Peace Sells...But Who's Buying

With the 80s came the emergence of thrash metal, or the true beginning of why all metal sounds like that rather than the bluesy influence of Black Sabbath (that come around to doom metal would not be too far along). Dave Mustaine was kicked out of Metallica for drinking too much, which must have been an accomplishment for a band where everyone drank. Peace Sells But Who's Buying is a strong step up from their already solid debut album that also consists of two phrases. The hardcore/punky influences from the first record are more or less weaved into the new (okay metal fans I get it and be pedantic about this review that thrash started earlier in the decade, but normies don't know that) loud thrashy, chugging riff-based metal that was coming out of the Bay Area. Peace Sells is a classic album for the genre for a classic period of the genre. It's simple, if you like metal, then this album is the tits. If you don't like metal, it's maybe not as approachable as Metallica's Master of Puppets or whatever, but it's certainly an iconic album and pretty important. I mean you were either listening to this kind of metal in the 80s, or glam metal. In 2026 or whatever, glam metal has not aged terribly well whereas thrash is trash I mean is still sort of the basic framework of most metal bands today. Also this list does not have nearly enough metal (or hip hop) on it, but at least they didn't fuck up this selection or Rust In Peace, which may also be the greatest metal album ever.

One of Thrash Metal's pioneering albums and one of the best. Great stuff!

Very energetic and didn't find myself hating this even though it was thrash. Songs were varied enough. Solid 4* Highlights: peace sells

Only one song stood out. The rest was okay. Favourite: Peace Sells

I switched off listening to this which was unexpected and surprisingly nice. Not sure what it says about the music itself but I guess I found it almost relaxing

I think it's funny that the band Death is heavier than the band Megadeath. This gets a mid 4

Just not a metalhead

If it's a Megadeth album with the word "peace" in it's title, you're guaranteed to have your face melted. I don't make the rules.

I love that Peace Sells is on this list. It's great, but not the best Megadeth has to offer. Dave really figured out song composition by Rust In Peace. Meanwhile all the Metallica albums I've been presented on this journey have been some of their worst (save Master of Puppets) But who's buying?

jarring

Not exactly my preferred style of music. But yeah I can appreciate the craft and commitment to the style.

Still not something I can deal with. Sorry.

Du bruit

I am not a fan of hard rock. This missed the mark for me unfortunately.

I had a few Metallica albums in my teens, a couple of slayer albums too but I never cared much about Megadeth. Since then I still listen to a few metal bands but it's not my favorite genre. There are a few moments that are good but I really mean moments. The only song that I enjoy in full was Bad Omen, other songs feel repetitive and long.

10/8 Good album

Bogstandard metal with a touch of goth.

The energy of punk but with musical virtuosity. If only Dave could sing.

I like thrash but I had higher hopes

Like Iron Maiden, but less grabby

опять шизовый вокал (здесь он даже хуже, чем обычно) и очень скучный альбом, но ко всему этому добавляются дерьмовые рифы! это худший альбом, что я только слышал в жанре, буквально мазня говном. рад буду больше никогда не услышать его

Those are some sick ass riffs OMG.

Tweedle tweedle dee. If I had encountered this album in its entirety in my youth, I would have probably become obsessed with it. Alas, I only knew the title track, which is still a banger. A great metal album, will be hearing more from it later on for sure. 4/5

This album is really great, so energetic and fun to listen to. I cannot say it's the best thing I've ever heard, but it surely has some great songs. It's not the best Megadeth album neither, but still it feels so great to listen to. They always make such fun and enjoyable albums, and I'm here to listen to them.

Not me.

“I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me.” Watchmen (2009)

One of the best Megadeth albums, cutting through everything you know, fast paced aggression, the message of waking up in today's society. No other result from them, all great songs and has to be listened fully.

"If there's a new way, I'll be the first in line". great sophmore release by Dave Mustane and company. still incredibly bitter from being kicked out of Metallica, it fueled this album's venom. "Devil's Island", "The Conjuring", and of course, "Peace Sells" are the standout tracks for me. while they will never be as popular as Metallica, their musicianship far surpasses them.

My goodness. Just straight up unadulterated speed metal!!! Truly a forerunner of nearly all future metal. If Dave Mustaine could have put his ego aside and hired a great, or even capable, singer, I would probably be a very big Megadeth fan. I would definitely like them more than Metallica. But it's too hard to get past that voice. Oozing, just oozing with talent, this is an incredible album.

I can definitely see why people loved this album, but there wasn’t anything outstanding other than the guitar playing,

What it says on the tin really. Speed metal without the hooks you get in Metallica songs

Alright

I had to remind myself that this is as the 80’s but then again, it’s always been that Megadeath sound. It really hasn’t changed. It’s like Dave took the sound with him when he left Metallica . Both bands forged different paths but still lined up successfully, honestly. So this is rolling guitars, strained vocals and one big political piece against our rulers. If you like that? Then dig in! I like Megadeath for Dave and what he stands for in this world. That’s good enough for me Choice cut: Good Mourning

I've always thought that the only band I cared about less than Metallica is Megadeth, but today I wonder if it's actually a tie. I'm not sure if that's downgrading Metallica or upgrading Megadeth - I won't overthink it. In truth, the real answer is that I'm just apathetic to Thrash as a genre. If I could give half stars, I'd be tempted to give this a 3.5 but rules are rules.

Would be better with someone else singing.

I can't. IDK what it is but this all sounds the same to me. I know that Megadeth have a huge following but I can't get into them.

Mega-nope. This was feeding stress and anxiety I didn't even have yet.

I find it really hard to not take this kind of metal as anything but a parody. Musically this is great. Lyrically this is a toilet, full of shit.

Bbängers

It’s no Rust in Peace, but this is still solid.

meh

They're lame and cheesy but when it's this fun, who cares.

2.5

A bit mid, as the kids say now, hasn’t dated well I’d say

It's just grating to listen to. Really appreciate Megadeth's use of ellipses in their album titles though I just think that's so great. I love the song Lucretia so maybe if i listen to these songs enough then i'll like them too.. but not now.

certainly no Rust in Peace, but still one of the better Megadeth albums, i understand why this one lags behind compared to the other big hit albums

I thought that this album might be a bit too much for me first thing in the morning but it was actually the perfect accompaniment to my rainy walk to work. The heavy thunderous guitars that roll through each track are so great and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole album. Favourites: Peace Sells Good Mourning/Black Friday My Last Words

i hate metal

This might be a Bad Omen, but I Ain’t Superstitious.

Vocals remind me a lot of Steven Pearcy from Ratt, which was also a San Diego / SoCal metal band. Ratt preceded Megadeth by a few years, so I wonder if Pearcy had any influence on his vocals.

Good medium stuff but I just dislike Mr. Mustaine's singing. Weak 3 star.

#482 / 1089 Heard before? ✅ Revisit? ✅ I'm very biased about this one, as I used to listen to it quite a bit in the 80's. On that note; I never liked the sounds of the original album and it probably missed out on a lot of listens just due to the tinny high pitched mix the album had. I had not listened to the 2004 remasters before and there's quite a bit of an difference; it has more space, tinny guitars now have power, drums sound a lot better. Shoutout to Qobuz for having a Hi-Res version of the original and the remaster too. I love the platform! I'm giving 4/5 just for old times sake and for the remaster too (I'm more of a Slayer guy).

Not into metal

Super fun … the guitars were incredible 4

Metal, but not overly harsh

A masterclass on how to fucking shred

Quit listening as soon as track 2 vocals started. The rock music is great, but the vocals make my throat hurt.

Skimmed through a few songs and then DNF'd. Cool guitar but otherwise it's not for me.

Enjoyed this a lot more than I expected

Thrash-Metal,1981 -> 2

peace sells.... BUT WHO'S BUYING????? 4/5 dit was zo leuk en goede gitaars en drums

Not for me

Honestly not my thing but less cringeworthy than some of the other metal stuff on this list. 3/5

Not bad but I feel like they have some better stuff

I liked this more than I thought I would, and probably more than Metallica. The guitar parts are genuinely cool.

Flame haired god

I honestly love who people used to think that this was so evil back in the day. What a great little album. It's a classic album for a reason.

a real price saving way to acquire nice whips

MEGADETH Not one of their best records but it was the first so probably why it’s on here. Rust in Peace was a favorite of mine as a kid -they got way better with Nick Menza and Marty Friedman. Lots of cool parts and I enjoyed it but didn’t love any of the songs. 3.5

Nothing super memorable for me, all the songs kinda blended together. 2.5

Wow so fast.

i don't want to listen to metal today at all. actually lately i have been letting the albums play and i don't want to listen to them, i just want noise, so they play and i can never tell if they're good and then i rate them and i always think i'm wrong, and there's no way to go back or anything so i just have to live with it.

Very good album real metal. Underrated band. Even better because its post 2000 which means megadeath was still making a great metal album after metal died

The band really shreds on this. The album cover seems more apropos than ever, sadly.

The album that firmly established who Megadeth were, for better or worse.

Riffs on riffs. And metal. And great bass lines. And one of the most distinct metal voices. Just solid metal all the way through. And did I mention metal? And riffs? 🤘🎸🪨 3.75

I like to rock, although Megadeth never really connected for me. 3.25/5

It was better than I was expecting

Not as good as their other album on the list but a couple of great tracks on there and a very solid effort. Very similar to Metallica but always one step below them.

A massive case of how many variations of chug-chugga-chug-chugga-chugga-chug can you fit on an album. I don’t dislike it as such, but it’s pretty tedious after a couple of songs. Dare I say Metallica did it better in their early days?

Some great musicianship here, not entirely my cup of tea but the beats and the rhythm carry the album.

Pretty good album, I've always only liked the hits of Megadeth, not one of my go to of the big four of metal but not terrible!

Always enjoy turning off my brain and rocking out to Megadeth

High water mark of a subgenre that I have a hard time liking for more than 1-2 tunes.

Although I always feel like they never entirely got their due, this collection does *not* need two Megadeth albums, sadly. "Rust in Peace" had pretty much everything we needed from the extreme metalheads (except of course their awesome cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These boots" on "Killing is My Business...and Business is Good!"). This album is a strong Megadeth exemplar, though, and I'd kind of forgotten how much more intense and punchy they were back in the day than some of their contemporaries (especially Metallica). I like it that it's a relatively brief album, and they managed to make every track count, assuming you enjoy their style and don't mind Dave Mustaine's strangled singing style. I'm tempted to entirely agree with Lars Ulrich's pronouncement in 2004: "Peace Sells is a great heavy metal album. Nothing more, nothing less. It has stood the test of time." I also enjoyed reading the Wikipedia entry's background of the album, especially how screwed up everything was for the band as they recorded and released the album. Apparently both Mustaine and David Elleson were homeless during much of the album's recording, and the other two band member were so strung out on heroin that they got fired soon after the album's release. Even weirder, though, was that the opener "Wake up dead" was apparently semi-autobiographical for Mustaine, who was staying with a woman at the time (largely because he was homeless, apparently), and was seeing a different woman and was convinced that if his host found out he was screwing around with someone else, she would kill him in his sleep. Funny too that Mustaine stopped performing "The conjuring" after 2001 when he converted to Christianity. What a weird trajectory for a death metal band....

They sound exactly like how you thought a band named Megadeth would sound.

I love rock, but not really heavy metal...

pretty nice thrash metal i like it

Surprise 5! I've been feeling a little depressed lately and this album came at a good time. I had fun listening to it and it injected energy into my day which I really needed. The guitar work is sick.

This is #day758 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… back to old school again, aka my second and final record by Megadeth. Thrashy and technical, as it's supposed to be. I wouldn't reach for it again, but I didn't mind it, even though Mustaine's vocals are among my least favorites in the genre. The record is turning 40 in a few weeks. No one still wants to buy peace. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day759.

Just because it’s fast doesn’t mean it’s good. Really just not memorable… like at all. And it pisses me off cuz some of the tracks start art really strong, then the riffs completely switch to the same fast pace guitar fingering bs and the vocals do not compliment anything.

It’s fucking awful, turn it off was the cry in our household this morning🤣😂🤣

Not really my thing, but love it!

Better than expected but just not my genre

My good friend loves Megadeth and because of that I’ve listened to a lot of their work 🤣

really good but I prefer Metallica 😮‍💨

Megadeth goes unbelievably crazy. Peace Sells was so insane. Vocals and lyrics are cringe but I don’t really care.

It's okay. They're very technical and talented, almost like prog metal in parts with their performance and song structure. Their song structure is a bit weird, not much to hang onto if it all keeps changing. As a result each song goes by without really standing out in any way, is instantly forgotten, and is replaced by a song that sounds pretty much the same. So the whole album goes by sounding all the same and leaving no real impression on me. While it's on, it's not bad, inoffensive 80s thrash. It's like a wall of uniform, impressive, yet impenetrable music that upon finishing the album has left absolutely no trace. It's as if I have listened to nothing. Also his voice and lyrics are kind of cringe.

I’m buying it Megadeth

God damn this is sick. Idk why I haven't actually listened to Megadeth but count me a fan as of today. Lyrics that I genuinely love, guitar and drum riffs that are down-right face-melting--what more could you possibly want? Sure, older Metallica and Death are my faves but this is something truly special.