Megadeth’s Six Best 21st Century Songs

Here are Megadeth‘s six best songs released in the 21st century.

The thrash legends have been, by far, the most prolific among the ‘Big 4’ with a 16-album catalog that includes eight 21st century LPs. By comparison, Slayer have released 12 records with Anthrax and Metallica at 11 apiece.

Despite the turnover in personnel, which Megadeth also hold a ‘Big 4’ record for, visionary and leader Dave Mustaine has always managed to keep things moving.

Until the release of 2022’s The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, the group had never taken more than three years between album. And that latest record was delayed due to Mustaine’s 2019 throat cancer diagnosis and the pandemic which took root the following year.

READ MORE: The Most Played Song Live Off Every Megadeth Album

What we’re trying to say is that narrowing it down to just a handful of Megadeth’s best 21st century songs is no easy work with all this material to consider.

Alas, here are the six we deem the very best of this era.

Megadeth’s Six Best 21st Century Songs

“Dread and the Fugitive Mind” (The World Needs a Hero) — 2001

The World Needs a Hero wasn’t exactly a rebound after the misguided Risk, but it did reestablish some of the most familiar elements of Megadeth in a few places.

“Dread and the Fugitive Mind” is the most enduring track off this 2001 album, which was the first after the departure of guitarist Marty Friedman.

There’s a bit of a nod to “Sweating Bullets” in the playful verse with another as Mustaine again underscores his talents as one of the metal’s best hook writers.

“Kick the Chair” (The System Has Failed) — 2004

The System Has Failed is a triumph simply because Mustaine managed to recover from a grim prognosis that he’d never play guitar again after sustaining nerve damage in his arm in 2002.

Redemptive in it’s own right, this album was largely viewed as a comeback for Megadeth due to the nature of the material as well. While the more radio-friendly trio of singles (“Die Dead Enough,” “Of Mice and Men,” “The Scorpion”) didn’t paint an ultimate picture of neck-wrecking thrash, “Kick the Chair” certainly picked up the slack.

People can be easy to please with metalheads being no exception — “Kick the Chair” represents the style of Megadeth fans had been waiting so long to hear again.

“Washington Is Next!” (United Abominations) — 2007

From the mid-2000s through the early 2010s, Dave Mustaine was one of metal’s most politically outspoken musicians with a penchant for inflammatory remarks and Fox News guest appearances.

Mustaine directed ire at Washington D.C. at large on the album bearing the less-than-subtle title United Abominations.

“Washington Is Next!” forecasts the downfall of the U.S. government, undone by its own corruption. Some of the lyrics are rather cheesy and face value, but are relevant in a world where the consensus seems to be that the government does not serve the interests of the people.

While he’s toned down his blatant political sentiments in recent years, this track is a prime example of Mustaine’s views during that era.

“Head Crusher” (Endgame) — 2009

Is there a more appropriately titled song in the whole Megadeth catalog? We don’t think so.

First off — Endgame has to be this band’s most underrated album. It may lack some of the all-timers, but it’s remarkably consistent and an ideal blend of catchy song craft and shred-tastic thrash.

It’s a all pyrotechnics right from the start and closes out with some more face-melting. “Death by the head crusher” indeed!

“How the Story Ends” (Endgame) — 2009

How about a serious deep cut?!

“How the Story Ends,” just on title alone would’ve made an ideal closer vs. its penultimate spot on Endgame. It’s a bouncy track with a decisively metal battle theme bolstered by a stomping Anthrax-style rhythm riff.

Towns razed to the ground, cannon blasts, steel-on-steel combat — it might be low-hanging heavy metal fruit, but the lowest hanging fruit does still taste quite sweet from time to time.

“Dystopia” (Dystopia) — 2016

New blood almost always yields great results and that was the case with Dystopia, Megadeth’s first with guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Chris Adler, who was pulling double duty in Lamb of God at the time too.

The title track earned Megadeth their first-ever Grammy win for Best Metal Performance and it’s every bit deserving of the honor. “Dystopia” immediately calls to mind early ’90s Megadeth with its melodic flair, but this is no retread. Mustaine’s gravely voice adds an ominous quality to the song’s self-evident lyrical theme.

This may very well be the best Megadeth song of the 21st century, period.

Follow Loudwire’s 21st Century Thrash playlist on Spotify.