Megadeth – Ride the Lightning CONFIRMED: “I wanted to pay my respects to where my career first started,” says Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine has confirmed a cover of Metallica‘s Ride the Lightning – which he co-wrote alongside James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Cliff Burton in the ’80s – will appear on Megadeth’s final record, which arrives next year.
Fans suspected the classic 1984 track might make an appearance on Mustaine and co’s self-titled finale, after a teaser posted to the band’s social media pages almost but not quite revealed a blurry “Ride the Lightning” lurking in the tracklist.
READ MORE: “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad – we changed the world”: Dave Mustaine makes emotional statement as Megadeth announce final album
Mustaine was famously fired from Metallica in 1983 before the release of their debut record, Kill ‘Em All. His parts were re-recorded by Kirk Hammett, but Mustaine still has writing credits on a number of tracks, including Ride The Lightning.
In a recent interview with Norwegian radio station Stjernepose, Mustaine said [via Loudwire], “We have 13 new songs for the new album… One of the songs is a cover song but I actually wrote it, so it’s kind of like a cover, of my song.”
Now, revealing the album’s 10-song tracklist – as well as the widely suspected inclusion of Ride the Lightning, Mustaine explains: “As I come full circle on the career of a lifetime, the decision to include Ride The Lightning, a song I co-wrote with James, Lars, and Cliff, was to pay my respects to where my career first started.”
There’s no return you’ve crossed the line. Two more tracks revealed tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/7yQ9GkuGSJ
— Megadeth (@Megadeth) October 28, 2025
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The relationship between Mustaine and Metallica has been somewhat rocky over the decades, and earlier this year, Mustaine reflected on his exit. During an appearance on The Shawn Ryan Show, he argued that the band went on to use his music, despite him telling them not to.
Of his firing, he explained: “I said, ‘No warning? No second chance? You’re not gonna give me a warning? You’re just gonna kick me out?’ And I thought that was unfair. And it showed a grotesque lack of character. So that pissed me off and was a huge part of the fuel.”
“At the time, I was really mad and I didn’t wanna forgive them for what they did. I told them when I left, ‘Do not use my music. And of course they used it,” he said.
Mustaine highlighted Ride The Lightning as well as The Call Of Ktulu, Phantom Lord, Metal Militia, Jump In The Fire, and The Four Horsemen as tracks featuring his work.
“And I wrote a bunch of Leper Messiah [on Metallica’s third album, Master Of Puppets] too. They didn’t give me credit on that,” he said. “You listen to the riffs, you know they’re my riffs… I wrote a lot of their music that made them, and all the solos on that first record were mine – the best Kirk could try and copy them.”
To find out more about the final Megadeth album or view their current list of scheduled live dates, head over to the band’s official website.
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