Review by Phil Rozier for MPM
With less than 24 hours to go until I turn another year older, Megadeth have chosen to give me an early Birthday present. Whilst I know the rest of the world can also benefit from this release, I’ll always know that it was made just for me. A near 46 year old that has rocked out to Megadeth for over 35 years.
Megadeth’s third single from their upcoming (and final) 2026 album lands with all the subtlety of a brick through a stainedglass window and thank the metal gods for that. If the previous singles I Don’t Care and Tipping Point were Megadeth rediscovering their classic snarl, then this track is them kicking the door off its hinges and yelling, “Smash my guitar, and let there be shred!”
And shred there is.
The song opens with that unmistakable Megadeth DNA. A whipcrack shred riff that feels like it’s been teleported straight from the 5th–7th fret sweet spot of 80s metal. It’s the kind of riff that if Dave hadn’t have already written it, he would be inspired by it.
There’s no fat on this track. No indulgence. No meandering. Just pure, distilled thrash energy. The kind reviewers, including myself, have praised as “heavy, fast, and adrenalinepumping” in Megadeth’s recently released singles.
It’s simple. It’s quick. It’s a headbanger. And it absolutely rips.
Dave Mustaine’s vocals carry that familiar, razoredged angst, the same emotional voltage highlighted in early reviews of Tipping Point. But here, there’s something more personal. The lyrics feel like a time capsule: a young Dave maybe, grabbing a guitar for the first time, discovering the power of six strings and how it can channel his emotions.
And in true Mustaine fashion, there’s an undercurrent of “a big fuck you” to anyone who ever doubted him. Similarly present in Tipping Point and I don’t Care, clearly a theme perhaps of this final album?
Let’s talk about the bass. Thunderous. A lowend metallic earthquake. James LoMenzo anchors the track with a tone that could liquify concrete. I think Timu could be the hidden star here, weaving in and out of Mustaine’s riffs with a supportive, complementary precision that feels almost telepathic. It’s the kind of interplay that only comes from musicians who get each other on a molecular level. Check out their recent O2 performance reviewed by Metal Planet Music here for more evidence!
There’s a moment, you’ll know it when you hear it, where the track shifts into a key change and a chugging, locomotive rhythm that screams early Kill ’Em All. It’s the kind of thrash that feels like it could have been carved directly from the same granite as those early 80s masterpieces. Pretty obvious as to why, considering who wrote most of them! And yet, it’s unmistakably Megadeth. Signature solos? Check. Fluid, venomous phrasing? Check. Excited fan? Fuck Yea.
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Photo credit: Ross Halfin
