Megadeth have been slowly unveiling the track listing for their upcoming self-titled farewell album on social media as of late. The thrash metal pillars are set to release that seventeenth full-length effort on January 23rd through BLKIIBLK.
Vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine had previously teased that a cover of a song he had songwriting involvement with would appear on that effort. Now, with the recent series of track reveals on social media showcasing a partially obfuscated glimpse at the songs still to come, it certainly appears that cover will be rendition of Metallica‘s “Ride The Lightning“.
Though Mustaine was already booted out of Metallica by the time their sophomore album of the same name was released, he does hold writing credits on two of its songs, including that title track and “The Call Of Ktulu“.
Speaking around this past summer’s ‘Tons Of Rock‘ festival, Mustaine hinted at the cover to come stating, “One of the songs is a cover song but I actually wrote it, so it’s kind of like a cover, kind of like my song.”
The track listing revealed for Megadeth‘s swan song thus far runs as follows:
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“
One additional song remains pending. Thirteen songs in total were recorded during the sessions for this closing chapter, with plans for the others to emerge as b-sides and such later into the band’s upcoming final touring cycle.
The decision to cover Metallica has apparently been rattling around in Mustaine‘s head for years. Earlier this year, former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson said he turned down Mustaine‘s idea of covering Metallica‘s “No Life ‘Til Leather” demo back around 2018.
Mustaine of course has had a contentious history with Metallica since his 1983 ousting from the group. While there have been patches of peace between himself and his former bandmates, recent years have seen those relations once again breakdown. The latest fracture seems to have stemmed from a royalty dispute in 2018 that forced Metallica to cancel their plans for a deluxe reissue of the the above-mentioned demo.
Word of Mustaine continuing to pursue those royalty claims against Metallica would later crop up years later in a lawsuit he filed against his by then former manager. Mustaine announced the end of Megadeth this past August, with the release of this self-titled album and a global farewell tour set to take place before he hangs it up.
Among those upcoming live plans is the recently announced summer/fall North American tour with British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden and fellow member of the ‘Big Four’, Anthrax.
There’s no return you’ve crossed the line. Two more tracks revealed tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/7yQ9GkuGSJ
— Megadeth (@Megadeth) October 28, 2025
