Megadeth Revisit Metallica Classic For Final LP

Megadeth’s final studio album will look back to a formative moment in frontman Dave Mustaine’s career by including a “reimagined” take on Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning,” which he co-wrote during his short stint as lead guitarist with the band in the early 1980s.

The cut served as the title track to Metallica’s 1984 sophomore album, which introduced Kirk Hammett as Mustaine’s replacement. He promptly formed Megadeth after his Metallica departure and has led the group ever since.

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“As I come full circle on the career of a lifetime, the decision to include ‘Ride The Lightning,’ a song I co-wrote with James [Hetfield], Lars [Ulrich], and [the late] Cliff [Burton], was to pay my respects to where my career first started,” the 64-year-old Mustaine says of Megadeth, which will be released Jan. 23 on his Tradecraft label through Frontiers Label Group’s BLKIIBLK imprint.

Megadeth will support the project with their final live shows, beginning April 23 in Costa Rica. They’ll also open for Iron Maiden on a number of North American shows as part of that band’s own 50th anniversary tour.

“We have done something together that’s truly wonderful and will probably never happen again,” Mustaine said when announcing that Megadeth was winding down. “We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it’s played and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything.”

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