MEGADETH release their version of METALLICA classic 'Ride The Lightning'
26-01-2026
MEGADETH‘s version of “Ride The Lightning”, the title track of METALLICA‘s 1984 album for which MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine got a co-writing credit following his 1983 departure from the legendary heavy metal band, is now released. The song is released as a celebration of the album release of MEGADETH’s final and eponymous album, ‘Megadeth’.
Stream “Ride The Lightning” below.
MEGADETH‘s version of “Ride The Lightning” appears on the band’s final album, simply titled “Megadeth”, which was released on Friday, January 23 via Mustaine‘s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group‘s new BLKIIBLK label.
Mustaine co-wrote the song “Ride The Lightning” with METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich and then-bassist Cliff Burton.
In a recent interview with Spain’s MariskalRockTV, Mustaine spoke about his decision to include his version of “Ride The Lightning” on “Megadeth”. Regarding why he chose to record “Ride The Lightning” at this point in his career, Dave said: ”Probably ’cause it was the most emblematic of my guitar influence. The spider chord — you know how I do the spider chord. And then there’s something called grunting, where I’ll hit the chord a half a step below the note I want to go to. I’ll fret it and I’ll slide into it… It’s way heavier. So, to me, I call that grunting. So spider chords and grunting are in ‘Ride The Lightning’.”
Mustaine continued: “Having written so much of the songs with (METALLICA) — people think I wrote a lot, but on that record (‘Ride The Lightning’), it was ‘The Call Of Ktulu’, which used to be called ‘When Hell Freezes Over’, and (the title track) ‘Ride The Lightning’. And the previous album (METALLICA‘s 1983 debut, ‘Kill ‘Em All’) had four songs on it (that I co-wrote).”
Asked if the guitar solo in MEGADETH‘s version of “Ride The Lightning” is “very close to the original song” because current METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett copied Mustaine‘s solo from Dave‘s original version of “Ride The Lightning” with METALLICA, or if Mustaine simply “wanted to respect” Hammett‘s work by reproducing Hammett‘s solo from the 1984 album, Dave said: “I think Kirk — if you listen to (METALLICA‘s 1982) ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ demo and then you listen to the ‘Kill ‘Em All’ record, it’s pretty clear that that Kirk had some instruction (about how to approach the guitar leads on that album). Was it note for note? No. But it was pretty close. So, when the opportunity came to do ‘Ride The Lightning’ (with MEGADETH), I didn’t really feel like I knew the song very well anymore, and I don’t remember what I played on for that song, for ‘Ride The Lightning’. I had a hard time finding anything that I played on either. So we just figured, ‘Fuck it. (Current MEGADETH guitarist) Teemu (Mäntysaari) and I’ll split the solo up, and half of it’ll be for him and half of it’ll be for me,’ and it turned out so that (Teemu) did a little more than half.”
Last month, Mustaine told Guitar World magazine about his decision to include his version of “Ride The Lightning” on “Megadeth”: “The main reason I chose to do this was to close the circle and pay my respects to my partners. I thought this was a really great way to do that.
“Whenever we select any other band’s music to go on our albums, sometimes there’s a lot of thought behind it and sometimes there’s not. This was one of the ones that we thought long and hard about, because all I wanted to do was play the song I wrote with the guys in METALLICA,” Mustaine explained. “I wanted to pay my respects to James Hetfield, who I think is an amazing guitar player, and Lars Ulrich, who was an excellent songwriter. I remember when I was there and we were putting these songs together, Lars didn’t just sit there; he was very instrumental in making these songs.
“Of course, when we got into making demos of these songs, it was fun to do the recordings, but we were never really able to do a full-on produced version of ‘Ride The Lightning’ while I was in METALLICA, and I would have loved to have heard that.
“I gotta tell you — listening back to James‘s original vocal performance, it was really tremendous,” Dave added.
“Anyway, there’s no big strategy; I have respect for the guys, and I just wanted to show that. And it’s a hell of a song.”
Watch the previously released Watch “Puppet Parade” below., “Let There Be Shred”,“I Don’t Care”and ‘Tipping Point’ below. below.
“When MEGADETH started, we said we would be fast and furious…we said so on the flyers we handed out,” Dave says. “This song is fast and furious. Know it! It has a very hooky chorus that draws you in and you can’t help but play air guitar and headbang to this one.
“It’s the second video from the new record that we made with Keith [Leman], who also directed ‘I Don’t Care’. It was a blast to make and it’s a tribute to my first Sensei, Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez and my professor, Reggie Almieda. Everyone on the set was really stoked to see each of us do our stunts. In the end, we got the balance of shredding and ass kicking just right!”
MEGADETH have teamed with Trafalgar Releasing for “Megadeth: Behind The Mask”, a cinematic legacy event that will debut on screens worldwide Thursday, January 22 — on the eve of the release of the band’s final studio album, out January 23. The film will screen in over 1,000 cinemas across more than 35 countries. Tickets go on sale Thursday, December 11 at 6 a.m. PT / 9 a.m. ET / 2 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. CET with a trailer available for viewing on the same day.
For more information and to sign up for updates, fans can visit megadethfilm.com.
In “Megadeth: Behind The Mask”, Dave Mustaine pulls back the curtain on 40 years of MEGADETH, sharing untold stories of the band’s past and the creative fire that drives them. Interwoven throughout, audiences will get to experience the world premiere of MEGADETH‘s new self-titled album in full, brought to life with a 40-year retrospective career-spanning interview and Mustaine‘s own track-by-track reflections about the band’s final studio album. This one-night-only listening event will provide a first listen to this landmark project. “Megadeth: Behind The Mask” is an immersive celebration of one of the most influential bands in metal history, capturing their legacy while heralding a powerful new chapter.
Dave Mustaine has confirmed to Rolling Stone magazine that the final MEGADETH album, simply titled “Megadeth”, will include his version of “Ride The Lightning”, the title track of METALLICA‘s 1984 album for which he got a co-writing credit following his 1983 departure from the band.
“It wasn’t really that I wanted to do my version,” he told Rolling Stone. “I think that we all wanted it to turn out a certain way, and for me, this was about something so much more than how a song turns out. It was about respect.”
Speaking specifically about METALLICA singer-guitarist James Hetfield, Mustaine added: “No one ever talks to me about that. One day he’s a singer, the next day he’s this fucking powerhouse and I’ve always respected him as a guitar player. So I wanted to do something to close the circle on my career right now, since it started off with (Mustaine‘s band before METALLICA) PANIC and several of the songs that ended up in the METALLICA repertoire, I wanted to do something that I felt would be a good song.”
Elaborating on his reasons for recording “Ride The Lightning” for MEGADETH‘s final album, Mustaine said: “Our intentions were pure. I didn’t have any reason I was going to say, ‘Oh, hey man, this thing that we’ve had for 40 years where you guys will never tour with me, me doing the song is going to change things.’ That wasn’t it at all. It was more about: This is my life going forward. I want to do things that are respectable. And I think doing something where we can pay honor to the guy that … I mean, I hate to say this, because it’s just so fucking arrogant, but the guitar playing in METALLICA changed the world.”
In a separate video message (see below), Mustaine said: “So on the new album we recorded ‘Ride The Lightning’, and the reason we did that was, obviously, it’s a song that I had a lot to do with writing it. And James and I, when we were working on the song, it became clear to me, when James first started playing guitar, how good of a guitar player he was. And I thought it would be really cool to close the circle to show respect, to play the songs that I’ve written with METALLICA and to honor our friendship, even though it’s been strained and ruined from emotions over the years when we were not necessarily friendly. But one thing I’ve always had is I’ve always had a tremendous respect for James‘s guitar playing and (METALLICA drummer) Lars‘s (Ulrich) songwriting. So, it was cool to do this and add it to the record. We sped it up just a little teeny bit, and we kind of played around a little bit with the solo and Teemu (Mäntysaari, MEGADETH guitarist) and I both tossed it back and forth to each other. So, you might hear a little bit of some differences with the tempos and, of course, I sing different from James too. But once again, it was about completing the circle and just showing what James and I, as guitar players, did to change the world.”
“Megadeth” track listing:
01. Tipping Point
02. I Don’t Care
03. Hey, God?!
04. Let There Be Shred
05. Puppet Parade
06. Another Bad Day
07. Made To Kill
08. Obey The Call
09. I Am War
10. The Last Note
11. Ride The Lightning (bonus track)
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