Megadeth ‎"Killing Is My Business... " CD Music For Nations 1987

While maybe not as flashy or impressive as Rust In Peace, Peace Sells took the debut album's technicality buried under grit and stretched it, showcasing almost 40 minutes of insane lead guitar work and overall phenomenal songwriting. It's actually quite surprising how matured and developed Megadeth's sound had become in the space of one year, with an identical lineup too. Sure, the songs are all still quite short and very on-the-nose with their thrash metal riffing, but where Peace Sells really shines is those middle sections with some of the best solos and progressiosn in the genre. It's very difficult to pick out favourites with a tracklist this consistent. Take the opener Wake Up Dead, which features 2 definitive riffs and solos all over the place. This song actually contrasts most of the album as it can seem somewhat unstructured at points, but it's a great way to introduce the intensity.
On the other hand, you get tracks like The Conjuring and Bad Omen which just deliver riff after riff and have more mid-paced chuggy sections to balance out with the speed. Every member is at their most fresh and quintessential musically, everyone has heard the iconic bass intro to the title track (which itself is one of the catchiest and most recognisable anthems in metal) and the melodies on this track are phenomenal. It's amazing how Chris and Dave manage to bridge each section with solos, and there are so many solos on this record, all of which still hold up. The dynamic parts are some of the highlights, like the eerie intro to Bad Omen or the overall haunting feel of the brilliant My Last Words. However, my favourite track on Peace Sells by a landslide is Black Friday; a longer, more segmented, completely perfect song that transforms again and again into an even more aggressive evolution of itself, and it really is one of the deeper cuts in Megadeth's discography that is essential, and I would argue it's their single best song.
I can understand why people would dislike the production of this record; while nowhere near as scratchy or cheap-sounding as Killing Is My Business, the rhythm guitars are quite thin and it does sound very trebly. However, in my opinion the tone has a lot of muscle and I appreciate how high the bass is mixed. It's a very quiet album, at least the version I own, giving it a very open and uncompressed sound that I love, especially coupled with the insane tightness of the band. While not necessarily the most accessible from Megadeth, Peace Sells is their best album, with perfect musicianship and hints of their refined future sound while still retaining the filth and mercilessness of their early material. It's the perfect blend of everything Megadeth was good at during the first ten or so years of their career.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...