Megadeth will release their self-titled final album on Jan. 23, and the set will include a customarily headline-grabbing send-off from Dave Mustaine: a cover of Metallica‘s “Ride the Lightning.”
Mustaine confirmed the rumor to Rolling Stone in a new interview. You can learn more and see the full Megadeth track listing below.
Why Is Dave Mustaine Covering ‘Ride the Lightning’ on Final Megadeth Album?
The “Ride the Lightning” cover is fair game, considering Mustaine wrote part of the song before Metallica fired him in 1983.
“It wasn’t really that I wanted to do my version,” the Megadeth leader told Rolling Stone. “I think that we all wanted it to turn out a certain way, and for me, this was about something so much more than how a song turns out. It was about respect.”
Specifically, it’s about respect for Metallica’s James Hetfield, with whom Mustaine has had a famously fraught relationship for decades.
“No one ever talks to me about that,” Mustaine said of Hetfield’s guitar chops. “One day he’s a singer, the next day he’s this fucking powerhouse and I’ve always respected him as a guitar player. So I wanted to do something to close the circle on my career right now, since it started off with Panic [Mustaine’s pre-Metallica band] and several of the songs that ended up in the Metallica repertoire, I wanted to do something that I felt would be a good song.”
Dave Mustaine: Metallica’s Guitar Playing ‘Changed the World’
Mustaine has rarely shied away from taking jabs at his former Metallica bandmates in the press, but he swore his “intentions were pure” when deciding to cover “Ride the Lightning” on Megadeth.
“I didn’t have any reason I was going to say, ‘Oh, hey man, this thing that we’ve had for 40 years where you guys will never tour with me, me doing the song is going to change things,'” he said. “That wasn’t it at all. It was more about: This is my life going forward. I want to do things that are respectable. And I think doing something where we can pay honor to the guy that … I mean, I hate to say this, because it’s just so fucking arrogant, but the guitar playing in Metallica changed the world.”
READ MORE: Dave Mustaine After Metallica: 40 Moments for 40 Years
Has Metallica Heard Megadeth’s Version of ‘Ride the Lightning’?
Despite his pure intentions, Mustaine said the members of Metallica have not heard his version of “Ride the Lightning.”
“It was not for lack of having the thought or the courage or anything like that. I know the last time James and I talked, we were talking about some business stuff and I haven’t spoken to him since,” he explained. “So I was hoping that we could get his approval on this before we release the track. But when it turned out the way that it did, I think there were so many people that were happy that we did this, that we just went for it. And I’ll be more than happy to talk to him when I get the opportunity, but I don’t have his number anymore.”
READ MORE: Top 10 Megadeth Songs
Although Mustaine and Hetfield have had a contentious relationship over the years, to put it mildly, Mustaine hopes this gesture will demonstrate his respect for his former bandmate and peer.
“I think the whole purpose of this was not to try and rekindle relationships or anything,” he said.” It was about showing respect to a man that … I don’t believe he thinks I respect him and I wanted to make that clear.”
“I wanted to pay tribute to the band,” he concluded. “And just now that I’m getting ready to hang my guitar up, I wanted to make sure that nothing is left unsaid.”
Megadeth, ‘Megadeth’ Track Listing
1. “Tipping Point”
2. “I Don’t Care”
3. “Hey, God?!”
4. “Let There Be Shred”
5. “Puppet Parade”
6. “Another Bad Day”
7. “Made to Kill”
8. “Obey the Call”
9. “I Am War”
10. “The Last Note”
11. “Ride the Lightning” (Bonus Track)
Metallica Albums Ranked
There are moments of indecision when compiling this list. After all, we really could have had – for the first time ever – a three-way tie for first.
Gallery Credit: UCR Staff