Review by Adam M on September 15, 2025.

This album was the first major event for Megadeth and signalled their entry into the thrash metal genre in fine fashion.  The riifs are more aggressive and the band’s style is thrash centric in what would later become a similar manner to the band Immortal.  There are a number of great songs on here such as the title track and “Wake Up Dead”.

This is a great album in terms of musicianship.  Things have been tightened up since their debut and this results in a more streamlined sound.  It is still a bit rawer than their Rust in Peace album and this leads it to playing second fiddle to that album.  Drums are pounding and the vocals of Mustaine are less annoying than on other releases by the outfit.

The flaw to the album lies in how they would advance their sound a bit more in the near future and this sounds a bit archaic compared to some of their other albums.  There is a great possibility for a modernization and this would happen with Rust in Peace.  There are still several classic songs on the album and it remains a classic to this day.

All in all, this is a great album by the band and very catchy and addictive.  The riffing style of the band is one of a kind and very interesting.  There is not much room for improvement and this was still one of the better albums from the year 1986.  It is hard to match and very essential to the genre and to metal history in general.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Luka on April 24, 2002.

By 1986 Metallica had three (!) phenomenal metal classics under their belt and a rabid cult following around the world. When the “Master of Puppets” masterpiece reached the gold mark in sales (500,000) Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth were flung into stardom as well, and, hungry for green, Capitol was one of the big labels quick to grab up Dave Mustaine’s monster-machine and forge another Metallica.

“Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” certainly not the mainstream world. The album was essentially a commercial failure, but to true metal fans this was the birth of one of the greatest and most influential bands in heavy metal history. Standing proud beside the same year’s Metallica - “Master of Puppets” and Slayer - “Reign in Blood”, this one was fast, modern, and original: coining the short-lived term “techno-thrash”, characterized by numerous tempo changes and complex riffs which backed Mustaine’s sharp snarl.

Signing on to Capitol was a blessing. The album was done on a generous budget and the studio production has sharpened the guitars and polished Dave’s voice into a sound much more preferable over the previous year’s catastrophe of a debut. Each song has a different style and plenty of surprises: an innovative songwriting basis which influenced countless bands today. Lead guitar mastery care of Mustaine and Chris Poland shines throughout. A fast, uncompromising song like 'Black Friday' reminds me why I love this music. This album kicks ass! Enough said.

Bottom Line: It’s a classic, no question about it. Excellent album, excellent introduction to Megadeth or early thrash metal.

Originality: 9
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8.5
Overall: 10

Rating: 8.9 out of 10