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Heavy metal bands rarely know when to quit. But as much as we should all be thankful that many of the genre’s biggest names are still out there, there has to come a point when saying goodbye is the only plausible option. That day is coming for Iron Maiden and Metallica; it would undoubtedly have come for Megadeth too, but Dave Mustaine is a canny old fucker and has clearly decided that there is greater value in pulling the plug when his band is still vital and relevant.
One last album, one last extensive tour, over and out. The flame-haired thrash god has plotted a dignified course into retirement, and Megadeth is his final statement. This is the end, my friends. To balance out the bad news, Megadeth have kindly made one of their strongest albums of the 21st century.
Knowingly self-titled to hammer home the definitive nature of the milestone, Megadeth showcases the strength and power of the band’s current line-up, with Dave accompanied by the unfuckwithable skills of drummer Dirk Verbeuren, bassist James LoMenzo and latest recruit Teemu Mäntysaari, best known for his mind-blowing virtuosity as a member of Wintersun.
Always the most technically superior members of thrash metal’s Big 4, Megadeth have spent four decades raising standards. Every last second of their 17th studio album exudes the same precision and pugnacious versatility that made early classics like Rust In Peace and Countdown To Extinction so devastating. Recent singles Tipping Point and I Don’t Care laid the groundwork.
Megadeth have spent four decades raising standards
The former is an instant classic with razor-sharp hooks and balls like giant boulders. The latter is a slightly more lightweight exercise in spraying vitriol, but is also the most overtly punk thing Megadeth have recorded since their cover of Fear’s Foreign Policy. Both will cheerfully smash your face in.
The rest of Megadeth continues on the same pristine, precision-tooled tracks. Hey God?! mercifully resists the temptation to advocate for Dave’s Christian beliefs, and sounds like a steroidal out-take from 1994’s Youthanasia. Let There Be Shred is as visceral and thrilling as its title is daft, and highlights the monstrous blend of supreme catchiness and technical excellence that has informed many of Megadeth’s finest moments.
Puppet Parade and Another Bad Day take a more measured, mid-paced approach, but with more than enough grit to dirty up their deft, melodic charms. A ferocious high point, Made To Kill smashes everything in sight with nimble shifts in groove and multiple blistering solos, and Obey The Call repeats the trick, but with a darker atmosphere. Megadeth concludes with the scowling menace of I Am War and The Last Note’s achingly poignant last hurrah, while a much-discussed cover of Metallica’s Ride The Lightning is a bonus track that, one suspects, has more meaning for Dave Mustaine than it will for anyone else.
What really matters is that Megadeth are bowing out with another great album, and one that skilfully captures their leader’s blazing inner fire, just as it is extinguished by his own, masterful hand. What a way to go.
Megadeth is due January 23, 2026. Read all about their dramatic farewell in Metal Hammer's new issue, out now
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