Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has suggested that the band’s upcoming tour could feature a moment that looks back at his earlier career. During a February 4 appearance on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” Mustaine discussed Megadeth’s recent studio recording of Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning” for the band’s forthcoming self-titled album, Megadeth, and did not rule out the idea of bringing the song to the live stage.
Originally released by Metallica in 1984, the track carries particular significance for Mustaine, who co-wrote it alongside James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and the late Cliff Burton. After his exit from Metallica in 1983, the song became part of Metallica’s catalog, making Mustaine’s decision to revisit it decades later a notable full-circle moment on Megadeth’s newest release.
Explaining the reasoning behind recording the song, Mustaine said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“Well, we were past the halfway point in the album. ‘Cause that song ended up being song number 13. And when the time came to do that, we were talking about — what we usually do is a rendition of somebody’s song that we like or something like that, or a remake.”
“And when I was talking with [my son] Justis [who is part of the Megadeth management team], he had said, ‘Why don’t you do ‘Ride The Lightning’?’ And I kind of looked at him like, ‘Hmm.’ And then I thought about it. I said, ‘That’s probably a good idea.’ And I said, ‘Let’s try it.’ We tried it. It was cool. And I said to the band guys, ‘Okay, if we’re gonna do this, let’s make sure that we do it as good as the original or better.’ ‘Cause we gotta do that. If we’re gonna honor those guys by doing a new version of the song that I did with James [Hetfield], I think it’s important to make it as good or better. And what we did was we sped it up a little bit, and the drum fills at the very end, I told Dirk [Verbeuren, Megadeth drummer], ‘Have fun there. And you can beef it up if you want’.”
He continued: “And I talked to Teemu [Mäntysaari, Megadeth guitarist] and I said, ‘The guitar solo that’s in there, try and stay close to it, if you can.’ ‘Cause it really is Kirk [Hammett] doing an improvisation of what I was doing. ‘So, let’s have fun with it.’ And the solo was a little different — close to the original that Kirk did, but it was a little different. And then there was the singing. James and I have instantly identifiable voices, but they’re not at all alike. And I was listening to James sing, and it was fun for me to be able to listen to his vocal parts and break it down and hear how he sings, and then to go back and approach the song and try and sing in my style, which I do believe I put my DNA on that.”
“It would’ve been different if I would’ve done a song by a band I was in that I didn’t write,” Dave added. “That’s kind of like doing a weird nepotistic cover song. But this is one of my songs. So, yeah, I loved doing this. I loved writing it with James, and I loved playing it with Megadeth.”
When the topic of potentially adding “Ride The Lightning” to Megadeth’s live shows came up, Mustaine offered a response that left the door open and fans speculating:
“Oh, s**t, Eddie. You don’t have to ask me that. [Laughs] Maybe. Maybe. We do play ‘Mechanix’.”
“Mechanix” also comes with a long and intertwined backstory. The song was originally penned by Mustaine before being reworked by Metallica into “The Four Horsemen” for their 1983 debut, Kill ‘Em All. Mustaine later recorded his original version with Megadeth, where it appeared on the band’s 1985 debut album, Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good!.
The release of Megadeth represented a major commercial breakthrough for the band, earning their first No. 1 album in the United States. The record opened at the top of the charts with 73,000 equivalent album units sold in the week ending January 29, according to Luminate, with pure sales accounting for the bulk of that figure at 69,000 physical and digital copies.
Currently announced dates for Megadeth‘s final tour:
North America (Part 1)
- Feb 15 – Victoria, BC @ Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
- Feb 17 – Abbotsford, BC @ Rogers Forum
- Feb 18 – Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place
- Feb 20 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
- Feb 21 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
- Feb 24 – Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre
- Feb 25 – Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre
- Feb 28 – London, ON @ Canada Life Place
- Mar 01 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
- Mar 03 – Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Centre
- Mar 04 – Moncton, NB @ Avenir Centre
- Mar 06 – Québec City, QC @ Videotron Centre
Latin America
- Apr 23 – Lima, Peru @ Costa 21
- Apr 26 – Bogotá, Colombia @ Movistar Arena
- Apr 27 – Bogotá, Colombia @ Movistar Arena
- Apr 30 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Tecnópolis
- May 02 – São Paulo, Brazil @ Espaço Unimed
- May 04 – Santiago, Chile @ Movistar Arena
- May 05 – Santiago, Chile @ Movistar Arena
- May 08 – Monterrey, Mexico @ Arena Monterrey
- May 10 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Arena Ciudad de Mexico
- May 11 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Arena Ciudad de Mexico
- May 13 – Guadalajara, Mexico @ Arena Guadalajara
Europe & Asia
- May 25 – Valencia, Spain @ Roig Arena
- May 27 – A Coruña, Spain @ Coliseum
- May 29 – Bilbao, Spain @ Bizkaia Arena BEC!
- Jun 02 – Hanover, Germany @ Heinz von Heiden Arena
- Jun 06 – Maastricht, Netherlands @ South of Heaven
- Jun 07 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Amphitheater
- Jun 10 – Hradec Králové, Czechia @ Rock For People
- Jun 11 – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg @ Rockhal
- Jun 14 – Ferrara, Italy @ Ferrara Summer Festival
- Jun 15 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Halle 622
- Jun 16 – Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
- Jun 18 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting
- Jun 20 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest
- Jun 23 – Istanbul, Türkiye @ KüçükÇiftlik Park
- Jun 26 – Helsinki, Finland @ Tuska
- Jun 28 – Almaty, Kazakhstan @ Spartak Stadium
North America (Part 2)
- Aug 08 – Sturgis, SD @ Sturgis Buffalo Chip
- Aug 29 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
- Aug 30 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
- Sep 03 – Montréal, QC @ Parc Jean-Drapeau
- Sep 05 – Harrison, NJ @ Sports Illustrated Stadium
- Sep 06 – Harrison, NJ @ Sports Illustrated Stadium
- Sep 09 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
- Sep 11 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
- Sep 12 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
- Sep 15 – Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
- Sep 19 – Shakopee, MN @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater
- Sep 22 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
- Sep 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium
- Sep 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium
- Sep 29 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome
