Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? is the second album by Thrash Metal band Megadeth, released on September 19, 1986, by Capitol Records.
The band's major-label debut was initially recorded while they were on Combat Records, but Capitol records bought the rights to it and hired a new producer to redo the mixing. The band members were having drug problems throughout the recording, resulting in guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson being fired from the band shortly after the tour for this album, though Poland was brought back as a session musician on 2004's The System Has Failed. This resulted in Megadeth becoming a Revolving Door Band.
Breakthrough Hit "Peace Sells" was the band's first music video. Its bassline was used as the opening to MTV News, though frontman Dave Mustaine claimed the band received no royalties because the song was dropped before MTV would have to pay the band.
Tracklist:
Side One
- "Wake Up Dead" (3:40)
- "The Conjuring" (5:04)
- "Peace Sells" (4:04)
- "Devils Island" (5:05)
- "Good Mourning/Black Friday" (6:41)
- "Bad Omen" (4:05)
- "I Ain't Superstitious" (2:46)
- "My Last Words" (4:57)
Principal Members:
- Dave Mustaine - Lead vocals, guitar
- David Ellefson - Bass, backing vocals
- Chris Poland - Guitar
- Gar Samuelson - Drums
What do you mean, "there are no tropes here?" Just take a look below:
- Album Title Drop: The climax of "Peace Sells" repeats the full title of the album.
- Anti-Love Song: "Wake Up Dead" is about a man trying to sneak back into his home without waking up his wife after cheating on her.
- Content Warnings: An early version of the Parental Advisory warning, a simple text reading "Explicit Lyrics / Parental Advisory", appeared on the back cover of the original version of the album due to the violent lyrics throughout and some swearing on side two. This upset Mustaine enough for him to bash the Parents' Music Resource Center on "Hook in Mouth" from the next Megadeth album, So Far, So Good... So What!
- Cover Version: "I Ain't Superstitious" was originally performed by Howlin' Wolf.
- Cruel Mercy: God spares the protagonist of "Devils Island" from being executed, but now the protagonist has to spend the rest of his life within the Hellhole Prison.
- Death by Woman Scorned: The protagonist of "Wake Up Dead" fears this will happen to him if his wife catches him coming home at 4 AM and/or finds out he's been cheating on her.
- Epic Instrumental Opener: Three of the four songs on side two have lengthy melodic intros before the songs proper start.
- Epic Rocking: "Good Mourning/Black Friday" (6:41)
- Hellhole Prison: The titular "Devils Island" is in a shark-infested sea and is surrounded by rocks that are dangerous when the tide is rough.
- Hollywood Satanism: "The Conjuring" is about a Satanic ritual.
- Horrible History Metal: "Devils Island" is named after a French penal colony that operated from 1852-1952.
- Limited Lyrics Song: "Wake Up Dead" has just a verse at the beginning, a short passage in the middle, and a repeated Title Drop at the end.
- Medley: The mostly instrumental "Good Mourning" is the intro to "Black Friday", and its few lyrics cover a different subject.
- Precision F-Strike: The narrator of "Good Mourning" is having some unspecified problems."Something’s coming over me
What the fuck is this? Oh!" - Russian Roulette: The subject of "My Last Words"."Place the pistol down, now give the gun a spin, soon as the spinning stops, oh no, the game starts in"
- Serial Killer: The Villain Protagonist of "Black Friday"."Blood-thirsty demon who’s stalking the street
I hack up my victims like pieces of meat" - Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny: "Bad Omen" is about a Satanic orgy.
- Suicide Dare: "My Last Words", which is about Russian Roulette."You, you, next victim, you next to die"
- Take That, Critics!: "Peace Sells" is a refutation of the media's criticisms of metal culture.
- Title Track: "Peace Sells" has partial credit as it omits the subtitle.
