💥 Megadeth began its life as the ultimate act of revenge. Following his unceremonious ejection from Metallica, guitarist Dave Mustaine channeled his fury into writing. The result was the band’s 1985 debut, Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! Recorded on a shoestring budget of just $8,000, the record sounded exactly like the raw, crackling, speed-fueled spite it was intended to be: Mustaine’s personal, blistering “fuck-you” to his former bandmates.
From Fury to Focus (The Debut)
Killing Is My Business… was a decent, necessary start. It demonstrated that Mustaine was a formidable guitarist and writer in his own right, but the raw production reflected the chaos and haste of its creation. It was the frantic sound of a man who had been wronged and was desperate to prove his genius. Yet, if the band was ever going to move beyond being just “the guy that got thrown out of Metallica’s” project, they needed a more sophisticated, defining statement.
The Cornerstone of Thrash (The Breakthrough)
That statement arrived just one year later. Their sophomore effort, 1986’s Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, was the album that elevated Megadeth to thrash metal’s top tier. This record was cleaner, sharper, and infused with a political cynicism that felt perfectly suited to the Reagan era. Crucially, in the title track, “Peace Sells,” they delivered one of the cornerstone songs of the entire genre. With its iconic bass line and Mustaine’s snarky, intellectual lyricism, the song proved Megadeth was far more than a revenge vehicle; they were now serious contenders in the burgeoning “Big Four” of thrash.
Perpetual State of Chaos
This jump in quality is all the more remarkable considering the volatile internal atmosphere. Megadeth existed in a state of perpetual chaos during these early years. Mustaine’s partying, which had led to his firing from Metallica, had only increased since putting his new band together, and his drug intake had gotten more hardcore alongside it.
The lineup at the time added to the combustible energy. Guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson were jazz-loving musos who had relocated from the New York scene to California, and they unfortunately brought their severe heroin habits with them. Mustaine and original bassist David Ellefson, who were already no strangers to the world of booze and cocaine, soon jumped aboard that far more destructive train. It was this volatile combination of staggering musical ambition and self-destructive habits that somehow fueled the band’s most intense and iconic music.