In a new exploration of his intertwined history with Metallica, Dave Mustaine has detailed the creative choices behind Megadeth’s fresh rendition of “Ride The Lightning“. He explained that the band intentionally preserved the essence—and specifically the iconic guitar solo—of the 1984 original to honor the song’s legacy.
The recording is a centerpiece of Megadeth’s upcoming final studio effort, titled Megadeth, which arrives on January 23, 2026, through Mustaine’s own Tradecraft imprint and BLKIIBLK. While the public often views it as a cover, Mustaine views the track as reclaiming his own work, as he has maintained official co-writing credit on the song since his 1983 exit from Metallica.
“Probably ’cause it was the most emblematic of my guitar influence,” Dave said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “The spider chord — you know how I do the spider chord. And then there’s something called grunting, where I’ll hit the chord a half a step below the note I want to go to. I’ll fret it and I’ll slide into it… It’s way heavier. So, to me, I call that grunting. So spider chords and grunting are in ‘Ride The Lightning’.”
Mustaine also challenged the frequent narrative that his songwriting influence during the formative years of Metallica has been overblown, offering a clear breakdown of his specific contributions.
“Having written so much of the songs with [Metallica] — people think I wrote a lot, but on that record [Ride The Lightning], it was ‘The Call Of Ktulu’, which used to be called ‘When Hell Freezes Over’, and [the title track] ‘Ride The Lightning’. And the previous album [Metallica‘s 1983 debut, Kill ‘Em All] had four songs on it [that I co-wrote].”
When asked if the guitar solo in Megadeth’s “Ride The Lightning” is “very close to the original song” because Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett had replicated Mustaine’s solo from Dave’s earlier version of the song, or whether Mustaine chose to replicate Hammett’s 1984 recording out of respect for his interpretation, Dave responded:
“I think Kirk — if you listen to [Metallica‘s 1982] No Life ‘Til Leather demo and then you listen to the Kill ‘Em All record, it’s pretty clear that that Kirk had some instruction [about how to approach the guitar leads on that album]. Was it note for note? No. But it was pretty close. So, when the opportunity came to do ‘Ride The Lightning’ [with Megadeth], I didn’t really feel like I knew the song very well anymore, and I don’t remember what I played on for that song, for ‘Ride The Lightning’. I had a hard time finding anything that I played on either. So we just figured, ‘F**k it. [Current Megadeth guitarist] Teemu [Mäntysaari] and I’ll split the solo up, and half of it’ll be for him and half of it’ll be for me,’ and it turned out so that [Teemu] did a little more than half.”
Dave has categorized the recording of “Ride The Lightning” as a dual-purpose endeavor: a respectful tribute and a deeply personal farewell. In a December interview on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” he recalled how the concept first took shape during a brainstorming session with Megadeth’s management team regarding the final album.
“We’re managed by three men — Danny Nozell, Steve Ross and Justis Mustaine. And we were talking with management, and we were just kind of yacking about what the cover song was gonna be on the record, ’cause we always did cover songs on our records,” Dave explained at the time. “But this wasn’t a cover song, because I wrote it with James [Hetfield]. And it just became clear that I should do this, because if I’m going to ride off into the sunset, I wanna pay tribute to the band that I started in, and I wanted to make mention about what I think about James.”
Recalling Metallica’s formative years, Mustaine shared a striking memory of witnessing James Hetfield’s evolution from a dedicated singer into a powerhouse guitarist—a transformation that left a permanent mark on him.
“I think [James is] an exceptional guitar player. I remember the day that I saw him play guitar for the first time. We were playing at the Whisky [A Go Go in West Hollywood, California]. And we had a guitar player with us, and his name was Brad Parker. And the night of the show he changed it to Damian Phillips. And he showed up at the Whisky in mid-1980s Rudy Sarzo garb. And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s not gonna go down.’ And I looked at him and he had a giant feather earring. And I thought to myself, ‘This guy’s not gonna be here very long.’ So I go to rehearsal, after the show, the next rehearsal I go and there’s no Brad, there’s no Damian, nobody. It was just James playing guitar — like a motherf**ker. And I thought, ‘How did this happen? How did this guy go from singer to a great guitar player like this?’ And I was excited for me. I was excited for the band. And we started playing then.”
Megadeth Tracklist:
- “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)
