Peace Sells...But Who's Buying

This sounds very stupid to me but it's also fun, and not a bad thing to listen to if you just feel like turning your brain off. No, I will not be listening to all the live tracks.

I know it's dumb but, man, is it ever fun. It's hard to dislike Megadeath. They lay down such serious shreds while never taking themselves too seriously. I love that. The grooves here are so solid, the breakdowns so good, and the guitar riffs are a masterclass is glorious brutality. There's a lot for a rock fan to love here, honestly. Are the lyrics fantastic? Hell no. But nobody ever hit play on a band called "Megadeath" expecting world-class lyricism. That's not what you're here for. You're hare for the shreds. And Megadeath delivers.

There's just some phenomenal riffs on here, the technical guitar work is stellar. The only thing that I really can fault this album for is that I find some of the songs are hard to differentiate from one another, they sort of just blend into this thrashy hull in the middle without much to really set them apart

Five stars. Why? Because it's Peace Sells...But Who's Buying by Megadeth, that's why

Growing up Megadeth was always the band that played second fiddle to Metallica. Dave Mustaine got the boot via bus ticket from Metallica after all and decided that he needed to get back by playing faster and harder than Metallica ever could. This record is a good reminder of why they always came in second. There are riffs. Sooooooo many riffs. Mustaine is an amazing guitarist and the rest of the band excelled at speed and thrash. But this album in particular lacks the finesse and melody that pushed Metallica to the straosphere and that Megadeth would incorporate on later works like Rust in Peace. 2.5*

Metallica WISHES they could've made this album. Better guitar work, better bass work (and the bass is actually audible), and WAY better drums (Lars is so overrated) I really like everything about this album except the vocals, but I'm getting used to them The 2nd half of the album is a lot better imo

It's not my kinda music at ALL but they're obviously skilled musicians.

Great guitar work but the Beavis and Butthead style of metal sounds even cheesier now than when this was released.

Terrific album, I really enjoyed it. High energy, thrashy goodness with an unrelenting rhythm. It's intense and fast moving, but not too hard on the ears like some thrash is. "Good Mourning" has some legitimately lovely guitar work. The lyrics run the gambit from clever to overwrought, but Mustaine has a talent for vivid imagery. Fave songs: Wake Up Dead, Peace Sells, Bad Omen

Some nasty guitar licks and pretty cool concepts for an album. Overall, not a huge fan of thrash metal and this record didn’t change that, but props to the musicianship on display during the solos.

I never knew the vocalist/guitarist of Megadeath used to be in Metallica, makes sense. Regardless, in terms of Metal speed/thrash doesn't do much for me, at least in this form. Feels like the mix is boring and just kind of there. I'm sure this is a classic, but it's just ok to me. Obviously the guitar playing is well done, but yeah.

I don’t know how many times I can write “this is probably good it’s just not made for me” in regards to heavy metal. It’s not my genre. I don’t enjoy listening to it. But there’s definitely talented musicians. 2.5/5

At this point, Dave Mustaine hadn’t really figured out how to meld Megadeth’s technical prowess with well-written, engaging songs, but it wasn’t far off.

Megadeath were the first metal band I ever discovered and I probably watched the video for Symphony of Destruction (that I’d taped off MTV) hundreds of times. I don’t think I ever went as far as buying any of their stuff though. Didn’t love this album but it sent me off to go and re-listen to symphony of destruction which I still quite enjoyed, for old times’ sake. Won’t be putting this album on again but it’s put me in the mood to go and listen to a bit of Tool.

What a bloody racket. Their Mums must be so proud.

Outstanding album. The opening bass riff to Peace Sells is classic. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this. Part of the soundtrack of my youth. 5 stars all day.

So Metal. My face has melted

lol this has been one of my favourite albums since I was about 14. Not my fav Megadeth but still a damn classic. 5/5.

Megadeth to my ears. Srsly, if they'd spend some time thinking about some nice transitions, melodies, composition this could've been a great album.

The tight musicianship, superb guitar shredding combined with a vocalist (and lyrics) that don't take themselves too seriously add up to a highly enjoyable album. I'm no heavy metal fan, but good music is good music, plain and simple innit.

One of my favorite albums in high school. Classic thrash metal with blistering guitar shredding solos. Sure lyrics might be a little dumb but who cares. Oh and one of the best metal album covers of all time.

To get kicked out of Metallica and go on the record something like this - pretty incredible

I didn't listen to megadeath during my metal time and I missed out

The thrash carousel is spun with welcome economy here: garbage truck guitar distortion, fun growling stretches, cartoon takes on big themes, mildly tedious complexity, ballads soaked in self-pity, pleasingly uninhibited solos. Thrash metal may be the easiest genre to spontaneously improvise idiotic lyrics to. Thinking about this record just now, I caught myself absentmindedly heavy-whispering “Achilllllleeeess… he cut off his dick!”

A heavy album that was pretty catchy but lost my interest about halfway through. 0RS

I don't hate this in the way that I've hated every Metallica album I've had to listen to, but Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? is still a pretty dull album. I just find that chugging bassline present in so many metal songs incredibly boring. The faster lead/rhythm guitar on this album helps mitigate that somewhat but no where near enough to make me want to listen to this again.

Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? There are occasional moments of musicality that are interesting - the bass intro and the riff at the start of the chorus on the best song, Peace Sells, the slight shifting sections of of Wake Up Dead, the moody first minute of Bad Omen, the cover of I Ain’t Superstitious - but the remainder is the standard metal that I’m not into. Occasionally it feels like they are hitting a nice groove with an element of swing, but they can’t not go into the standard format of double time lumpen banging, palm muted riffs and guitar squiggling. There’s really only so many ways to say this type of music isn’t for me, the more I’ve heard through the generator the less interested I’ve become in it. I’m sure this is a fun album for metalheads but it’s just not my vibe, the limited structural template, the palm muted riffs, the squiggles, the shouting, the ‘occult’ lyrics just don’t do it for me. I didn’t dislike it totally, but I’m never going to come back - I’ll go 2 to reflect ambivalence over disfavour, and that Peace Sells, the song, is silly but fun. 💀💀 Playlist submission: Peace Sells

Less boring and lame than Metallica, but still pretty stupid. Good guitar work? Snooze

Je profite de cette critique pour adresser ma plus cordiale traînée de pisse à toutes les personnes qui portent des t-shirts tête de mort.

As a huge metal fan I can’t get into this album at all. Theres no connection, no mood given, no response at all.

When I was a kid, and maybe this is just where I grew up, but there was a choice you had to make - were you a Metallica guy? Or a Megadeth guy? Well, I heard the song Battery and decided I was a Metallica guy (even though Megadeth was a much cooler band name). But then later I heard the Megadeth song 'Go To Hell' and thought, oh, that's not bad. But after listening to this one, I gotta say - in the Metallica vs. Megadeth war, I'm still a Metallica guy.

I'm absolutely not in the mood for this shit today

Cartoon slasher crap with repetitive music, why is this in here and viewed with so much more credibility than bands that were always said to be crap like motley crue et al - drivel. Didn’t like this when it was new and it hasn’t aged. Pure shit. Repeat riff, twiddle guitar, hit drum repeat actively. Poor man’s NWOBHM - Iron Maiden did it with more class and melody maybe in just ain’t 16!

Amazing

Thrash with some groove! Dorks...

Yeah... 5/5. There's only one better Megadeth album and not many thrash albums by any band that are better than this one. Thank you Metallica for kicking out Dave, because we got two incredible bands as a result.

literally perfect. holy drums. this was peak heavy metal. the instrumentals were GENUINELY insane. if you try to say any other style of music is more technically impressive than metal i won’t hear you out. this is one of those albums where the vocals really don’t matter. i had a lot of fun listening to this one. probably gonna download the entire album (which is a feat for any album on this list). easy 5/5.

One of my favorites and honestly surprised it's here. Classic, especially the entire first half.

I’m too busy listenin’ to Mmmmegadeth to pick up the phone! Dyon’t Cyall Byaaaackk! \m/ I have a lot to say about this album. Firstly, I want to highlight the mystifying guitar work from Chris Poland. Absolute guitar mastery, and it actually serves the thrash metal genre so well that he only most famously featured on these first few early Megadeth albums, as it sets it apart and gives it its own distinct character among a fairly oversaturated genre even in its time. While the production isn’t great by today’s standard, it’s fairly strong compared to its contemporaries within the metal genre, and its slightly muddier, compressed sound probably serves the album well by masking the shortcomings of Dave as a vocalist (which is probably where Megadeth as a band suffer the most). The drums and bass are top notch, several catchy basslines that stand out which again only furthers this album’s relative uniqueness particularly within thrash metal where the focal point is usually always speed and aggression. And the songwriting is close to as good as it gets for thrash metal for the most part. So many catchy riffs and hooks, with an energetic and bouncy sounds that’s heavy while still finding time for slower, melodic moments like the intro to Good Mourning/Black Friday. This album is a testament to Mustaine’s perseverance, and I only wish he’d have the clarity and self-respect to see that. While Metallica may have found the ultimate height of the genre at the same time, Mustaine’s playing and songwriting came on leaps and bounds from his credits on Kill ‘em All and Megadeth’s first album - and yet he still chooses to petulantly put Metallica down and act both high and mighty and yet somehow hard done by with an ‘it should’ve been me’ attitude. So as much as I think Mustaine’s a self-entitled, childish prick, I can’t deny he put together something special here, and not for the last time. Oh and the cover art is up there with the best of all time. Wake Up Dead (10/10) The Conjuring (9/10) Peace Sells (10/10) Devils Island (8/10) Good Mourning / Black Friday (10/10) Bad Omen (8/10) I Ain’t Superstitious (7/10) My Last Words (9/10) 8.9/10

(9/10) This is a good record for people who want to get into metal.

Nothing but love for this album. What more can be said.

Hell yeah! Reliving my youth. I saw Megadeth live on this tour (with Overkill), the first real metal concert I ever attended. I was 14. I was a thrash metal kid the rest of the 80s before burning out in it by 1990. But I do love to revisit these old albums from time to time. This one is certainly a classic of the original wave is thrash. 4.5/5 #95

Poor Dave Mustaine, always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Riffs galore, not the biggest fan of him vocally but this is pure metal straight from the heart and I can't ever disagree with that.

Those time signature changes 🤌🤌

Megadeth are one of those bands where the more I listen to them, they better they get. Whilst this album is no Rust In Piece, it's still incredibly good in its own right. It takes the pace and rawness of their debut and adds a bit more structure and cohesion whilst still being fun and very thrashy. The guitarwork is fucking insane with the countless incredible riffs and solos, even a couple of breakdowns, such as in Wake Up Dead. Drumming is great, basslines too, like the start of Peace Sells and that small bass bit at the start of Devil's Island. Yeah, the vocals are shit. Everyone admits that they are hilariously bad. I think they add to the music. As bad as they are I don't think you could replace them with, say, a James Hetfield or a Joey Belladonna, because they wouldn't suit the music. Maybe that's just me getting used to the vocals though. Nobody listens to metal for the vocals anyway Easiest 5 yet, gets a 5 automatically for the Peace Sells - Bad Omen run.

Favourite Tracks: Wake Up Dead, Peace Sells Honourable Mentions: Good Mourning/Black Friday, I Ain't Superstitious Wake Up Dead is an insane album opener, that immediate intensity and the multiple tempo changes showcase Megadeth's technical skills right from the start. The iconic bass intro in Peace Sells makes it instantly a classic. There's a heavy jazz influence thanks to Chris Poland (2nd Guitar), Gar Samuelson (Drums, and David Ellefson (Bass); which sets Megadeth apart from so many other metal bands. I'm not here for the lyricism, I'm here for the thrash >:)

Bangers throughout. This is going on my regular rotation, I had to stop myself adding every song to the albumfest pot. I liked when Devil's Island started sounding more like Neville's Island lol, but just as metal nonetheless. Anyway, they walked into the studio and fired on all cylinders start to end, this is glorious

Very underrated band. Arguably better than Metallica at this point.

classic album, five stars if only for bass line on peace sells

One of my all time favorite 80s metal albums.

Classic thrash. One of Megadeth’s best. Dave Ellefson’s bass is fantastic throughout, Chris Poland’s guitar work is the best he ever did and Gar Samuelson’s drumming is hard hitting and perfect for the tone of this album. Dave Mustaine sounds great, generally less whiny than he does on later albums. Really nothing negative to say about this album.

10/10. Yippee!!! Another metal album!!! :) No, that wasn't sarcasm. I'm a huge fan of metal music. I'm also a fan of Megadeth. Megadeth are total metal titans!!! They are among the big four thrash metal bands!!! :) There is crazy guitar work and drumming on this album. It's wickedly great!!! :) This album isn't as good as Rust in Peace, but it's still incredibly fantastic!!! :) The most disappointing thing about this album is its length; it's too short!!! The runtime of the non-deluxe version of this album is under 40 minutes. Albums this great should be much longer!!! :)

Great album start to finish. Guitar riffs that shred all through out.

I've been sleeping on Megadeth. Rock perfection.

One of my favs

My first thought when this one was album of the day is that I was going to give it a 4 out of 5 rating. This is solely based on the fact that I've listened to it before and that I think Rust in Peace is better. After listening to it again I still stick with that Rust in Peace is better but Peace Sells is also great. It might not be as polished as Metallica's Master of Puppets or as fast/brutal as Slayers's Reign in Blood but it sits somewhere in-between delivering awesome thrashing riffs (and the bass in the beginning of Peace Sells is mind-blowing). Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? gets a 5/5 as it is amongst the best thrash metal albums out there.

Straight up 10/10

Really good thrash album. Fantastic actually. This will be added to my rotation for sure.

Still a great thrash album.

One of my faves from back in the day.

My order for the big 4. Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax. I like all 4 but only really love the top two. Having says that... This album is a banger. A little too great on the solos, but the songs are solid.

Amazing album. Too bad Dave had to go and "remaster" these albums

Classic

A generous 5 maybe but this album gives me so much pleasure. The riffs!

Banger alert

Fuckin awesome

loved it.

Listened to this album hundreds of times when I was in middle school. I prefer Rust in Peace but this one is straight bangers from beginning to end.

As I (probably) said for Rust in Peace: It's a thrash classic. Dave has an acquired taste vocal style and even then it's not very good but the songs are still great.

8 / 10 Heavy Methal clásico. Un Dave Mustain resentido por su despido de Metallica, hizo discos más rápidos para intentar ser mejor que ellos. No se quedó muy lejos, pero si por detrás.

Outstanding! One of the best of the genre, outside of Metallica.

Epic heavy metal!

Great compositionally inventive thrash.

There are definitely some faults in this album, some lyrics I find very uninspired (Wake up Dead), and I just don't like I Ain't Superstitious. Everything else though, is so good. Riffs, solos, bass, drums, all really good. A little sloppier than Rust in Peace is, but not in a way that brings it down. Will I listen to again: 100%

Very enjoyable and in many ways more accessible than the other progenitor of thrash, Metallica.

Metallica : "You'll never be better than us!" Mustaine : "Hold my beer"

almost perfection - grew up on this album. This and Rust in Peace were/are peak Megadeth.

... Peace sells...? OkAy

No bad moments but Devils Island and My Last Words stood out, plus the obvious hits. Incredible leads and energy throughout, bass prominent in the mix (2004 remasters).

Ég hlusta reglulega á Megadeth. Frábært band, þéttar plötur. Mín uppáhaldslög eru á öðrum plötum með þeim en þetta er samt bara frábært

- metal masterpiece - great lyrical content - love the mix of groove and speed

Love this album very much

So good

Alright! Some good ol fashioned thrash metal! These guys were the pioneers to thrash man! Good stuff. 80s was a good decade for hard-core metal. Fucking LOVE Megadeth!

Awesone

Pretty rad

Such thrash.. Much weedly-weedly-woo. Happiness.

YAY MEGADETH

meh

Mu gusto bastante

Megadeth is, if nothing else, just Dave Mustaine showing off his technical prowess. That’s plenty enough for me. Everyone’s playing as if their lives depended on it in this record; apparently letting two, though greatly heroin addicted, jazz fusion-musicians into your thrash band wasn’t that bad an idea. The only songs that disappoints and feels unnecessary is “I Ain’t Superstitious”. But when your album already contains songs such as “Peace Sells”, “My Last Words” and one of the greatest thrash songs of all time, “Good Mourning / Black Friday”, one miss is completely allowed.

Tune after tune, every song in this album has a charm to it, and the guitar in every song hits right.

Megadeth's #2 album and just quality from start to finish

Great

9/10

I found Rust In Peace energetic and quality but ultimately not for me. So I don't know why, if it was just my mood, but I'm finding so much more to enjoy here. Absolutely balls to the wall, don't give a fuck, and so good. Good Mourning/Black Friday is simply immense. Peace Sells, Wake Up Dead, obviously ace. There's only a couple of tracks here I don't completely love. Will have to revisit Rust in Peace. I remain unconverted to Metallica yet, but we'll see.

I guess I’m buying, because I thoroughly enjoyed the album! It feels like there are aspects to enjoy on a multitude of levels, between the ever-shifting rhythm patterns in the kit and the high-flying runs in the guitar. Tons of fun!

I'm Buying Hhhh

The peak plateau is reached! A pinnacle of thrash metal.

Great metal album right from the start. I stick to general opinion here and claim that this one and Rust in Piece are their two best albums, as confirmed by the fact that both are included in the 1001 list. I listened to the 2004 cd remasters - not sure if there is some discussion on these (probably there is) but both cds sound excellent.. (afterwards I listened to the original Countdown to Extinction, which sounded ok but not so good as these remasters).