The remixed and remastered
Megadeth
albums released in 2004 aren't your typical cash-ins. They're stark improvements over the originals: group leader
Dave Mustaine
did the remixing and remastering himself, making especially significant revisions to the earlier albums, and he includes insightful liner notes for each reissue, including track-by-track commentary for the bonus tracks, as well as lyrics and period photos. Along with
So Far, So Good...So What!
and
Rust in Peace
,
Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?
was most due for such a reissue as this. Originally recorded in early 1986 on a modest budget, this landmark album didn't boast pristine production, yet it was rightfully crowned a landmark release and remains one -- one of the most influential
metal
albums of its decade and certainly one of the few truly definitive
thrash
albums, right up there with
Metallica
's
Master of Puppets
Slayer
Reign in Blood
, both of which were also released in 1986.
Mustaine
's liner notes help shed some light on the wondrous events surrounding this storied album, the band's second and the final one featuring guitarist
Chris Poland
and drummer
Gar Samuelson
. The four bonus tracks are alternate mixes by
Randy Burns
and aren't too remarkably novel in contrast. Still,
Peace Sells
was so key to the development of
and so influential to the then-burgeoning
movement, it's a real godsend to have it remixed and remastered like this. Such treatment makes an already essential album for
fans all the more essential. Beyond doubt, if you're going to own one and only one
album, make it this one. And if you've always wondered why
were so followed, here's a chief reason. The few albums that followed
are damn good also, but this is the one that started it all. It's the foundation of the band's legacy and one of the best beginning-to-end
albums ever. ~ Jason Birchmeier