Megadeth's swan song self titled album, "Megadeth" comes out this Friday

Megadeth, a titan of the thrash metal scene from the 80s and considered one of the "Big 4 of Thrash" alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, is calling it quits after their last ever self titled album, "Megadeth". This will be their eighteenth and final studio album, capping off a hall of fame level career that has spanded a staggering 43 years with massive hits like, "Hangar 18", "Symphony of Destruction", "Peace Sells" and many other hits that have catapulted them into metal mythology. Although they have not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they should be a shoe-in for that honor. Megadeth started in 1983 when Dave Mustaine, the lead singer and guitarist, was fired from fellow Big 4 band, Metallica. Mustaine later hired singer Lawrence "Lor" Kane. Although Mustaine would eventually become the vocalist and Lor wouldn't stick around long, he is credited with coming up with the name Megadeth. After talking about a song he wrote called, "Megadeth" with Mustaine, he thought it would be a good name for a band as well. Mustaine wound up using it, met Chris Poland, David Ellefson and Gar Samuelson and started writing songs. And as the old saying goes, the rest is history! They have gone on to sell over 50 million records worldwide, nominated for many awards and won a Grammy in 2017, and currently have a little over 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

As fans eagerly await their final album coming out this Friday, they did release a EP called, "Puppet Parade" this past Monday. It contains 4 songs including, "Puppet Parade", "Let There Be Shred", "I Don't Care" and "Tipping Point". This EP shows that Megadeth has pulled out all of the stops for this last album to give their fans one last hurrah. They still sound very crisp, heavy and brutal while Mustaine's infamous vocals sounds like how they did from back at their peak in the 80s and 90s. The guitar work is absolutely insane, especially on the last song of the EP, "Tipping Point". It starts off with a classic Megadeth sound of pure shredding and head banging material as both Dave Mustaine and Teemu Mäntysaari guitars soar into the song while Dirk Verbeuren's drums pound away like a fury of gunfire and James LoMenzo's bass keeps everyone in check while driving the song forward. This, by far, was my favorite song on the EP with it's immediate hook of pure thrash metal bliss that makes you want to headbang all day long.

Although it is a goodbye from the studio for Megadeth, they do have their subsequent "Farewell Tour" planned to start on February 15th, 2026 at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, BC in Canada and will end on September 29, 2026 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. So if you want to hear Megadeth's music in it's full glory, you still have one last chance to hear the legends before they hang it up one last time...unless they pull a Kiss and go on 15 "Farewell Tours", but let's hope that doesn't happen!