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Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo says he was both surprised and excited when Dave Mustaine proposed recording his own version of Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning” for Megadeth’s final album, Megadeth. The track — originally co-written by Mustaine before his 1983 exit from Metallica — felt to LoMenzo like a fitting way to acknowledge the band’s full history as it prepared to close out its career.
LoMenzo explained that the decision to frame Megadeth as the band’s last release came late in the process. The group initially approached sessions as a standard album cycle, only learning near completion that Mustaine envisioned it as a definitive farewell. By that point, LoMenzo said, the strength of the material made the idea of ending on a high note feel natural rather than forced.
He described the recording as unusually free of pressure because the band hadn’t known it might be their last. That openness, he said, allowed collaboration to flourish — particularly with new guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, whose playing and songwriting impressed the veteran bassist.
LoMenzo also praised Mustaine’s candid lyric writing on the song “The Last Note,” which reflects on touring and legacy. Hearing the finished track, he said, underscored the emotional weight of the band’s journey and confirmed the sense that Megadeth was entering its final chapter, likely to conclude after a limited number of touring cycles.
Reflecting on Mustaine’s inclusion of “Ride the Lightning,” LoMenzo said it symbolically bridged the long-standing Megadeth–Metallica narrative, honoring Mustaine’s early role while celebrating the independent legacy he built afterward. For LoMenzo, the album’s chart-topping success and fan response have made participating in Megadeth’s closing era a career peak.
SOURCE: Blabbermouth