Review by Ben for Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? (1986)

A huge step up from the debut, Peace Sells is a defining album for one of thrash metal's legends.

I wasn’t particularly impressed with Killing is My Business…and Business is Good! Megadeth’s debut had some nice thrashing moments, but was too inconsistent and immature to be labelled an essential album. Band leader Dave Mustaine seemed too intent on bettering Metallica to succeed in forming an identity for his own band and fell short in that original pursuit anyway. Despite having numerous line-up changes prior to their first album being recorded, and guitarist Chris Poland’s temporary exodus on tour with Exciter, Megadeth managed to hold the same arrangement in place long enough to enter the studio to record a follow-up in late 1985. Unfortunately, things wouldn’t go completely to plan, as the small recording budget offered by Combat Records resulted in a less than satisfactory end result. Frustrated with the lack of funds, Megadeth jumped ship and signed on to Capitol records who subsequently bought the rights to the new album off Combat and set about remixing the recordings. In November 1986, Peace Sells...But Who’s Buying? was finally released over a year after the band first started recording it. All the extra effort was no doubt worth it as Peace Sells is a classic thrash metal album that really kick-started the band’s commercial and critical success.

From the very first minutes of Wake Up Dead, it’s apparent that this is a very different beast to the debut. In what has to be one the best starts to a thrash metal album in history, Megadeth combined humour, several superb mosh-worthy riffs and numerous kickass leads before the listener has had time to pick their jaw off the floor. Any production issues and awkwardness that blemished Killing is My Business are forgotten immediately and Megadeth have successfully left their poor man’s Metallica phase well and truly behind them. This is the most fun you can have listening to music and while I don’t have an issue with metal bands taking themselves too seriously (I take metal seriously too!), it’s refreshing to hear a band clearly having fun and making sure the listener does too, without sacrificing quality. Surprisingly given that the line-up is unchanged and the small amount of time between albums, the musicianship on show here is far superior to their previous effort. While Gar Samuelson (drums) and David Ellefson (bass) get the job done more than adequately, Chris and Dave’s guitar work is absolutely stellar throughout. Solos seem to be a dying art these days and its hard to understand why when you listen to Megadeth’s best work. Dave’s vocals also improved dramatically as he found a style that compliments his unique and limited range.

Along with the apparent huge step up in musicianship and production, the band really nailed their audience thematically. As much as the metal youth had lapped up all the pro Satanic imagery (Slayer) and philosophy of death / suicide (Metallica) related lyrics, they found it far easier to relate to a guy trying to sneak into his own house after cheating on his wife so he doesn’t Wake Up Dead. For the rest of the album the subject matter swings between a tongue in cheek social commentary and B grade horror / science fiction elements. Both would become customary ingredients of the Megadeth blueprint and even be seamlessly combined on Rust in Peace with government cover-ups of alien visitations. Interestingly, the Satan in Megadeth’s work appears to be the villain as opposed to an entity worthy of praise, as is the cliché of extreme metal. The Conjuring seems to be describing some sort of ritual with the end result being Satan claiming the soul of some poor bastard that’s made a deal with the devil. Bad Omen seems to portray a group of people worshipping Satan in the hope he will give them his blessing, only for demons to rape and destroy them before Satan takes their souls. The modern Dave Mustaine claims to be a born again Christian but it seems to me that his fear of God could be detected right from this early stage.

The majority of Peace Sells...But Who’s Buying? is damn entertaining thrash metal, although I have to say that Devil’s Island isn’t quite as impressive and I Ain’t Superstitious continues the dubious selection of covers that Megadeth marred all of their first three albums with. Wake Up Dead, The Conjuring, Good Mourning/Black Friday, Bad Omen and My Last Words are all Megadeth classics that put this album high on any all time thrash metal list. Even the overly accessible title track with its chugging riffs and playful leads is undeniably enjoyable, not to mention how much it helped the band reach a whole new audience with the video getting airtime on MTV. Of course I can’t finish without mentioning that cover. After the last minute botch together (after the real artwork was lost) that adorned Killing is My Business, the band needed someone to not only produce a great cover, but also give character to Megadeth’s chosen mascot Rattlehead. Edward J. Repka was the man who came up with the goods, not only forming the basis of so much of the bands future identity, but also completely encompassing the tone and theme of the album by suggesting that peace itself had become a commodity. It’s just the cherry on the cake for one of the many great albums to come out of the golden era of thrash metal.