Megadeth Officially Reveal the Tracklist for Their Final Album and Yes, It Has a Metallica Cover
Hey, did you know Dave Mustaine was in Metallica once? Hey, did you know Dave Mustaine was in Metallica once? Hey, did you know Dave Mustaine was in Metallica once? Hey, did you know Dave Mustaine was in Metallica once? Hey, did you know Dave Mustaine was in Metallica once?
I mean really… did you know that? Because for the last 40 fucking years, Dave Mustaine hasn’t shut the fuck up about Metallica and how they may or may not have done him wrong when they kicked his ass to the curb for being too much of an alcoholic… for Metallica. Now, as Megadeth begins to take its final bow, he’s effectively using the band’s final bonus track ever to pay tribute to his self-proclaimed rivals.
When forming Megadeth, Dave Mustaine’s entire purpose in doing so was to make something that was faster, louder, heavier, and just overall better than his former band. Did he succeed? I’d venture to say he came damn close. Now, at the twilight of his band’s career, Mustaine says he wants to link Metallica to the end of Megadeth as a show of respect. It’s weirdly poetic in a way, how the band that caused Megadeth’s birth is also now connected in its end.
“So, on the new album, we recorded Ride the Lightning, and the reason we did that was obviously because it’s a song that I had a lot to do with writing. James and I, when we were working on the song, it became clear to me when James first started playing guitar how good of a guitar player he was.
“I thought it would be really cool to close the circle — to show respect, to play the songs that I’d written with Metallica, and to honor our friendship, even though it’s been strained and ruined by emotions over the years when we weren’t necessarily friendly.
“But one thing I’ve always had is a tremendous respect for James’s guitar playing and Lars’s songwriting. So it was cool to do this and add it to the record. We sped it up just a little bit and played around a little with the solo — Teemu and I both tossed it back and forth to each other.
“So you might hear some differences with the tempos, and of course, I sing differently from James too. But once again, it was about completing the circle and showing what James and I, as guitar players, did to change the world.”
Sure, Mustaine has a writing credit on the song, but most normal people don’t know that. They do, however, know all the vitriol he’s spit in Metallica’s general direction over the years. Regardless, it seems like he’s trying to leave things in a better place than maybe his past comments have led people to believe. It’s an odd, if not noble pursuit in a weird way.
People began putting the pieces together that this cover was on the album over the last couple days, as the band slowly began revealing song titles. Reddit users correctly found light outlines of the words “Ride The Lightning” and pieced it together. So now the cat’s outta the bag and it pretty much confirms the report from back in July where disgraced bassist David Ellefson said Mustaine wanted to re-record contested Metallica tracks.
As for the rest of the album’s tracklisting, it’s got cheese like “Hey, God?”, “I Don’t Care”, and “Let There Be Shred” mixed in with tracks like “I Am War” and “Made To Kill”. At least it’s not Warheads On Foreheads… The tracklist is as follows:
- Tipping Point
- I Don’t Care
- Hey, God?!
- Let There Be Shred
- Puppet Parade
- Another Bad Day
- Made To Kill
- Obey The Call
- I Am War
- The Last Note
- Ride The Lightning (Bonus Track)
Megadeth’s self-titled, farewell LP is set to release January 23 of 2026 via BLKIIBLK, but you can preorder your copy today.
