“This is a tip of a hat to Metallica for everything that they’ve done, and everything that we’ve done”: Dave Mustaine explains why Megadeth reimagined Ride The Lightning for their final album

Dave Mustaine has explained why a rendition of Metallica’s Ride The Lighting is a bonus track on the upcoming Megadeth album.

Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer, Mustaine, who played lead guitar in Metallica from 1982 to ’83 and has a writing credit on the original song, says that he recorded a sped-up version of the title track from 1984’s Ride The Lightning in tribute to his ex-bandmates.

“I think it was the right time to record it and close the circle,” he tells us. “It’s back to where I came from, and honestly, it’s a good song, we played it really well. We sped it up a little bit, but I personally think when you’re going to do a version of a song then you have to make it just as good or if not better. I really think that we’ve done it just as good the original.”

The frontman continues: “I’ve always respected James’ [Hetfield, Metallica singer/guitarist] playing and so this is a tip of a hat to him and to Metallica for everything that they’ve done, and everything that we’ve done. That legacy that really happened in that teeny little garage in Norwalk, California.”

Mustaine was dismissed from Metallica due to a growing personal rift within the lineup, himself on one side and Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich on the other. He formed Megadeth shortly afterwards, having written the lyrics for a song called Arsenal Of Megadeth (released in 1988 as Set The World Afire) during his bus ride home after his firing.

Mustaine has writing credits on a number of Metallica songs, predominantly on the band’s debut album Kill ’Em All. He’s also credited on the tracks Ride The Lighting and The Call Of Ktulu, both of which appear on the Ride The Lightning album. Mustaine’s firing and the use of his songs on Metallica’s albums led to an on-and-off rivalry between the two bands.

When Megadeth released their debut album Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! in 1985, it contained the track Mechanix. Mustaine originally contributed the song to Metallica, though the band later slowed it down, rewrote its lyrics and renamed it The Four Horsemen.

Disagreements over credits on songs that Mustaine wrote for Metallica persisted for decades. In 2016, Ulrich revealed that the band had hoped to reissue their demo tape No Life ’Til Leather, but that they encountered “unexpected difficulties on the legal side”. The next year, Mustaine revealed that he blocked the attempted re-release, alleging via X (formerly Twitter), “Lars wanted credit on two songs I wrote every note and word to.”

Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson claimed earlier this year that Mustaine hoped to re-record No Life ’Til Leather with Megadeth in 2018, but that he put paid to that plan.

Ellefson remembered on his podcast The David Ellefson Show: “I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me? This is where we’re at? After all this time? We’re supposed to be writing a new album [2022’s The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!] and new songs. And I was just like, ‘I am not down with that.’”

Megadeth announced that their new, self-titled album will contain a Ride The Lightning reimagining earlier today (October 30). The album will be their final recorded effort, as this August Mustaine announced his intention to lay the band to rest after one more album and touring cycle.

Mustaine said in a statement: “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that’s truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it's played, and we changed the world.”

Megadeth will come out on January 23. The band have announced a handful of European festival dates for summer 2026 and will support Iron Maiden on the North American leg of their Run For Your Lives world tour from August to September.