Megadeth, released in 1986. Originally, the project was handled by Combat Records, and this resulted in the first mix of the album (nicknamed Peace Diffs... but Who's Buyin?, also known as Peace Sells Combat Mix), which can be found on the internet as a bootleg. Eventually Capitol Records bought the rights to the album and a producer was hired to mix it himself. It was remixed and remastered in 2004 by Dave Mustaine (though it is not known if the remaster is of the Combat release, the Capitol release, or a combination of both). Professional rock critic Steve Huey noted the album's combination of "punkish political awareness with a dark, threatening, typically heavy metal worldview." For instance, the album's cover makes an ironic statement about the Cold War. On the backdrop of a red and orange sky, it shows the United Nations headquarters soon after a nuclear attack. In the foreground is the band's mascot, Vic Rattlehead, who is leaning against a sign reading "For Sale" ("Vic Realtors" appearing in some copies), implying that the United Nations is for sale. The cover and the title suggest that while peace is a popular theme, it has become commodified, yet the ideal not achieved. These themes carry into the title track, with its strong themes of youth disillusionment. Dave Mustaine lifted the title from a Reader's Digest article, where it was written "Peace Would Sell But No One Would Buy It". "As long as people keep stealing, hurting and mistreating people, there's always going to be something that you can pick up on and say, 'Look, this is wrong.' Granted, we sing about it, but we take a negative approach to what we do sing about. 'Hey the devil is there, but he's a moron. That's why he's buried in dirt'." (Mustaine, 1987) "There was even a time when we were considered black metal! When people saw "Black Friday" and they heard "Bad Omen", they thought we were satanic. The worst thing is, like, going to a truck stop in Des Moines, Iowa, and having someone go [imitates Southern redneck voice], 'You guys in Megadeth? I heard you are satanic.' They expect us to have dead goats and babies in our buses. You couldn't get any further from the truth!" (Mustaine, 1997) Track listing # Title Lyrics Music Length 1. "Wake Up Dead" Dave Mustaine Mustaine 3:37 2. "The Conjuring" Mustaine Mustaine 5:04 3. "Peace Sells" Mustaine Mustaine 4:04 4. "Devil's Island" Mustaine Mustaine 5:06 5. "Good Mourning/Black Friday" Mustaine Mustaine 6:42 6. "Bad Omen" Mustaine Mustaine 4:05 7. "I Ain't Superstitious" Willie Dixon Dixon 2:46 8. "My Last Words" Mustaine Mustaine 4:49 2004 bonus tracks # Title Lyrics Music Length 9. "Wake Up Dead" (Randy Burns mix) Mustaine Mustaine 3:40 10. "The Conjuring" (Randy Burns mix) Mustaine Mustaine 5:01 11. "Peace Sells" (Randy Burns mix) Mustaine Mustaine 4:00 12. "Good Mourning/Black Friday" (Randy Burns mix) Mustaine Mustaine 6:39 Songs [edit] Wake Up Dead For more details on this topic, see Wake Up Dead. This song is about a man who has been cheating on his wife or girlfriend and is sneaking into his house, knowing that if his wife finds out about his other lover, she'll kill him. [edit] The Conjuring This song obviously describes some kind of ritual, probably inspired by Dave's involvement with witchcraft at this stage in his career. The last several verses are from the point of view of Satan claiming the soul of someone who has made a deal with the devil. "I read the Satanic Bible and all that stuff, but it was so adverse to what I wanted, and is hasn't been until the past couple of years that all that stuff's been shaken. I've had to go through a lot of spiritual healing to get clean. I don't think people really realize how intense that stuff is and the marks it can leave on you. There was one time where I did some witchcraft on this guy who had punched me, and it physically affected him, and to this day I regret it. That will never leave my mind - the power of that stuff. I would rather light a candle than curse the darkness. There was a time when I was very comfortable being part of the darkness because I didn't understand the light. But now I like seeing people smile more than watching them wrinkle up their forehead and make the devil's sign. If half these kids only knew that the way they make the devil's sign really means 'I love you' in sign language anyway." (Mustaine, 1995) "Our theory is, we play slower tempos, the girls will come. Last night they were dancing to "The Conjuring". We're up there going, 'Look at that. They're dancing to the satanic part of the set'!" (Ellefson, 1993) Peace Sells For more details on this topic, see Peace Sells. This song is the Mustaine's way of dispelling many of the stereotypes about the band and heavy metal fans in general. More specifically, that they are lazy, anti-government, and anti-religion, which Mustaine says are all untrue "I remember the day it was written. Dave and I were picking up Gar on our way to rehearsal... you remember that old van we used to have? Anyway, Dave asked me, 'What do you think about 'Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?' for a song idea?' We then went to our rehearsal studio and he wrote the chorus, we rehearsed it a couple of times and - bam! Within a couple hours the song was pretty much done... It was one of those magical moments." (Ellefson, 1998) The video for the title track became an MTV mainstay and the opening guitar lines could be heard on MTV News broadcasts. The line "It's still 'We the People, ' right?" is a reference to the preamble to the United States Constitution which reads, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Devil's Island This song expresses the thoughts of a prisoner on Devil's Island about to be executed. In the song, the prisoner's life is spared by God right before he is about to be killed, but he is condemned to spend the rest of his life on Devil's Island. "Devil's Island is part of the French overseas department of French Guiana. Established as part of the French Guiana penal colony in the 1850s, it became notorious for its unhealthful tropical climate and for the cruel treatment of prisoners. France made plans to abolish the penal colony in 1938 and completed the removal of prisoners early in the 1950s." (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia) Devil's Island is also a 1940 movie directed by William B. Clemens and starring Boris Karloff. The movie is about a doctor who is sent to Devil's Island for aiding a treasonous fugitive and later escapes with the help of the wife of the prison's commandant. Good Mourning/Black Friday "'Black Friday' was inspired by a great drummer named Dijon Carruthers whose father was Ben Carruthers from the movie The Dirty Dozen. Dijon's brother was Cain Carruthers from the ska band The Untouchables. Dijon was pretty much a band member until we found out that he lied about being 'black' to us. I am not against having any person in our band, regardless of color, but Dijon said he was Spanish. One day his brother walked in and Dijon nearly died on the spot. We used the material that we were working on as we kept going, but we knew that a man that is embarrassed about his family, race, or upbringing, would never fit our creed." (Mustaine, 2001) "Dijon Carruthers was a drummer with Megadeth temporarily, before Gar Samuelson. He was a very talented, but strange person. He used to hang out with an even stranger guy that was definitely into the occult; this guy was fully wacked! Dijon's friend seemed to know a lot of the occult, he wrote a lot of strange things and symbols down on paper. Although Dijon did get credit for inspiring those two songs "Bad Omen" and "Black Friday", that was the extent of it. Dijon may or may not be or have been a Satanist, and he did not commit murder that I know of at the time I was associating him. Dijon was a very talented drummer, and he came from a gifted family. I wish him well in his endeavors, whatever they may be." (Mustaine) In U.S. history, Black Friday is the name given to September 24, 1929, the day when a panic on Wall Street caused the financial ruin of thousands of investors. Black Friday is also the name of a 1940 horror movie starring Boris Karloff. Bad Omen This song is about people worshipping the devil. They have a big ceremony where all sorts of immorality is going on, and they invite Satan and hope that he gives them his blessing. Instead, his demons rape and destroy the people and Satan takes their souls. "We're aware of the subjects we write about - witchcraft, satanic sacrifices and the like - but we're not condoning them. If anything, the songs are a warning. The bad guys don't come out ahead in our songs. I've learned from past experience that the good guys, even if they don't wear white hats, are the ones who end up happy at the end of the day." (Mustaine, 1987) I Ain't Superstitious The original "I Ain't Superstitious" was featured on the Willie Dixon album I Am the Blues, released in 1970. It can be also be heard in the 1996 movie, Casino. Megadeth's "I Ain't Superstitious" was featured in a Japanese Honda commercial in 1996. My Last Words This song is about a game of Russian Roulette. Appearances in popular culture The song "Peace Sells" ranked #11 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs[20] and the bassline at its beginning was used for years as the theme for MTV News. It also appeared as part of the soundtrack in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and is featured in the music video game Rock Band 2. The rest of the album was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band series on September 16th, 2008. Personnel Dave Mustaine - lead vocals, guitar David Ellefson - bass guitar, backing vocals Chris Poland - guitar Gar Samuelson - drums Ed Repka - Cover artwork Charts Year Chart Position 1986 The Billboard 200 76