We often rock is dead and sometimes we might believe it. But, the rock we know is passed down generations! Dora is here to remind us of Megadeth!

80s Heavy Metal

Back in the 80s, we had a surge of new music invading the pop charts, you had bands like Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Madonna, Poison, Bon Jovi, etc. 

These were friendly listening bands to play on the radio and MTV, but there was a piece of underground music rearing its teeth with screaming guitars, social lyrics, and blasting drums. 

Megadeth is an underground musical footprint for those who quite didn’t fit into MTV’s clean and crisp videos of the day. We called it Heavy Metal, now they are known as Thrash Metal. 

Not For MTV

One of the first bands I listened too was Megadeth. What does Megadeth mean.  

“Megadeath, or megacorpse, is one million human deaths, usually caused by a nuclear explosion. The term was used by scientists and thinkers who strategized likely outcomes of all-out nuclear warfare.”

Megadeth, Dave Mustaine

The band was created in 1983 by founding members Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson in Los Angeles, California.

It’s no surprise to know Dave Mustaine was also in the group Metallica. If you listen to both bands, you can hear the similar-sounding anger and angst in their songs. 

Megadeth vs. Metallica

Back then, I didn’t really know Dave Mustaine was originally in Metallica until a few years later. This bit of information only made me want to listen to Megadeth more.

One of the earliest songs I couldn’t get enough of was Holy Wars. I was truly blown away, the guitar solos as they competed and stacked against each other. 

Dave Mustaine sounded like a demon who just escaped from the devil and unleashed hell on Earth. Also, the lyrics rang true back then as they do now in modern times. 

Listen to lyrics and the battling guitars in this video. Get your heavy/trash metal cherry popped.

Roswell, New Mexico

The next song I loved from them was Hangar 18. The song is filled with a great instrument playing and eleven guitar solos. Hangar 18 is an Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio, where the alien bodies were taken when a UFO supposedly crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. 

The remains were later taken to Area 51 in Nevada, and many people believe they are still there. Dave Mustaine of Megadeth explained when the album was released. 

“Hangar 18′ is about military intelligence–two words combined that don’t make sense. I can’t understand why they’re hiding stuff from us. It’s our country, too. But see, they run it, and the more I get into politics, the less I become a musician.”

Megadeth, Dave Mustaine

Orchestration of Anarchy

Another excellent song I love from them is Symphony of Destruction. It starts with a symphony and then goes into this melancholy of Gods and the power of that.

This song is about political leaders who mostly puppets for the influential organizations that control them. It relates to military dictatorships, but also democratically elected leaders.

As Dave Mustaine points out in the song, the problem is not just the leaders, but also the people who blindly follow them. Once they gain power, these politicians lead a “symphony of destruction” that the people follow, often to their own detriment. 

This song came very quickly to Dave Mustaine, who says he was driving home when inspiration struck. He’s told different stories about his canvas for the lyrics, a receipt for sushi, his arrest paperwork, but he wrote the chorus in the car and finished it after he arrived home.

This song currently fits the political divide and unrest in the US now. 

Gunpowder and Led

This is another excellent song, Sweating Bullets. The drumming alone on that song is thunderous and demented. Love it. There is not enough credit given to Nick Menza’s substantial footing and handed approach to Megadeth’s iconic songs. 

The man was a master on drums, and more credit should be given to him. 

Here are some of the lyrics I resonated with and why. Back then, I was going through a dark time, and listening to this didn’t make me feel so alone. It was like someone else was going through these mental pitfalls. The mental health checkup song I call it.

“Hello me, meet the real me
And my misfit’s way of life
A dark black past is my
Most valued possession
Hindsight is always 20-20
But looking back it’s still a bit fuzzy
Speak of mutually assured destruction

All Time Fave

Lastly, one of my all-time faves is Peace Sells…But Whos’ Buying. The songs start with impressive heavy bass, and then you can’t mistake when Dave Mustaine guitar playing enters the song. There are so many great lyrics to this song, for example.

What do you mean,
“I couldn’t be the President of the United States of America”?Tell me something. It’s still “we the people,” right? 

Those are some powerful lyrics right there. Again a political song that still holds to current times. 

There are so many other songs that did reflect on the political current and mistrust towards political figures. Other songs are a great reflection on social issues that we have still not figured out and mind you. 

Enjoy The Taste of Heavy Metal

These songs were over forty years ago. I wouldn’t put Megadeth as a political band, but it certainly touches on some of them. Listen to them and enjoy the rivaling guitar solos and brutal, menacing drum beats. 

All the members of that band were musically gifted. Dave Mustaine is a great musician and lyricist.

 Dora Esquivel