Megadeth | Ride The Lightning
Megadeth's "Ride the Lightning" cover - Dave Mustaine reclaims the Metallica song he co-wrote 42 years earlier on his band's 2026 final album.
Story Behind “Ride the Lightning” (Megadeth Version)
Port Authority, April 1983
On April 11, 1983, Dave Mustaine woke up hungover in New York to find his bandmates already had his replacement hired. At around 9 AM, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Cliff Burton told him he was out of Metallica. When Mustaine asked about his flight home, he learned there wouldn’t be one. He was taking a four-day Greyhound bus ride back to California. Hetfield drove him from their rehearsal space in Queens to Port Authority Bus Terminal, and that was it.
During that bus ride, Mustaine found a political handbill promoting California senator Alan Cranston. On it was the phrase: “The arsenals of megadeath can’t be rid.” He started writing lyrics on the back of it. The word stuck. By the time he reached California, the outlines of his revenge were taking shape: a band that would rival Metallica, built from the same thrash metal DNA but driven by a fury that wouldn’t fade for four decades.
But here’s the thing about revenge: sometimes it transforms into something else entirely.
Forty-Two Years to Close the Circle
In 2025, Mustaine’s son Justis suggested something unexpected during sessions for what would become Megadeth’s final album: “Why don’t you do a Metallica song, Dad?”
Mustaine’s initial reaction was dismissive. But the idea wouldn’t leave him alone. “I thought about it more and the idea just felt good,” he told Record Collector. “I wanted to close the circle and pay my respects to James and Lars. I personally have always thought James was an excellent guitarist, so I think it was the right thing to do.”
The song he chose was “Ride the Lightning,” the title track from Metallica’s 1984 sophomore album. It was one of two songs on that record that still carried Mustaine’s writing credit, even though he’d been fired more than a year before its release. “Panic was never solidified as a real band, so my first real band was Metallica,” Mustaine explained. “Now that I’m going into retirement, I think it’s the right way to pay my respects.”
“Ride the Lightning” Recording and Production Details
Megadeth’s Approach to a Metallica Classic
When Megadeth entered the studio to record their version, they faced an unusual challenge. “How do you do a song better than Metallica?” Mustaine asked during a SiriusXM interview. The answer wasn’t to try to top it, but to honor it while making it their own.
“We sped it up just a little teeny bit and we kinda played around a bit with the solo,” Mustaine revealed. He and guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari divided the solo duties between them. “Teemu and I split the solo duties up, and we kinda did it the way that Kirk was doing it because Kirk was doing it the way I was originally doing it.”
The song’s original recording had been made at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen in early 1984, produced by Flemming Rasmussen. Kirk Hammett had taken over lead guitar duties after Mustaine’s firing, bringing his Joe Satriani-influenced melodic approach to the solos. Metallica’s version became the title track on an album that would eventually be certified 6× platinum in the United States.
Not a Cover, But a Reclamation
Mustaine doesn’t consider this version a cover in the traditional sense. “It’s not a cover song,” he told Guitar.com. “It’s a song I wrote part of... It doesn’t feel like we’re doing a song by another band.”
The Megadeth lineup that recorded this version consists of Mustaine on vocals and guitar, Teemu Mäntysaari on lead guitar, James LoMenzo on bass, and Dirk Verbeuren on drums. The track appears as a bonus track on the self-titled Megadeth album, released January 23, 2026 via Mustaine’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with BLKIIBLK.
Mustaine approached the vocals differently than Hetfield had on the original. “James and I have two very unique voices, and we’re both very successful in our own right, but it’s a different voice,” he explained. “So, when it came time for me to sing James’ parts, I approached it differently; I sang it a little bit more.”
Notes About “Ride the Lightning” by Megadeth
Release Date: January 23, 2026
Genre: Thrash Metal
Album: Megadeth (17th and final studio album, bonus track)
Original Song: Metallica, Ride the Lightning (1984)
Original Writers: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton, Dave Mustaine
Label: Tradecraft/BLKIIBLK
Live Performance: Band has stated they will not perform the cover live
Megadeth “Ride the Lightning” Era Band Details
Album Details
Album: Megadeth (self-titled)
Release Date: January 23, 2026
Label: Tradecraft/BLKIIBLK
Album Type: Final studio album
Total Tracks: 10 original songs + 1 bonus track
Lead Single: “Tipping Point” (October 3, 2025)
Announcement: August 14, 2025
Band Members
Dave Mustaine - Lead Vocals, Rhythm & Lead Guitar, Primary Songwriter
Teemu Mäntysaari - Lead Guitar (split solo duties with Mustaine on this track)
James LoMenzo - Bass Guitar
Dirk Verbeuren - Drums
Original Metallica Recording Details (1984)
Album: Ride the Lightning
Release Date: July 27, 1984
Producer: Flemming Rasmussen
Studio: Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
Original Lineup: James Hetfield (vocals/rhythm guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Kirk Hammett (lead guitar), Cliff Burton (bass)
Title Inspiration: Stephen King’s novel The Stand, using the phrase to describe execution by electric chair
Theme: Explores the horror of capital punishment from the perspective of someone in the electric chair
Interesting Facts About “Ride the Lightning” (Megadeth Version)
The History Behind the Song
The original “Ride the Lightning” was partially written while Mustaine was still in Metallica, though the band completed it after his departure. The title came from guitarist Kirk Hammett, who was reading Stephen King’s The Stand and found the phrase “waiting to ride the lightning” used as a euphemism for execution by electric chair. He brought it to James Hetfield, who wrote lyrics exploring the terror and injustice of capital punishment from the condemned man’s perspective.
Mustaine has what he calls a “spider riff” in the song that he claims as his contribution. Over the years, the exact extent of his writing contributions to various Metallica songs has been a source of tension. The dispute over credits even tanked a planned reissue of Metallica’s No Life ‘Til Leather demo at one point.
Closing the Circle Without Closure
Perhaps the most striking aspect of this recording is that Metallica wasn’t informed it was happening. “It was not for lack of having the thought or the courage or anything like that,” Mustaine explained. “I know the last time James and I talked, we were talking about some business stuff and I haven’t spoken to him since... I don’t have his number anymore.”
Mustaine was clear about his intentions: “Our intentions were pure. 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... I mean, I hate to say this, because it’s just so fucking arrogant, but the guitar playing in Metallica changed the world.”
The cover serves as a tribute, an acknowledgment, and perhaps a final statement on one of metal’s longest-running rivalries. As Mustaine put it: “I wanted to pay tribute to the band. And just now that I’m getting ready to hang my guitar up, I wanted to make sure that nothing is left unsaid.”
Common Questions
Q: Why did Megadeth cover “Ride the Lightning”? A: Dave Mustaine co-wrote the original song while he was in Metallica before being fired in 1983. For Megadeth’s final album, he wanted to “close the circle” and pay respects to where his career started, recording a song he helped create over 40 years earlier.
Q: Does Dave Mustaine have writing credits on the original Metallica song? A: Yes, Mustaine is credited as a co-writer on “Ride the Lightning” alongside James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Cliff Burton. He also has credits on “The Call of Ktulu” from the same album and four songs from Metallica’s debut Kill ‘Em All.
Q: Did Metallica approve Megadeth’s cover? A: Mustaine stated that Metallica was not informed about the cover before it was recorded. He had hoped to get James Hetfield’s approval but ultimately released it without that conversation happening.
Q: Will Megadeth perform this cover live? A: No, Mustaine has confirmed that Megadeth will not play the “Ride the Lightning” cover during their farewell tour.
Q: How does Megadeth’s version differ from Metallica’s original? A: Megadeth’s version is slightly faster, with Mustaine and Teemu Mäntysaari splitting the solo duties. Mustaine’s vocal approach is different from Hetfield’s, and the band played with some of the arrangements while keeping the core song intact.
As both a Metallica fan and a Megadeth admirer, I appreciate this very much. I'm so glad Dave is going out with what seems to be peace of mind, and on his terms, after everybody was afraid he would never make it this far. (Just wish this last album was better.)