Peace Sells...But Who's Buying | Creating a Classic

Introduction:

We all know the album. Peace Sells is remembered as one of the greatest metal albums of all time, and shot Megadeth into public view after the moderate success of Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!. Still keeping the Poland/Samuelson lineup of KIMB, the quartet was ready to make Thrash history in 1986. Let's get critiquing!

Analysis:

Gar's drumming has gotten ever so slightly less jazzy on this release, sticking a bit more to a metal style. That said, he's still as technical as ever and provides many great moments. Ellefson's bass also kills on this album, even stronger than on KIMB, and in a lot of ways he leads the album.

Poland has definitely gotten much better here. He gets to show off his jazziness a lot more, and acts more as a compliment to Mustaine than a subordinate. Speaking of Mustaine, his riffs are still some of the best in the genre here and even his vocals have seen improvement from KIMB.

Track-by-track:

PSBWB? Opens with "Wake Up Dead", which blasts your skull the second it comes on with a fantastic riff from both Daves'. It sounds straight off of KIMB with how jazzy it feels as well. It's a mostly instrumental track additionally, getting the listener comfortable for the masterpiece about to unfold. This song just rules. It's followed with "The Conjuring", a longer, more complex track hinting at the next two albums. It's fueled by Samuelson's lightning fast drums and Mustaine's distinct vocals, with a creepy atmosphere manifest of that. "Peace Sells" is an absolute classic and one of the most memorable Thrash songs ever made. From that opening bassline to the way Dave croons out the lyrics to the climactic finale, the song just kicks ass on every level.

"Devil's Island", opens with one of the best guitar parts of the album, Mustaine and Poland both going crazy in the beginning. What follows is a catchy gallop with Mustaine yelling out the lyrics with precision. The track also includes an insanely catchy bridge and shredding solo. Following this song is "Good Mourning/Black Friday", the opening of Side B. The track begins with some atmospheric clean guitars building up a crashing vocal break with guitars harmonizing. After that the gallop begins with shredding over it, signifying the Black Friday portion. The latter part of the track revolves around Mustaine's vocals and the riff behind them, first a thundering gallop, then a fast paced Thrash beat bringing the track back to KIMB style speed and aggression.

"Bad Omen" exists as probably my least favorite of the original tracks. It's still a great song, but doesn't stick with me quite like the first 6 songs. It just sort of goes by with some good riffs until it reaches the end of the song with some KIMB-style speed and shredding. "I Ain't Superstitious" is a cover like "These Boots", and like that song gives Poland and Samuelson a chance to share their jazziness. That said, it's my least favorite on the record and I just don't find it very interesting. Just repetitive and boring. Luckily, "My Last Words" enters into the mix to end on a fantastic note. Beginning with a somber cleaner guitar riff, the song erupts into some Mechanix-style speed metal with a pounding riff behind Dave's roaring vocals. This repeats for a time until a tempo change to an unwinding solo followed by Dave's maniacal yells, ending this masterful album.

Song Ranking:

1. Good Mourning / Black Friday.
2. Wake Up Dead.
3. Peace Sells.
4. My Last Words.
5. The Conjuring.
6. Devil's Island.
7. Bad Omen.
8. I Ain't Superstitious.

Production:

The original release of the album had much more going on than in KIMB. The bass was more distinct, drums more audible, guitars thicker and vocals with a reverb-heavy sound sure to make Thrashheads swoon. Sadly, it suffered from some clarity issues and in many ways sounded a bit too quiet and flat. If you're going for the original release, go vinyl or cassette.

In 2004, Dave remixed and remastered the album, and in a way created the reverse of the original release. It was clear, ultra-mechanical, and direct. But on the other hand, the title track was butchered and it is mixed way too hot. As such, it falls victim to the Loudness War with over-compression. It's not bad, and I think on CD it's a better bet than later pressings of the original release, but it was an overcorrection without a doubt.

Luckily, in 2011, the best of both worlds was accomplished. The 25th anniversary remaster uses the original mix and simply brings it up to date. It's clear, but raw. Direct but reverby. Louder than the original but avoids clipping and distortion. A perfect compromise, and the one to get nowadays.

Of course, there's another release we need to mention. There was also a 25th Anniversary boxset that included both the worst and best versions of the album in addition to the previously discussed ones. The former being the "hi-res" version which I swear reaches Death Magnetic levels at times. The latter being a 2011 remaster of the best mix, the Randy Burns mix. This version is sex to my ears, and I wish it'd get a vinyl release, because it is the best version of the album.

Conclusion:

PSBWB? Is a fantastic example of Thrash Metal turned into an art form. Of the three great thrash albums of '86, it remains my favorite. Where Reign In Blood turned Thrash into pure brutality and Master of Puppets made it accessible, Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? advanced it into an unseen level of technicality and complexity. To this day it remains the most acclaimed Megadeth album aside from RIP. And for its accomplishments and wonders, I can give this album a score no lower than a 9.5/10 (Minus .3 for the cover and .2 for Bad Omen).