Megadeth’s self-titled final album is out now, which means fans are finally getting to hear the band’s cover of Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning.”
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine was Metallica’s original guitar player but was fired from the band in 1983 and replaced by Kirk Hammet. He didn’t actually play on the original “Ride the Lightning,” which appeared on Metallica’s 1984 sophomore album. However, he’s credited as a co-writer on the song as it uses a riff that he came up with.
Mustaine first confirmed that Megadeth’s album contained the Metallica cover in an October interview with Rolling Stone.
“Our intentions were pure,” he said of rerecording the song. “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.’ That wasn’t it at all. It was more about: This is my life going forward. I want to do things that are respectable.”
Next up, Megadeth is set to kick off a farewell tour of North America, starting in Canada on Feb. 15 in Victoria, British Columbia. They will hit the U.S. starting in September. A complete list of dates can be found at Megadeth.com.
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