But then how to you describe such highly influential and popular artists as Motörhead, the Ramones, and the Stooges selling just a smidgeon of albums during their careers, when compared to the aforementioned goliaths?
In my 2025 book, The World’s State-Of-The-Art Speed Metal Band: The Megadeth Story 1983-2002, there is a section that focuses on the fact that while Metallica‘s The Black Album (released in 1991) far outsold Megadeth’s Rust in Peace (released in 1990), I state my case that Megadeth‘s album is actually the better of the two. Here is an excerpt in which two renowned metalheads add their two cents…
And it was reassuring to hear that while interviewing [former Lamb of God drummer] Chris Adler for this book, he also had a similar viewpoint as yours truly. “When Rust in Peace came out…and it wasn’t too long after that The Black Album came out, it was clear to me, like, ‘Wow, Megadeth wins. I’ve never heard anything like it.’ I mean, just the song ‘Holy Wars’ alone, I think that’s probably the greatest heavy metal song that’s ever been written. But at the time, again, I think I was probably 18 at that point, 17 maybe, and there were songs on there that really spoke to me. There were these breakup songs of my first love and my first girlfriend and all that stuff – there was ‘Tornado of Souls.'”
“And ‘Hangar 18’ – like, I’m waking up to the world and being like, ‘Oh shit. What is Area 51?’ It hit at the right time for me to be just like, thoroughly invested in this record and study it in every way that I could. And in the end, getting to play some of the songs was such a thrill of mine, but that album made a huge difference. I think it was probably the most technically proficient metal album up until its time that had ever been recorded. And I loved every second of it.”
And as it turns out, [comedian and That Metal Show co-host] Don Jamieson agrees with the bold views of both Prato and Adler. “Rust in Peace is definitely way, way better than …And Justice for All. I’m not a fan of that album at all. It’s the simple production of the album more than anything – I just don’t like the way it sounds, so I never put the record on anymore. And I feel like I don’t mind long songs if they’re great, but the long songs on that album – to me – they’re all somewhere around a minute too long. So, Rust in Peace easily blows away …And Justice for All. Nowadays, people go, ‘Oh, Metallica put ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ in the set!’ I’m like, ‘Oh God.’ That’d be a nightmare for me. That’s the ‘beer song’ for me.”
But what about if Rust in Peace is better than The Black Album? “I winced a little when you said The Black Album, because it’s one of the biggest-selling heavy records of all-time,” Jamieson admitted. “I guess people consider Master of Puppets their masterpiece, but without a doubt, The Black Album is their biggest album – their popularity exploded. But having a few seconds to think about it, I also just did a podcast where we broke down all the songs one by one on The Black Album…and you might be right, man! It might be a tiny bit overrated. Whereas, there’s not too many dull moments on Rust in Peace. At worst, they’re even. But I might have to say – by a hair – Rust in Peace is the better album.”
The World’s State-Of-The-Art Speed Metal Band: The Megadeth Story 1983-2002 is available as paperback, hardcover, and Kindle versions. Click here to order.
