After Mustaine fled the Metallica nest, 'Killing Is My Business...' became Megadeth's raw thrash debut, and a reasonable one at the that, but it was 'Peace Sells...' which enabled Mustaine's work to be fully appreciated. By his side were Chris Poland (guitar), David Ellefson (bass) and Gar Samuelson (drums), and together they produced a tight, intricate thrash record of some quality, and a record I continue to go back to when seeking a quality flashback of 1980s heavy metal.This record certainly put the band in the major league, and near the peak. This is mid-paced thrash metal with black humour and a political message at times, as well as Mustaine's cynical sneer towards the opposition. Only the dodgy cover version of 'I Ain't Superstitious' weakens the album, but apart from that lull, this is consistent headbanging metal. Favourites are numerous, seething 'Wake Up Dead' with it's thumping mid-section, 'The Conjuring', spewed out through Mustaine's gritted teeth, the anthemic title cut and true rocker ' Devil's Island'.
It's an album that's hard to fault except a few more tracks would have been appreciated, but back then thrash records were not exactly expected to be vast, sprawling epics, but 'Peace Sells...' remains a worthy contender for being one of the finest thrash records ever made and certainly sat comfortably alongside Metallica's 'Ride The Lightning'.
8.5/10
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