Now that Megadeth’s self-titled final album is out, let’s look at how fans are reacting to the band’s new version of Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning.”
Dave Mustaine teased that Megadeth’s 17th studio album would include a “cover song” before the band even confirmed that the album would be their last. Months later, they shared bits of the record’s track list over the span of a few days until it was revealed that “Ride the Lightning,” which Mustaine co-wrote, is the closing song.
“That was the beginning of my songwriting career… So doing ‘Ride the Lightning,’ it was kind of completing the circle and I think it’s cool in so much as it’s paying my respects to the band that I first went to the dance with,” Mustaine told Loudwire Nights of his decision to reimagine the track.
“I’ve always had a tremendous respect for James [Hetfield’s] guitar playing and Lars [Ulrich’s] songwriting is really quite unorthodox and beautiful at the same time.”
Keep reading to see what fans are saying about Megadeth’s new rendition of “Ride the Lightning.”
What Are Fans Saying About Megadeth’s Cover of ‘Ride the Lightning’ on Reddit?
Below are some thoughts fans have shared (in italics) about Megadeth’s version of “Ride the Lightning” on the Megadeth Reddit page.
“I literally just finished listening to that song. I really liked it as a cover it sounds like Megadeth from the early years. If I didn’t know the original song existed I’d be like, ‘Holy shit that was amazing but as much as I liked it, if I ask someone to play ‘Ride the Lightning’ and they put this version on I’d look at them like the black snake moan meme,” a fan wrote on this particular thread.
READ MORE: What Dave Mustaine Thinks Would ‘Make Everything Right’ With Former Metallica Bandmates
Another person acknowledged that others feel disappointed with the new version but made an argument as to why it’s “metal history.”
“This one seemed like an honest tribute. They kept the opening harmonies, which were written by Cliff [Burton] and Lars and the solos are pretty faithful to what Kirk [Hammett] did, not to mention Mustaine let Teemu [Mantysaari] take care of a good part of the leads here,” they elaborated.
“[Mustaine] said in an interview that everything was good and this was a full circle moment. I believe it now that I`ve heard it. This is metal history.”
Another fan wrote a thread dedicated to the track and shared a negative take on it.
“The vocals do not work and it just sounds like any band could’ve covered it,” they wrote.
“I’m most upset that it’s a note for note cover. Why cover a song at this point in your career if you don’t inject your own sound into it?” someone else commented.
What Are Fans Saying About Megadeth’s Cover of ‘Ride the Lightning’ on X?
There’s a similarly mixed bag of reactions from fans on X (formerly Twitter), which you can see pasted below.
Speaking of Megadeth and Metallica, see how we ranked every “Big 4” thrash album below.
Every Thrash Metal ‘Big 4’ Album Ranked
Every album by Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax get ranked worst to best.
Contributions by Philip Trapp, Ed Rivadavia, Jordan Blum, Ayron Rutan and Joe DiVita.
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff
