UMUR "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" is the second full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Megadeth. The album was released through Capitol Records in July 1986. It´s the successor to "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" from June 1985. The lineup is the same as the lineup who recorded "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!", despite cracks in the foundation caused by alcohol/drug abuse and personal differences. While "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!" certainly gave Megadeth a name, it was "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", which made them one of the greatest thrash metal acts on the contemporary scene. The colourful cartoonish looking Edward J. Repka cover artwork is legendary and was a real eye catcher when the album was released. One should not underestimate the importance of cover artwork on heavy metal albums.

The original version of the album contains 8 tracks and a full playing time of 36:16 minutes and while that may not seem like much I´d take quality over quantity any day. Most later reissues feature various types of bonus material. "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" has seen several reissues through the years but since the remixed and remastered version was released in 2004, the original version has been out of print. it´s of course a subjective opinion, but I´d get the orginal version over the remaster anyday. THe remastered version may feature a more fat and heavy tone, but I´m not a fan of changing the dynamics of a mix as much as they´ve done here.

The music on the album is thrash metal with a melodic edge. Dave Mustaine´s attitude filled snarling vocals are definitely an aquired taste, but I´ve never had any problems with his voice on the band´s studio recordings (as opposed to how terrible they usually sound live). The band are very well playing and especially the guitar solos really impress. Melodic shred fests of a high quality and entertainment level. There are a few less remarkable tracks on the album and especially the Willie Dixon cover track "I Ain't Superstitious" disrupts the flow of the album, and it´s simply a sub par track. On the other hand there are strong tracks on the album too like the opening trio of tracks, "Wake Up Dead", "The Conjuring" and "Peace Sells" and tracks like "Good Mourning/Black Friday" and "Bad Omen".

The production is professional and for the time pretty powerful. It´s still very obviously an eighties sound production and there are some minor issues here and there, but overall the sound production suits the material well. And this is of course the original mix I´m talking about. I´ve already spoken of the remaster above.

"Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" is arguably an essential listen for thrash metal fans and the album is by many deservedly called a "classic/seminal" thrash metal album. I still think the band needed to mature a bit more (and lay off the booze and the drugs) before they released their best albums, but "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" is definitely an album worth a listen. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" is the debut full-length studio album by US, California thrash metal act Megadeth. The album was released through Combat Records in June 1985. After being kicked out of Metallica in April 1983, lead vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine opted to create his own band and named it Megadeth. The band was initially called Fallen Angels, but after meeting bassist David Ellefson things fell into place and the band was renamed Megadeth. The original trio version of Megadeth recorded the March 1984 "Last Rites" demo, which led them to be signed by Combat Records. Soon after the demo was released original drummer Lee Rausch left and was replaced by Gar Samuelson. Guitarist Chris Poland was added as second guitarist and the quartet lineup who recorded "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" was in place.

The music on the album is old school American thrash/speed metal, which means that there are lots of traditional heavy metal elements in the music as well as thrash metal ditto ("Chosen Ones" could almost have been a Motörhead song). Traditional heavy metal elements are something that Megadeth have actually always included in their music. While the music is unmistakably the sound of Megadeth, there are a couple of factors that make this album a sub par effort to my ears. The production by Dave Mustaine and Karat Faye is pretty horrible, lifeless and without punch. It´s pretty noisy and messy. I have the 2002 remixed and remastered version and the production doesn´t even sound good on that one. The original version is even worse.

The material is decent but not much more than that. There aren´t many tracks from this album which should ever make it unto a Megadeth live tracklist if you ask me. The choice to include "Mechanix", which is a song Dave Mustaine played and co-wrote with Metallica, is more a curiosity than a great song. To those who don´t know Metallica´s version of "Mechanix" (...have you been living under a rock?) it is called "The Four Horsemen" and appears on their debut full-length studio album "Kill ´em All (1983)".

So all the negatives aside, "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" is still a decent debut album from Megadeth. But it´s arguably one of the weaker debut efforts from the early thrash metal scene, because of the sub par production values and the immature and uneven songwriting. The restless energy and rawness of the performances are some of the greatest assets of the album and definitely some of the saving graces. At 31:27 it´s a very short album and considering that 4:39 of those minues are spend on playing a cover of "These Boots" by Nancy Sinatra, there really isn´t that much original material featured on "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!". A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Last Rites" is the first demo recording by US, California based thrash metal act Megadeth. The demo was independently released in March 1984. After lead vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine´s departure from Metallica in April 1983 while in New York to record (he was unceremoniously fired because of his alcohol/drug abuse and irratic behaviour), Mustaine went back to California and formed the short-lived Fallen Angels. When he met bassist David Ellefson and realised that they couldn´t find a lead vocalist, Mustaine took up the vocal duties himself and about the same time the band name was changed to Megadeth. On this demo Megadeth is a trio completed by drummer Lee Rausch. Rausch left soon after and was replaced by Gar Samuelson and with the addition of guitarist Chris Poland the first stable lineup of Megadeth was born.

...but that´s getting ahead of the story. Stylistically the three tracks on the 11:26 minutes long demo are harsh, raw, and aggressive thrash/speed metal compositions, which all ended up in re-recorded versions of Megadeth´s June 1985 debut full-length studio album "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!". "Rattlehead" was also recorded during the same demo recording sessions at Hitman Studios in Hollywood, California, but was never officially released. That song was also re-recorded and included on "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!". So there´s nothing on "Last Rites" you haven´t heard before if you already own "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!", other than raw demo versions of tracks which appear on the debut album.

There´s certainly promise here and while Mustaine is a pretty unconventional thrash metal singer, his snarling approach provides Megadeth´s music with something unique. "Last Rites" features a decent although rough around the edges sound production, which suits the material well. For a 1984 thrash metal demo this is pretty well produced. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Kingcrimsonprog 2022’s The Sick, The Dying And The Dead is Thrash Metal legends Megadeth’s 16th full-length studio album. At just shy of an hour, the Mustaine / Chris Rakestraw produced record is a nice, easily digestible slice of modern Megadeth.

The album’s backstory will doubtlessly overshadow the music (you know it all by now, Dave’s triumph over cancer, Ellefson’s removal from the band, Steve Di Giorgio’s stepping in etc). The music probably won’t be talked about as much, especially in a few year’s time.

Stylistically, its sort of the same direction the band have been doing since United Abominations. There are some pretty strong tunes that fans will love “Soldier On” “Celebutante” and “Night Stalkers” are all quite memorable, but there is a little bit of filler and like the previous album, Dystopia, its a lot of the right style with great guitar and drums, but slightly forgettable actual songs, that don’t live up to say Endgame or the first six albums.

The special digital edition of the album ends with two cover tunes, a Dead Kennedys B-side and a Sammy Hagar tune where Sammy himself actually provides guest vocals. A nice bit of fun as a bonus to round out the album and send you on your way. They end up being two of the most memorable tracks on the record. I would recommend this version.

TSTD&TD is an absolutely fine modern Megadeth album, and there are three or four songs from it that could make it into the live show for a short time, which at this stage in their career is really all you can ask for. Ranking it against their back catalogue, it feels kind of around the same tier as maybe Thirteen. Go in with tempered expectations, and you should have a good time. Just don’t expect an absolute career highlight. It’s the best album you can reasonably expect… just remember to have reasonable expectations.

UMUR "TH1RT3EN" is the 13th full-length studio album by US thrash metal/heavy metal act Megadeth. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in November 2011. It´s the successor to "Endgame" from 2009 and is´s notable for the return of original bassist Dave Ellefson, who had not recorded with the band since "The World Needs a Hero (2001)". He replaces James LoMenzo who had recorded and toured with the band in the 2006-2010 period.

The music on the album is thrashy heavy metal, which of course is no surprise if you are familiar with the band´s back catalogue. Some of the band´s albums have leaned more towards heavy metal than thrash metal and visa versa. "Endgame (2009)" was one of the more thrash metal dominated releases by Megadeth, but with "TH1RT3EN" I think the band again lean a bit more towards heavy metal, although the album still features many thrash metal riffs and rhythms.

One of the greatest assets on the album is the high level musicianship and especially guitarist Chris Broderick who delivers one shredding, melodic lead after another. He is able to lift even some of the more standard quality tracks to a higher level with his diverse and skillful playing. The rest of the band are also, as usual, very well playing including frontman Dave Mustaine who delivers yet another nasal, snarling, and distinct sounding vocal performance. He shows his softer more melodic side on occasion though. His performance in "Millennium of the Blind" is an example of that, but quite a few of the tracks on "TH1RT3EN" feature relatively melodic choruses.

Although the standard of the songwriting is pretty high throughout there are some less remarkable tracks on the album and only a few standout tracks. Highlights include the two opening tracks "Sudden Death" and "Public Enemy No. 1" and album closer "13". Some of the material on the album had previously been recorded as demos, and therefore written several years before, but was re-worked and re-arranged for "TH1RT3EN". It can be heard in the riff style on some tracks, which is similar to the riff style on various preceding releases. In that respect "TH1RT3EN" isn´t the most original or unique sounding Megadeth release, but it´s recognisable and the overall quality of the album is solid. Featuring a powerful, detailed, and well sounding production job, it is another quality release by Megadeth, but still a slight step down from the quality of "Endgame (2009)". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 The Megadeth episode of VH1’s ‘Behind the Music’ series is pretty much exactly what it says it is; a look at the history of one of heavy metal’s most beloved bands. The VH1 name gives this a bit more credibility and authenticity than your typical unofficial band biography, and as such, this features interviews with band members past and present, as well as other people associated with the band at one point or another.

Looking candidly at Dave Mustaine’s expulsion from Metallica, the bands early days and their later attempts to break into mainstream territory, as well as Mustaine’s endless battles with addictions, other than being a bit outdated now, (being released in 2001), this is overall a very interesting watch, and a worthy addition to any Megadeth fan’s collection.

martindavey87 ‘Rusted Pieces’ was my first music DVD purchase, way back in the year 2000, at the tender age of 13! While YouTube makes any collection of promotional music videos pretty pointless today, this was still an awesome video to watch back when I was barely old enough to shave. Featuring just six music videos and small bits of dialogue in between each song, these are some of Megadeth’s finest early songs, and have some significance to heavy metal history. However, despite that, at barely half an hour in duration, this isn’t worth owning today unless you’re an OCD collector like me, who needs to own everything.

Kingcrimsonprog Megadeth’s That One Night: Live In Buenos Aires is arguably the band’s finest live effort and certainly one of their best DVDs. The band are absolutely on fire in terms of performance and energy, the crowd are going wild for the band and the setlist is superb, what more could anyone ask for in a concert ?

In terms of the actual DVD; the Audio/Visual quality is top notch and the whole performance is captured well, with a good job made of the mixing, camerawork and editing. Everything is utterly professional and well handled, nothing is cheesy or over the top which just allows the music to do the talking.

Surprisingly; apart from frontman Dave Mustaine, even though the band’s line up at the time didn’t feature any musician responsible for the albums from Rust In Peace – Cryptic Writings, or indeed David Ellefson who was on every single Megadeth album until The System has Failed, the band put down a storming performance and seem to be at the top of their game, reveling in their success and fired on by the manic crowd.

(Then) New members Glen Drover on guitar, James MacDonough on Bass and on Shawn Drover on Drums are all great additions to the band, and it isn’t difficult to see why Glen lasted another studio album and Shawn remains with the band to this day.

The concert includes all the classic Megadeth material you would expect like ‘Peace Sells…,’ ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due,’ ‘Symphony Of Destruction,’ and ‘In My Darkest Hour,’ as well as some less played numbers such as ‘I’ll Be There,’ and the superb ‘Set The World Afire.’

Additionally, their then new The System Has Failed record is well represented and the songs fit well into the set along side all the fan favourites.

That One Night’ was filmed in 2005 and released in 2007 and is still a brilliant live document and perhaps unsurpassed by later releases. I remember being hugely impressed with it when it was new, and watching it back now my opinion has not changed at all, which is surely a good sign. All Megadeth fans should all consider picking up a copy, this is an utterly fantastic concert and would serve as a fine introduction to the band. I highly recommend it.