotumgoblets. Turtle's Records & Tapes flashback. "Block out your afternoon. Just tell the boss you've got a client meeting."

June 2022  ·  Released January 19, 1988  ·  The pivotal transition album

One of the most pivotal and most overlooked albums of the early Megadeth administration — the important transition from Peace Sells to Rust in Peace with a completely different lineup (Chuck Behler on drums, Jeff Young on guitar). Opens with an instrumental (unusual for a Megadeth opener post-Peace Sells). In My Darkest Hour: written the night Dave heard Cliff Burton had died — you can hear elements of both Peace Sells and Rust in Peace. Mary Jane: possibly Megadeth's first "stoner metal" song. Set the World Afire: that old-timey scratchy record playing before a nuclear detonation. Their Sex Pistols cover. The Megadeth Drug Tracker at its peak. Jennifer Aniston Alabama ASMR. Remember Fruit Stripe Gum?

2021  ·  Released September 24, 1990

Megadeth's "Master of Justice…And Puppets for All" — the thrash metal magnum opus that raised the bar for sheer musicianship, arrangement, and progressive thrash craftsmanship. Jam-packed with crushing riffs, majestic guitar solos, and vivid lyrical imagery. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due: the longest track, the best drums, and a face-melting opener. "The pre-Puppets Puppets." The original 1990 mix vs the 2004 remaster — the drum attack is totally different, way more aggressive on the 1990 version. Hangar 18: one of the most memorable openings on the album, that harmony section near the solo has a very Powerslave feel. Polaris is just the second part of Take No Prisoners. "Florida is kind of our Australia." "You gotta fluff first to build desire."

August 2025  ·  Released July 14, 1992  ·  33rd Anniversary

The follow-up to "probably one of the most perfect thrash albums of all time" — and somehow it went to #1. Complex in its simplicity. A more streamlined, polished approach that serves as a sonic palette cleanser after Rust in Peace — the edges smoothed out, but all the classic Megadeth ingredients still present. Skin O' My Teeth. Symphony of Destruction ("watch him become a god"). Architecture of Aggression ("time to pay with your ass"). Foreclosure of a Dream. High Speed Dirt. Countdown to Extinction. Captive Honor. Psychotron. "It's their Black Album." 33 years ago — to put that in perspective, 33 years before 1992 was 1959. Marty Friedman's lead sound has serious meat on it. "We can't ever talk about this, so let's talk about not talking about it when we're talking about it…"

2022  ·  Released September 2, 2022

Megadeth's 16th studio album — and proof that Dave Mustaine's passionate disgust and contempt for everything that has negatively tainted the world remains fully operational. Topics running the gamut from space travel, war, actual plague, nuclear disaster, and shameless celebrity selfie queens. Riffs right at home on Rust in Peace. The Chernobyl track has one of the most haunting soft intros on any Megadeth record. The back-and-forth soloing between Kiko and Dave has that Peace Sells feel. "Cortisone shart." "Finger pants — if you know the rules: no finger pants, no finger shoes, no finger service." The air horn frenzy awaits. A handful and a mouthful. Get your to-go box.

February 2026  ·  Released January 23, 2026  ·  "The White Album"

The 17th and final studio album — "The White Album" (forever, at least in our neck of the woods). Debuted at #1 on Billboard and at the top of charts worldwide. Teemu Mäntysaari's solos are the best since the Rust in Peace era — "Teemu is truly a monster." Tipping Point is the killer opener, classic shred. I Don't Care is punky and old school with classic Dave snarl. The skateboard-themed video. "Dave Mustaine needs a cape — he's always had one. He just doesn't always wear it." "That part kinda got me in the heart balls." The closer The Last Note: "it's kinda like his goodbye." Also: the bonus track is Ride the Lightning. "Whaddya mean what do I mean?" And fuck them a little bit for the Mick Mars thing. Tipping Point is Bill's favorite, and that's what matters.

February 2023  ·  The Sophomore Slam Head-to-Head

Two of the most important sophomore albums in thrash history go head-to-head — and only one of the members of one of these bands has songwriting credits on BOTH albums ("to be fair, 'tis certainly a vexing quandary"). Fight Fire with Fire vs Wake Up Dead. Ride the Lightning (you can almost hear the Mustaine riffs if you listen carefully) vs Peace Sells. Creeping Death vs Devil's Island. The Call of Ktulu vs I Ain't Superstitious. "Is it a lightning dildo?" The Twix Conspiracy. "Work out your traps and use your sports words." Discover the most sensually appealing culinary wonder ever documented in the annals of breakfast food debauchery. The verdict was reached. #fightfirelikemegadeth

January 2025  ·  Deep cuts from the first four albums of all Big Four bands

Megadeth's deep cuts from Killing Is My Business and Peace Sells: Chosen Ones, Looking Down the Cross, Bad Omen. "Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Poland." "Sacrificing Froot Loops?" "Is this the first technical thrash band?" "They're the Rush of thrash metal." "His voice has a snarl that the other guys don't have." The Big Four deep cut universe is vast — Volume 1 maps the early territory.

January 2025  ·  Deep cuts from the second four albums of all Big Four bands

Megadeth's deeper cuts from So Far So Good through Rust in Peace — the tracks that live in the shadow of the mega-classics but reward the dedicated listener every time. The perfect companion to Volume 1 for the serious Megadeth student.