We all know the story at this point, in 1983, Metallica kicked out their lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine, in favor of then Exodus lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. Dave fealing a little jaded about the experience, started his own thrash metal band called Megadeth. Their debut album Killing Is My Business…And Business is Good featured lessons in the genre and even a song called “Mechanix,” which is Dave’s version of the Metallica song “The Four Horsemen.” Dave’s writing would show up on the next two Metallica albums, which put the two bands on a similar path. There’s even a fun moment in 1992 when Megadeth released their most well-known album, Countdown to Extinction. It debuted at number 2 on the Billboard top 200 chart, behind Metallica’s black album, which was still sitting at number one. That means throughout their legendary career, Megadeth have never had a number one album…until now!
On Friday, January 23rd, Megadeth put out their final album. It’s self-titled and even features Dave’s take on Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning,” along with songs about shredding on your guitar and the social commentary that Megadeth is famous for. That album is, as of right now, the number one album in the United States of America. In a statement, Dave Mustaine said:
“After 40 years of delivering Megadeth music, playing shows around the world, I have nothing but gratitude at this moment. Finding out that our last Megadeth record is also our first #1 only further validates my will to go out on top.”
