Megadeth Say Farewell With Their 2026 Self-Titled LP - Is It the Right Sendoff?

MEGADETH.

SCORE: 73/100

Megadeth send off their 43 year old career with a flaming self-titled album, feeling like a moment of retrospection as they bid farewell with eleven tracks and 47 minutes worth of music across the record. 

The rollout of this album was years in the making, and it is the bands' first and only album including their new guitarist, Teemu Mäntysaari. His playing abilities brighten up the album and set it ablaze; this is a much faster and heavier album than anyone could have expected it to be. 

Unlike Metallica, Megadeth did not decline in quality and show their age with their decline, with this album feeling like they are still in their youthful rocking days, even despite Mustaine's aged vocals. It's a showcase of a band doing what they love and what they do best, and it's impossible to ignore just how well the sound of the project ended up being - even despite some misfires. 

It feels like old-school thrash, being unapologetically harsh and settled into Megadeth's original style, which did not need to be tweaked to a more modernized state due to how timeless thrash metal has managed to be, even despite the lack of it that the music industry gets in the modern age. Thrash fans are sure to be pleased with a lot of this album, and despite some weak moments here and there, it's an incredibly solid sendoff that feels like the best the band could have possibly achieved. 

Ending a career with a self-titled album feels like some of the deepest reflection a band could possibly embark on - rather than a self-titled album being the moment that opens the curtains of their career, it's the album that ends it and dives into the past four decades that they have been in the metal scene; ending with one final bow of reflection.