It’s the end of an era. After more than four decades and 17 studio albums, Megadeth has come to the end of their career with this self-titled album featuring 10 original tracks, released on January 23.
The band announced that this would be their final album in mid-2025 via a YouTube post titled “The End Is Near.” In the video, they use artificial intelligence to generate their skeletal mascot, Vic Rattlehead, who delivers the news. Vic can be heard stating, “It is confirmed, the next Megadeth studio album will be the last. 40 years of metal forged in steel, ending in fire.” He then mentions that a farewell tour would commence in 2026.
Despite Megadeth’s ringleader, Dave Mustaine, being 64 years old, he still possesses the same distinctly aggressive snarl and emotional delivery he had back in 1985 when he was just 23 and releasing his first album, “Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!” This gives the album a fitting sense of closure, and almost a reflective “journey to the past” quality.
This album includes a bonus track, a cover of Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning,” which, in my opinion, really adds to the story and emotional weight of the album. For those unfamiliar, Dave Mustaine was previously a member of Metallica before getting kicked out and forming his own band, which we know as Megadeth. Even without the bonus track, the album feels very well thought out, telling the history and evolution of the band through the shifts in sound and style.
Starting the album, we have “Tipping Point”. It opens with a solid riff and drum groove before breaking out into a quick solo. The song maintains a steady groove up until the three-minute marker, where the tempo starts to slow, and the song takes a briefly darker turn before returning to its original tempo and chorus. Overall, this lead-off track is very weak and does little to build excitement up for the rest of the album, especially considering this is their final release. While it has a strong groove and an effective buildup at the start, particularly leading into the guitar solo, the song becomes repetitive and somewhat boring once the solo ends. The ritardando – a gradual decrease in speed – towards the end ultimately makes the track less engaging.
One of the highest-streamed songs from their album right now is “Puppet Parade”. This track opens with a slower feel before transitioning into a smooth solo from Teemu Mäntysaari. The entire song is built around a steady tempo and groove, which has led to many comparisons to the classic “Symphony of Destruction,” due to its menacing atmosphere. Listeners will hear the weight behind this song.
“ Puppet Parade” isn’t a bad track at all. I could easily listen to it on repeat solely for the groove. While lyrics aren’t the strongest, their meaning is definitely clear – Mustaine explained that the song is about someone trapped in a dead-end job, and ultimately, a dead-end life where everything feels the same every day; that clarity is a plus, since the meaning in many songs can be somewhat hidden. Mustaine’s vocal delivery is commanding and sneering, which makes the song feel more meaningful in the sense that one can hear that he truly means what he’s saying.
My favorite track from this album has to be “Hey God?!” It immediately opens with Mustaine’s vocals over a heavy groove. The song stays very energetic throughout and never really dies down, ending with a beautifully executed guitar solo. Fans can very clearly tell that this is a deeply personal song for Mustaine, especially through the references to God. His delivery in these prayer-like lines sounds both angry and pleading, with the emotional weight perfectly balanced. The groove adds even more intensity during these prayer-like sections; the music feels incredibly heavy, almost like audiences can feel the weight of his confessions. Overall, the song is emotionally heavy and chaotic, but in the best way possible. The guitar solos add bright contrast, especially with the use of harmonics.
My least favorite track has to be “I Don’t Care.” This song is, once again, very fast paced, but out of the bunch, it leans the most punk-influenced, showcasing the band’s rebellious side with lines like, “I don’t care if I’m out of line, I don’t care ‘cause this life is mine…” The song as a whole is extremely repetitive, although the guitar work of both Mustaine and Mäntysaari is undeniably impressive. That repetition, however, quickly becomes a nightmare. I understand the intentions behind this track, but hearing a 64-year-old repeatedly shout “I don’t care” in such an angsty way comes across as more corny than convincing. The only real highlights of the song are the guitar solos. Aside from those moments, the track feels largely uninspired.
The final track, “The Last Note,” is much softer and more melancholy compared to the rest of the album. It opens up with Dave Mustaine kinda narrating, making clear that this is the end of his career as he states, “one more winding road that I won’t come back.” We are then thrown into a guitar-driven, bittersweet goodbye. The overall groove is consistent until the 2:43 mark, leading into an almost minute-long guitar solo that runs till 3:35. After the solo, the groove returns and the chorus repeats, faking out an ending, until Dave Mustaine signs off the song with a haunting spoken goodbye. “So here’s my last will, my final testament, my sneer,” He says, before softly finishing with “I came, I ruled, now I disappear.”
Songs that open with narration are so cool and add such an amazing effect when trying to tell a story. Lyrically, this song succeeds in creating a poignant sense of the final moments of his career, and it’s genuinely quite sad. Without the faster sections, I think it would feel even sadder. I really enjoyed this song. There’s not much going on musically, but the guitar solo and the raw emotion in the lyrics more than make up for it.
Overall, I’d give the album a three out of five. Many songs sound similar and don’t have much going on, but when the band does something different, it’s noticeable, and not necessarily in a bad way. The album clearly represents the band’s story and what they stand for, but it doesn’t always do so as powerfully as it could, given that this is their final release. Still, it’s a solid send-off that goes out rocking, with more good songs than bad.
