Megadeth
PEACE SELLS…BUT WHO’S BUYING
There’s a saying that “the best revenge is living well”.
Well, someone forgot to give Dave Mustaine that memo. Because as far as we can tell, Dave’s “best revenge” was to form Megadeth, a band assembled with a very specific mission: to be faster, darker, snarlier, and MORE technically proficient than his previous band from which he’d been unceremoniously sacked (that means “fired from Metallica without warning” in Americanese).
Megadeth’s sophomore slam PEACE SELLS…BUT WHO’S BUYING? is a razor-sharp refinement of the “revenge” originally presented on “KILLING IS MY BUSINESS…” only with greater vitriolic commentary and exponentially greater virtuosity and musicianship (that means “Dave Mustaine needs a cape!”)
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Released 09/19/1986.
Recorded Feb-Mar 1986
Produced by Randy Burns and Dave Mustaine
Music Grinder Studios, Track Records, Rock Steady Studios, Maddog Studios (seemingly all over the place…don’t deny the power of homelessness)
Peace Sells...But Who's Buying
WAKE UP DEAD:
This sounds like the Metal equivalent to opening a door, walking through it, and immediately falling down the stairs you didn’t even know existed on the other side of that door. It gets right to the point, but then…wait, where’d Dave go!? (“Dave’s not here, man…”). WTF happened to the lyrics!? I mean, that breakdown and groove is killer but it’s like “Did the vocals get the “#AJFA” treatment here or what?”. Ohhhhh…. I wonder if she DID find out about Diana…maybe they meet weekly for drinks now and are besties. Nahhhh…”Go Die!”. Sounds like the ultimate dysfunctional relationship tribute.
THE CONJURING:
Obey! This is one of those songs that I didn’t realize until I got older was a thinly veiled symbolic representation of addiction (or maybe sorcery and black magic. Or maybe all bolthree). According to the drug tracker, I believe everyone was up to their neck in substance overuse and addiction at this point. I kinda feel like only Sam Dunn has an “official” copy of the Megadeth Drug Tracker for the Peace Sells era. If anybody knows for sure, it’d be great to cross check it to see if opioids are on there (I’ve read Dave’s autobiography, there most definitely was!). I’m just saying... lyrical inspiration is based on a version of the real. Do the math.
PEACE SELLS:
“Whaddya Mean!?” Whaddya MEAN ‘Whaddya Mean!?”. Dave Mustaine is like a revolutionary hippie, calling out hypocrisy and BULLSHIT wherever he saw it. And he did it with that snarl that you can actually “see” as you “hear” the vocals (depending on the “Relaxer” of your choosing).
DEVIL’S ISLAND:
A lot of good and evil imagery in Dave’s lyrics. What I’m saying is read those lyrics. I’m sure that’s the sound of a prison door slamming shut at the end of the song, but in my mind, I see a shark (NOT unlike the one on the cover of M.O.D.’s Gross Misconduct) clamping down it’s jaws on fresh, human sashimi.
OOD MOURNING/BLACK FRIDAY:
The lyrical imagery of this period of Megadeth certainly had that darker, supernatural feel to it. During this era of thrash, every band had what was called “The Clean Intro”, which was pretty common in Thrash and a lot of other tangentionally associated thrash bands. It usually was meant to lull in the listener with a beautiful, often times moving, melody before bringing down the hammer and unloading a veritable plethora of crunchy ball riffs galore. Not only were the lyrics particularly high brow, but Dave also showcased exactly how musically gifted and brilliant his playing is. Let’s not go down the rabbit hole of calling Megadeth “Smart Thrash” (sorry, I just did. I’m not very good at hypocrisying).
Read. Those. Lyrics. Often times makes me think that Super Dave may have been plagued with more than just substance related demons…like actual demons! Don’t deny the power of spiritual warfare.
BAD OMENS:
Okay, the intro alone just has that “creepy” factor to it. There was always a certain dark & creepy (occult) aesthetic to this tune. Listen to that “swing” in the groove. Pre-Groove-Smart-Thrash-Core.
Again, with the reading of those lyrics! In order to play like he played and to sing the lyrics he sung, Super Dave should have worn a cape. Or at least had a utility belt. The man is a fucking Metal Hero! And THEN it goes into the 2nd half of the song…BUCKLE UP!!!! It’s GO-FAST time!! That solo is fucking SICK!!!!
I AIN’T SUPERSTITIOUS:
Blind Dog Dave here…listen to Chris Poland and Super Dave’s super shreddery … we wrote a song about the blues, specifically, crunchy blue ball riffs. That’s why this song is so spastic. Wrote a song about it, like to hear it? Here it goes…it’s my turn…
MY LAST WORDS:
Are you into gambling for your life (or someone else’s) by playing Russian Roulette with ever decreasing odds? If so, then this song is for you. Brutal.
Block out your afternoon (just tell the boss you’ve got a “client meeting”), roll another bowl of your favoritest relaxer and JOIN US as we dive into Megadeth’s PEACE SELLS…BUT WHO’S BUYING? and try to better understand what Dave was trying to convey with his specific rhetorical questioning (which translates to “Whaddya mean ‘Whaddya mean?’” in Mustainese).
Show Notes:
(00:00) – #whosnorted ? / Megadeth, their sound & their place in Thrash and among The Big 4 / Kudos, Kommendments and Kondiments (and also Kroutons) for improved production quality and the refinement of the Megadeth sound / Future episode idea #CBFE / ***Laryngitis wants you to BUY METAL NERDERY GEAR!!! (which you can do, HERE) and Geezahh wants you to LEAVE US SOME FEEDBACK AND RATINGS!!!***
(07:26) – Going back to our first exposure to Megadeth (see also MTV News theme) and extreme Viking lore (see also #scrotumgoblets) / Turtle’s Records & Tapes flashback / Smart Metal? High Brow Thrash? The Rush of Thrash? (Alex gives his interdimensional #ooooooh of approval) / Megadeth’s riff complexity and overall technical proficiency relative to other thrash bands.
(15:30) – 09/19/1986…capturing the “perfect sound” at different locations / THE TRACKS: Wake Up Dead (Listen to all of those frickin’ layers… #whaddyamean?) ONLY Dave Mustaine could be the voice of Megadeth / The Conjuring (someone Czech the #drugtracker), complete with flangey, snakey sounding vocals / #OBEY (hahahaha, #NO!) and the “Creepiness” of the riffs.
(23:17) – “Time for the News” …PEACE SELLS (#whaddyamean?) / chock full of #crunchyballriffs (and apparently our first #blackalbumreference for 2021) / #fakken is coming to Amerika in 2021 / Devil’s Island (thinking back to #rocknpod, looking forward to #RockNPod2021) / #sharks and #shittake
(30:40) – Good Mourning/Black Friday (Clean intro, track 1, side 2 if you’re following along on vinyl or cassette) / WTF is this? (It’s called ‘fasterness’…or ‘jazz’…or “megajazz”?) / Feel that swing in the rhythm section… / Bad Omens (#creepyintro but not a #softintro) / Sacrificing Froot Loops? (#readthoselyrics) / Ummmm….headphone mics?
(38:00) – Blind Dawg Mustaine (I Ain’t Superstitious) and Dave’s interesting cover tune choices / My Last Words (and Metal Nerdery’s latest installment of #waterbottleASMR) and Russell’s “brief rant” regarding Rolling Stone (“a great piece of paper to have”?) and the lack of tangentionally applicable guitarists (Super Dave specifically) that should have been on that list / GOOD NEWS on the Megadeth front (***NEW SHIT SOON!!!***) and Lars’ gum endorsements for the next Metallica album (that, for the record, will definitely NOT be anything remotely like the Black Album)
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