With a very promising new Megadeth album on the horizon, I thought it would be interesting to have a look at the yardstick by which I tend to measure every other Megadeth album. At the time, ‘Rust In Peace’ was the album that finally delivered on the promise Dave Mustaine and his fellow musicians occasionally hinted at on their first three albums. While most of the material is still quite fast, the focus of the album is on clever songwriting, with a surprisingly large number of crunchy speed metal riffs as the means to that end. I still think it is the best Megadeth album to date.

Having said that, ‘Rust In Peace’ is not necessarily Megadeth’s most consistent release. That title would probably go to 2004’s comeback album ‘The System Has Failed’. ‘Rust In Peace’ just happens to have a few highlights that are such landmarks in heavy metal songwriting to this day that some of the lesser songs don’t quite manage to make the same impact. The likes of ‘Lucretia’ are a pleasant enough listen, but when measured against the tight, precise riffing and the accessible, yet surprisingly complex and mature songwriting of some of the other tracks, they do tend to fall a bit short.

One of those tracks that hog the spotlight, so to speak, is the monumental opener ‘Holy Wars…The Punishment Due’. Quite a daring move to open the album with what is arguably the most complex song. It starts out recognizable enough with an uptempo thrash riff until it is suddenly broken up by a short, almost Egyptian-sounding classical guitar interlude and the track spends quite some time moving through different atmospheres in mid-tempo territory. With that one and the somewhat more traditional-sounding ‘Hangar 18’ culminating in long, intense guitar solo trade-offs between Mustaine and (at the time) new kid Marty Friedman, the stage is set for an album full of incredible guitar work.

Friedman’s proper introduction comes in the surprisingly melodic ‘Tornado Of Souls’. There is a minute-long guitar solo with such a strong, almost narrative build-up that it is probably my favorite solo ever recorded. The rest of the song is incredible as well, though it could have been lifted into the stratosphere even more with a better singer than Mustaine, who is pushing the edge of his range here. Those who prefer Megadeth as a full-speed thrash metal band are served by ‘Poison Was The Cure’ and the incredible, annihilating ‘Take No Prisoners’. The deceptively complex ‘Five Magics’ needs some time to grow and ‘Rust In Peace…Polaris’ is nothing special, but a fun closer.

Some heavy metal from the eighties has aged about as well as a pack of butter in direct sunlight, but ‘Rust In Peace’ still sounds as fresh and inspired today. It is also the last album released before a combination of label pressure and commercial ambitions pushed Megadeth towards a bit of an identity crisis, though to Mustaine’s credit: even if he is forced to write an accessible rock album, he’ll try and make the best out of it he possibly can. Despite the band’s recent output mostly being very good – except, and I cannot emphasize this enough, ‘Super Collider’ – there is a reason why people keep comparing Megadeth albums to ‘Rust In Peace’. It has some of the best metal ever written.

As a small postscriptum: if you have not heard ‘Rust In Peace’ yet, make sure to listen to the 2004 remaster. With the bass and backing vocals being much more audible, it is truly the best way to experience the album.

Recommended tracks: ‘Tornado Of Souls’, ‘Holy Wars…The Punishment Due’, ‘Hangar 18’, ‘Take No Prisoners’