Album Review: Megadeth Rust In Peace

 Megadeth- “Rust In Peace”: An Album You Must Hear Before You Die

Rust In Peace is everything you would expect from thrash and much, much more. Reminiscent of Metallica’s “…And Justice For All”, the well-crafted guitar solos, varying rhythm and time signatures, and sheer technical complexities in this album defined the true Megadeth  masterful style and set the bar for thrash metal standards.

The most popular songs in the set, “Hangar 18” and “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”, subsequently became Megadeth’s stable live performances and a must-have-heard for all hardcore Megadeth fans. The continually changing tempo and signature sweeping twin guitar solos in Hangar 18, along with masterful songwriting make it one of the greatest and most memorable metal songs in history. Rust In Peace also has the most well-defined style and sound among all Megadeth records, and possibly is the most melodic, which doesn’t necessarily mean it is the least heavy. Make no mistake! Or you will, well, rust in peace.

Rust In Peace is centered around politics, nuclear warfare, religion, UFOs, and personal issues such as drug and alcohol addiction. Holy Wars… The Punishment Due, for instance, was inspired by the Northern Ireland conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics. Hangar 18 was about UFO conspiracies, while Rust In Peace… Polaris, a song about nuclear warfare, was inspired by the Lockheed UGM-27 Polaris intercontinental ballistic missile in the Cold War era. The song hammers warnings of the destruction of the world when nuclear weapons take over:

Rust In Peace saw frontman Dave Mustaine’s songwriting and guitar playing skill at its finest, not to mention his signature snotty vocal style which adds to the sharp-as-knife sound of the record. This album was both consistent in theme and adequately varied in style. The familiar, signature guitar scales and sweeping solos in Hangar 18 were met with a pleasantly surprising melodic approach in Tornado of Souls.

Rust In Peace was also the first record to feature drummer Nick Menza, who rocked the sh** out of his double pedal moves, and guitarist-shredder Martin Friedman, who was hired right after presenting his own record Dragon’s Kiss to Mustaine, and who was half responsible for the razor-sharp and fluid guitar sound of the album. Given the technical capabilities of Megadeth members, it came as no surprise that Rust In Peace was finished as a thrash and heavy metal masterpiece.

 Final words

You don’t know thrash metal if you don’t know Rust In Peace. This album is perhaps the best Megadeth  album ever, and most certainly one of the most influential metal albums ever produced.

Megadeth Rust In Peace Track list

1. Holy War… The Punishment Due
2. Hangar 18
3. Take No Prisoners
4. Five Magics
5. Poison Was The Cure
6. Lucretia
7. Tornado of Souls
8. Dawn Patrol
9. Rust In Peace… Polaris

Written by Gin

Album Review: Megadeth Rust In Peace article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022

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