(Credit: Ralph Arvesen)
Mon 18 August 2025 6:00, UK
It’s a bad year for fans of heavy metal. First, Ozzy Osbourne passes away, next, Megadeth announce they’re retiring.
“There are so many musicians who have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional,” said David Mustaine, “Most of them don’t get to go out on their own terms on top, and that’s where I’m at in my life right now. I have travelled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them.”
Mustaine continued to say that the band are planning on recording their final album and going on one last tour before they officially call it a day. “We’ve made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour,” he concluded, “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few weeks.”
It’s understandable why fans would be upset about the fact Megadeth are calling it a day. Within the world of heavy metal, the band have managed to cement themselves as one of the biggest and most exciting names out there. Their songs aren’t one note, they come layered, packed with exhausting rhythm sections, dynamic vocals and some of the most killer guitar work you’ve ever listened to.
This sound has taken them around the world and seen them sell out stadiums everywhere. However, another huge factor that has helped them on their journey to continuing to make great music has been a willingness to always challenge themselves and incorporate other genres into their sound.
This can be heard clearly on their 2010 track ‘Guns, Drugs & Money’. While Megadeth had become renowned for their layered approach to songwriting, they were always drawn to the idea of creating a song which only relied on one riff. While this isn’t unheard of, it’s not usually an attribute of metal music, as you hear it a lot more frequently in the realms of punk.
It was the punk movement that inspired the 2010 song, as the band wanted to channel the energy of some of the bands they were listening to at the time. When discussing the track and how much it was inspired by punk, David Ellefson, the band’s bassist, revealed who he believed were the best at making one-riff songs.
“I can’t even tell you how happy I am that we have a song that is made up of one riff,” he said, “That’s not always easy to do. I know a lot of metal fans don’t like Green Day, but I think they’re masters of the one-riff song. That’s what we did here, and it works beautifully.”
He continued to speak about how much he loves the one-riff song and the punk bands who continue to inspire it. Once he heard David Mustaine’s idea for their 2010 track, he knew they finally had their riff that they could drag out over an entire song.
“It’s so punk rock, the one-riff idea,” he said, “The Ramones did it on so many of their songs – maybe all of them. When I heard Dave play this part, I knew that was all we needed. The band shifted dynamics in the chorus, Dave played around with the vocal melody…and it was a song!”
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