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American heavy/doom metal ensemble Spirit Adrift is streaming a brand standalone single titled “Eternal Celestial Energy”.
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Death metal legends Deicide are set to bring their relentless, unapologetic brutality to venues and festival stages across North America. Joined by Rotting Christ & Immolation, the onslaught begins in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on April 9 before bleeding through the states to Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 26.

Since their inception in 1987, Deicide has left a ferocious mark on the genre, and there are no intentions of slowing down. In over three decades, the band has released thirteen studio albums, their latest being 2024’s Banished By Sin, released via Reigning Phoenix Music, which is ingrained with thunderous aggression and power.

Purchase tickets here.

The post DEICIDE Announce North American Tour Dates With Guests ROTTING CHRIST & IMMOLATION appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Our Lady Peace singer also recalls a much happier experience opening for two Led Zeppelin legends. Continue reading…

Megadeth’s albums number seventeen across forty-three years, and the story is finally finished. The self-titled record that closed it in January 2026 did something the other sixteen never managed — and where it lands on this list is the argument worth having. This is every Megadeth album ranked worst to best, judged on songwriting, riffs, replay value, historical weight, and how much each one still feels essential now the full arc is visible in one shot.

How I ranked them

Ranking Megadeth is never clean, because the band never stayed in one lane. Some records are pure thrash violence. Some are tighter, more melodic heavy metal albums. Some are clearly Mustaine trying to prove a point, and others feel like he was chasing something that never totally fit.

Five things above everything else: songwriting consistency, riff quality, replay value, historical importance, and how much each album still feels like essential Megadeth in 2026. Studio albums only.

I’ve lived with these records for years, and that matters with a band like this. Megadeth albums tend to change on you over time. Some hit immediately. Others only start making full sense once you’ve burned through the catalogue enough times to hear where Mustaine was pushing forward, where he was slipping, and where he was absolutely out for blood.

Check out Loaded Radio’s ’13 Things You Didn’t Know About Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine here.

17. Risk (1999)

Best song: “Prince Of Darkness” Why it lands here: It’s the least convincing version of Megadeth because the band sounds like it’s chasing radio instead of leading anything.

This is still the easiest album in the catalogue to place at the bottom. Risk has a few decent moments and it is not the unlistenable disaster some fans make it out to be, but it rarely sounds like a Megadeth record that needed to exist. The hooks are polished, the aggression is dialled back, and too much of it feels like Mustaine sanding off his sharpest edges hoping for broader appeal.

That’s really the problem. Megadeth can absolutely be melodic, mid-tempo and accessible when the songs are strong enough — Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia proved that. Risk just never has the authority those albums had. Even when a track works, it feels more like a curiosity than a statement.

16. Super Collider (2013)

Best song: “Dance In the Rain” Why it lands here: Flashes of quality, but too much of it feels flat for a band with this much history.

Super Collider should have hit harder than it does. Coming after Endgame, which re-established Megadeth as a serious modern thrash force, this one landed with a thud because the urgency isn’t there. The riffs are lighter, the songs are less dangerous, and the album never builds the momentum fans expect from Mustaine.

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing here. “Dance In the Rain” has real bite, and there are sections where you can hear the band trying to thread melody and heaviness together. The problem is consistency — you never stay in that stronger lane long enough for it to become something bigger.

15. Th1rt3en (2011)

Best song: “Public Enemy No. 1” Why it lands here: Competent, listenable, occasionally fun, rarely essential.

Th1rt3en is the kind of Megadeth album that passes by without offending you and leaves almost no permanent scar. It has the mechanics of a good Megadeth record — solid playing, decent energy, enough familiar Mustaine attitude to keep things moving. What it lacks is danger.

That makes it hard to rank higher. A lot of it feels serviceable instead of urgent, which is a death sentence next to the best parts of this catalogue. It is not bad. It is mid-tier in the purest sense of the term, and with Megadeth, mid-tier still means it gets beaten by records with far more personality.

14. The World Needs a Hero (2001)

Best song: “Dread And the Fugitive Mind” Why it lands here: A visible recovery from Risk, but still too uneven to count as a full return.

One major thing works in its favour: you can hear Megadeth trying to correct course. After Risk, that alone mattered. The guitars have more bite, Mustaine sounds more engaged, and “Dread And the Fugitive Mind” remains one of the best songs from the band’s early-2000s period.

It never fully escapes the feeling of transition, though. Some songs hit, some drift, and the production has that early-2000s thinness that keeps the whole thing from feeling as heavy as it wants to be. An important reset record, not yet the comeback.

13. Cryptic Writings (1997)

Best song: “She-Wolf” Why it lands here: Great songs, but the album never commits to one identity.

Cryptic Writings is where the internal tug-of-war becomes part of the listening experience. One version of Megadeth is leaning toward polished songwriting and radio-ready hooks; another still wants a boot in the heavier side of the catalogue. Sometimes the tension works. Sometimes it splits the record down the middle.

There’s enough quality to keep it out of the bottom tier. “Trust” was huge for a reason, and “She-Wolf” remains one of the slickest, coolest things they wrote in the late nineties. As a full album it never feels as locked in as what’s above it.

12. The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! (2022)

Best song: “We’ll Be Back” Why it lands here: A real late-career jolt that proves Mustaine still knew how to sound vicious.

A needed reminder that Megadeth could still snap the neck back into place. After some uneven modern-era moments, this came out aggressive, fast and mean enough to feel like a legitimate statement rather than a veteran victory lap. “We’ll Be Back” sounds like a band remembering exactly what it was built to do.

What keeps it from climbing is that Megadeth’s top tier is brutally strong. This has fire, chops and several killer moments, but not the all-killer feel of the records above it. It still deserves credit as one of the better late-career thrash albums by any legacy band.

Worth knowing: this is the album where Steve DiGiorgio of Testament re-recorded David Ellefson’s bass parts following his departure — a story Mustaine has since addressed at length in his memoir.

11. The System Has Failed (2004)

Best song: “Kick the Chair” Why it lands here: This is where Mustaine started sounding dangerous again.

The System Has Failed has aged well because it feels focused. Less confusion, less trend-chasing, more of Mustaine locking back into sharp songwriting and sharper riffs. You can hear the intent almost immediately. This is not a band trying to soften itself — it’s a record made by someone who still had something to prove.

That edge carries it. “Kick the Chair” still rips, and there’s a tightness that makes it more replayable than several of the records around it chronologically. It may not sit with the giants, but it absolutely belongs in the underrated conversation.

10. United Abominations (2007)

Best song: “Washington Is Next!” Why it lands here: A pissed-off, politically charged album that helped restore modern Megadeth’s credibility.

This sounds like Mustaine re-centering the band around anger, precision and bite. The political edge works better here than on some other records because the songs actually back it up. “Washington Is Next!” still feels like one of the standout Megadeth tracks of the 2000s, and the guitar work gives the record more muscle than casual listeners remember.

Not perfect — the back half isn’t as strong as the best stretch, and there are moments where it’s solid rather than transcendent. Still, this is one of the albums that made clear Megadeth weren’t just surviving into the modern era.

9. Dystopia (2016)

Best song: “Dystopia” Why it lands here: A modern-era triumph with serious musicianship and real replay value.

Dystopia had the benefit of fresh blood and it absolutely sounds like it. Kiko Loureiro brought a more fluid, contemporary technical style, and the record feels energized by the shift. Heavier than some of their previous modern albums, and more importantly memorable in a way several of them weren’t.

That’s why it lands in the top half. The title track has become one of the strongest later-era Megadeth songs, and the album plays like a band that found a convincing way to sound modern without betraying its DNA. It also won them their only Grammy — Best Metal Performance, 2017, for the title track.

8. Endgame (2009)

Best song: “Head Crusher” Why it lands here: The best all-out assault of Megadeth’s modern era.

Endgame is the record that made people stop politely respecting modern Megadeth and start actually talking about it again. Fast, sharp, hostile, and built around the kind of riff attack that reminds you exactly why Mustaine mattered in the first place. The aggression feels earned rather than nostalgic.

What pushes it this high is how hard it commits. Endgame does not sound apologetic or softened by age. It sounds like Megadeth remembering that speed, precision and menace were the whole point.

7. Youthanasia (1994)

Best song: “A Tout Le Monde” Why it lands here: Slower and more melodic than the classics, but one of their most complete albums front to back.

Youthanasia gets underrated by fans who only want maximum speed from Megadeth, and that misses the point. This is one of the best-crafted records Mustaine ever made — strong choruses, huge hooks, and a confidence that never needs to overplay its hand. It doesn’t need to be fast because the songwriting carries so much weight.

There’s also almost no dead air on it. Even the less celebrated songs fit the tone and keep the album moving, which matters more with every revisit. Proof that Megadeth didn’t need to sound feral to sound powerful.

6. So Far, So Good… So What! (1988)

Best song: “In My Darkest Hour” Why it lands here: Raw, messy and volatile in a way that still feels exciting.

Never as polished or universally celebrated as the records either side of it, and that’s part of why it remains compelling. This album sounds unstable, which fits Megadeth perfectly. The production is rough, the mood is ugly, and the whole thing feels like it could come off the rails at any second.

That chaos gives it life. “In My Darkest Hour” is one of the defining songs in the entire catalogue — written after Cliff Burton’s death — and the rest is full of the snarling attitude that made early Mustaine impossible to ignore.

Mustaine thought enough of that title to name his memoir after it.

5. Megadeth (2026)

Best song: “Tipping Point” Why it lands here: A farewell album that earns the emotion around it instead of coasting on legacy.

Final albums are usually sold as more meaningful than they are. This one avoids the trap because it sounds engaged, hungry and surprisingly alive. It doesn’t just nod back to old eras for easy applause — it genuinely pulls from different phases of the band and turns that history into a record that still has something to say.

Released January 23, 2026 through Mustaine’s own Tradecraft imprint via Frontiers’ BLKIIBLK, produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw. Four singles: “Tipping Point,” “I Don’t Care,” “Let There Be Shred” and “Puppet Parade.”

And then it did something no other Megadeth album ever managed.

Megadeth debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 73,000 units — the first and only chart-topper of their career, after forty-three years and sixteen previous attempts that peaked at number two. It also hit number one in Australia and Austria.

Teemu Mäntysaari brings serious energy on his only album with the band, the riffing stays sharp, and the whole thing plays like Mustaine wanted to end the studio run with a snarl rather than a sentimental fade. Several songs feel built to last rather than to decorate a farewell narrative.

Mäntysaari has said the first thing Mustaine had them do was sit down and listen to all sixteen previous albums, taking notes on every song in a spreadsheet. Ten months in the studio followed.

4. Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! (1985)

Best song: “Rattlehead” Why it lands here: The blueprint for Mustaine’s whole war path, delivered with wild-eyed speed and spite.

This debut still sounds like a mission statement written in broken glass. Frantic, ugly, technical and furious in a way no polished production could improve. You can hear Mustaine trying to outrun, outplay and out-snarl everyone around him, and that energy is a huge part of why it endures.

It ranks this high because influence matters, but the songs matter more. “Rattlehead,” “The Mechanix” and “Looking Down the Cross” are not historical artefacts — they still hit. This was not the finished version of Megadeth, but it was already an unmistakable one.

“The Mechanix,” incidentally, is the song Metallica turned into “The Four Horsemen”. Mustaine took it back and recorded it at its original speed.

3. Countdown to Extinction (1992)

Best song: “Symphony Of Destruction” Why it lands here: The commercial breakthrough that still hits like a serious metal record.

Countdown To Extinction is where Megadeth proved it could simplify without going soft, which is harder than it sounds. The songs are tighter, more direct and more immediately memorable than the material on Rust In Peace, but it never feels watered down. It just feels confident enough to stop showing off every second.

That confidence is why it has lasted. “Symphony Of Destruction” and “Sweating Bullets” became enormous for obvious reasons, but the deeper cuts are what make it worthy of this ranking. One of the cleanest examples in metal history of a band widening its reach without losing its identity.

2. Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (1986)

Best song: “Wake Up Dead” Why it lands here: The first full Megadeth classic and one of thrash metal’s foundational records.

Peace Sells is where Megadeth stopped being a dangerous new threat and became a real force. The riffs are smarter, the structures tighter, and Mustaine’s sneering worldview clicks into place with an authority that still feels definitive. Technical without sounding sterile, political without sounding preachy.

The reason it misses the top spot is simple: Rust In Peace reaches higher. But this album has every right to be in the conversation. “Wake Up Dead,” “The Conjuring” and the title track aren’t just great Megadeth songs — they’re part of the architecture of thrash itself.

1. Rust In Peace (1990)

Best song: “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” Why it lands here: The fullest, most complete realisation of everything Megadeth was ever supposed to be.

Rust In Peace is still the one. The technicality is outrageous but it never turns into empty showing off. The melodies are stronger than people sometimes remember. The riffs are absurd. And the Marty Friedman and Nick Menza chemistry gives the whole album a feeling of lift that even Peace Sells can’t quite match. This is a band operating at a level where ambition and execution fully meet.

“Holy Wars… The Punishment Due.” “Hangar 18.” “Take No Prisoners.” “Tornado Of Souls.” That’s one of the most loaded tracklists in metal history, and Friedman’s solo on “Tornado Of Souls” has been the benchmark for melodic metal lead playing for thirty-five years.

There are albums in the catalogue that are more chaotic, more accessible, or more emotionally complicated. There is not one that is better.

Check out Loaded Radio’s Top 13 Thrash Metal Bands of All Time here.

Every Megadeth album, ranked

17. Risk (1999)
16. Super Collider (2013)
15. Th1rt3en (2011)
14. The World Needs a Hero (2001)
13. Cryptic Writings (1997)
12. The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! (2022)
11. The System Has Failed (2004)
10. United Abominations (2007)
9. Dystopia (2016)
8. Endgame (2009)
7. Youthanasia (1994)
6. So Far, So Good… So What! (1988)
5. Megadeth (2026)
4. Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! (1985)
3. Countdown to Extinction (1992)
2. Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (1986)
1. Rust In Peace (1990)

Megadeth albums in release order

Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! — 1985
Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? — 1986
So Far, So Good… So What! — 1988
Rust In Peace — 1990
Countdown to Extinction — 1992
Youthanasia — 1994
Cryptic Writings — 1997
Risk — 1999
The World Needs a Hero — 2001
The System Has Failed — 2004
United Abominations — 2007
Endgame — 2009
Th1rt3en — 2011
Super Collider — 2013
Dystopia — 2016
The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! — 2022
Megadeth — 2026

Where this ranking will start arguments

The 2026 self-titled at five is the one people will move. Some will say a farewell record has no business in the top five; others will point at the number one debut and argue it belongs higher. My case is that it’s the only late-period Megadeth album that sounds like it wanted to exist rather than needed to.

Killing Is My Business at four will look high to people who find the production unlistenable. The production is rough. The songs are not.

Countdown to Extinction above Killing Is My Business puts the commercial breakthrough above the debut, which some will read as heresy. It’s the better record.

Rust In Peace at one isn’t seriously contested, and I’ve never met anyone who’s lived with the catalogue and argued otherwise.

If you want more of this, the full Loaded Radio rankings archive is here.

Where Megadeth are now

The story is finished, which is what makes this list possible.

The self-titled seventeenth album arrived January 2026 and became their only number one. The farewell tour opened February 15 in Victoria, British Columbia with Anthrax and Exodus, ran through Europe in May and June including dates with Iron Maiden, and Mustaine has been clear it’ll run for years rather than months.

He’s been candid about why the clock is running — the cancer, the spinal fusion, the arthritis, the stenosis, the bulging discs, all listed in the same breath as turning sixty-five.

A documentary, Megadeth: Behind the Mask, accompanies the run. His memoir, In My Darkest Hour, is out and the excerpt about David Ellefson has already made headlines.

Fifty million records, one Grammy from twelve nominations, thirteen guitarists, and a number one they waited four decades for.

Want to see Dave one last time? Full dates for the “This Was Our Life” Farewell Tour 2026

TL;DR

• Seventeen studio albums from 1985’s Killing Is My Business to 2026’s self-titled finale.
• Best: Rust In Peace (1990). The Friedman and Menza lineup, the most loaded tracklist in the catalogue, and the point where ambition and execution fully met.
• Worst: Risk (1999), the album where Mustaine sanded off his sharpest edges chasing radio.
• The final album made history: the 2026 self-titled debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 73,000 units — the only number one of their career, after sixteen previous albums that peaked at number two.
• The Grammy: won once, for “Dystopia” in 2017, from twelve nominations.
• Most underrated: The System Has Failed (2004), originally conceived as a Mustaine solo record.
• Fifty million records sold, and a farewell tour that will run for years rather than months.

FAQ

Seventeen albums, forty-three years, and a number one that took until the very last record. Is Rust In Peace still untouchable, or has something crept up on it? Settle it in the comments. And keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

The post Megadeth Albums Ranked: All 17, Worst To Best appeared first on Loaded Radio.

The new Vinnie Vincent album will cost you $2 million.

The post Ex-KISS Guitarist Vinnie Vincent Selling New Album For $2 Million appeared first on Stereogum.

🔥 Who Will Rise as This Week’s Champion on the MDR Battle Of The Bands? 🔥
And who will dominate next month as Band of the Month on Metal Devastation Radio?
Last month’s winners, HETSHEADS , crushed the competition with a staggering 322,430 VOTES , claiming the title of Band of the Month on Metal Devastation Radio! You can check them out HERE !
This is the weekly championship edition of the Band Of The Month – Battle Of The Bands that we host every month on MDR!
How does it work?
Every Monday, we launch a new poll featuring bands that submit music each week on metaldevastationradio.com. Voting runs until Friday at 9PM EST .
Each Friday night , at the start of The Zach Moonshine Show , I’ll be spinning the Top Six weekly winners , and announcing the #1 band of the week live on air — getting thousands of listens on Mixcloud !
At the end of the month , all weekly votes are added up, and the band with the highest total votes becomes our Band of the Month !
Winning Band of the Month gets:
A featured post on our Facebook page, reaching thousands of fans
A front-page spotlight on metaldevastationradio.com , which pulls in hundreds of thousands of views every month
A free PR email blast from Metal Devastation PR, hitting 40,000+ contacts including labels, zines, stations, and more
Airplay every hour during general rotation
Tons of social media shares and exposure across our network
If you want the world to know who your band is, this is the easiest way to make it happen!
💥 Want in on the next battle?
Comment below with your band name and we’ll add you to next week’s poll — or email me at zach@metaldevastationradio.com with “Battle Submission” in the subject line.
Bands can compete as many times as they want , and if you enter multiple weeks in the same month, your votes combine toward the Band of the Month title!
👇 Click on the bands below to vote as many times as you like, or add your own! Poll closes Friday, March  20th at 9PM EST!





Who Will Rise as This Week’s Champion on the MDR Battle Of The Bands?? 03/16/26 – 03/20/26

Vinyl sales in the US cracked $1 billion in 2025, marking the first time vinyl has crossed that threshold this century. According to a new year-end revenue report from RIAA, an estimated 46.8 million units of new vinyl amounting to $1.04 billion were sold last year, with a 5% increase in physical sales overall from 2024. (For comparison, CDs moved $312.4 million in 2025.)

The post US Vinyl Sales Surpass $1 Billion For The First Time Since 1983 appeared first on Stereogum.

Singer vows to keep performing and writing new music despite mantle cell lymphoma diagnosis.

The post THE WILDHEARTS Frontman GINGER WILDHEART Diagnosed With Rare Cancer appeared first on Metal Injection.

Medieval folk rockers Saltatio Mortis have shared a new single, “Ich Habe Keine Angst”. The accompanying video was directed and edited by Matteo Vdiva Fabbiani & Chiara Cerami.
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Fear Factory and Mushroomhead are teaming up for a co-headlining tour across the United States. A month-long trek is scheduled in October and November 2026. Support on all shows will come from Nine Treasures.
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