Released: June 28, 2005 | Capitol Records
Greatest Hits: Back to the Start
Greatest Hits: Back to the Start is loaded with 17 CD selections, and also boasts a 9-track bonus DVD featuring the video for “Kill the King”, as well as a seven-song live set recorded at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, CO on December 27, 1999. Classic Megadeth is well represented here – most notably with the stomping, bass-heavy “Peace Sells” and the mini-epic “Hangar 18”. This collection is an ideal introduction to the potent speed metal of Megadeth.
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HOLY WARS...THE PUNISHMENT DUE
HOLY WARS...THE PUNISHMENT DUE
Solo - Mustaine
Brother will kill brother
Spilling blood across the land
Killing for religion
Something I don't understand
Fools like me who cross the sea
And come to foreign lands
Ask the sheep for their beliefs
Do you kill on God's command?
A country that's divided
Surely will not stand
My past erased, no more disgrace
No foolish naive stand
The end is near, it's crystal clear
Part of the master plan
Don't look now to Israel
It might be your homelands
Holy wars
Solo - Friedman
Up on my podium, as the
Know-it-all scholar
Down in my seat of judgement
Gavel's bang, uphold the law
Up on my soapbox, a leader
Out to change the world
Down in my pulpit as the holier-than-thou
Could-be-messenger of God
Wage the war on organized crime
Sneak attacks, rappel down the rocks
Behind the lines
Some people risk to employ me
Some people live to destroy me
Either way they die, they die
Solo - Friedman
They killed my wife and my baby
With hopes to enslave me
First mistake, last mistake
Paid by the alliance, to slay all the giants
Next mistake, no more mistakes
Solo - Friedman
Solo - Mustaine
Fill the cracks in with judicial granite
Because I don't say it, don't mean I ain't thinking it
Next thing you know, they'll take my thoughts away
I know what I said now I must scream
Of the overdose and the lack of mercy killings
Mercy killings, mercy killings, killings, killings, killings
Next thing you know they'll take my thoughts away -
IN MY DARKEST HOUR
IN MY DARKEST HOUR
Solo - Mustaine
In my hour of need,
Ha, no, you're not there
And though I reached out for you,
Wouldn't lend a hand
Through the darkest hour,
Your grace did not shine on me
Feels so cold, very cold,
No one cares for me
Did you ever think I get lonely?
Did you ever think that I needed love?
Did you ever think, stop thinking
You're the only one that I'm thinking of?
You'll never know how hard I tried
To find my space and satisfy you too
Things will be better when I'm dead and gone
Don't try to understand, knowing you, I'm probably wrong
But, oh how I lived my life for you,
Till you'd turn away
Now, as I die for you,
My flesh still crawls as I breathe your name
All these years, thought I was wrong,
Now I know it was you
Raise you head, raise your face, your eyes,
Tell me who you think you are?
I walk, I walk alone
To the promised land
There's a better place for me
But it's far, far away
Everlasting life for me
In a perfect world
But I got to die first,
Please God send me on my way
Solo - Mustaine
Time has a way of taking time
Loneliness is not only felt be fools
Alone, I call to ease the pain,
Yearning to be held by you
Alone, so alone, I'm lost,
Consumed by the pain
The pain, the pain, the pain
Won't you hold me again
You just laughed, ha-ha, you bitch
Solo - Mustaine
My whole life is work built on the past,
The time has come when all things shall pass,
This good thing passed away
Solo - Young
Solo - Mustaine
Music - Mustaine
Lyrics - Mustaine/Ellefson -
PEACE SELLS
PEACE SELLS
Solo - Mustaine
What do you mean I don't believe in God?
Talk to him every day
What do you mean I don't support your system?
I go to court when I have to
What do you mean I can't get to work on time?
Got nothing better to do
What do you mean I don't pay my bills?
Why do you think I'm broke? Huh?
If there's a new way
I'll be the first in line
But, it better work this time
Solo - Poland
What do you mean I hurt your feelings?
I didn't know you had any feelings
Solo - Poland
What do you mean I ain't kind?
Just not your kind
Solo - Poland
What do you mean I couldn't be President Of the United States of America?
Solo - Poland
Tell me something, it's still 'We the people', right?
Solo - Poland
If there's a new way
I'll be the first in line
But, it better work this time
Solo - Poland
Solo - Mustaine
Solo - Poland
Solo - Mustaine
Can you put a price on peace?
Peace, peace sells, peace, peace sells
Peace sells, but who's buying?
Solo - Poland
Peace sells, but who's buying?
No, no, no, no, no!
Solo - Poland
Peace sells
Solo - Poland
Peace sells
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SWEATING BULLETS
SWEATING BULLETS
Hello me, meet the real me
And my misfit's way of life
A dark, black past is my
Most valued possession
Hindsight is always 20-20
But looking back, it's still a bit fuzzy
Speak of mutually assured destruction?
Nice story, Tell it to Reader's Digest®!
Feeling paranoid
True enemy or false friend?
Anxiety's attacking me
And my air is getting thin
I'm in trouble for the things
I haven't got to yet
I'm chomping at the bit
And my palms are getting wet
Sweating bullets
Hello me, it's me again
You can subdue, but never tame me
It gives me a migraine headache
Sinking down to your level
Yea, just keep on thinking it's my fault
And stay an inch or two outta kicking distance
Mankind has got to know
His limitations
Feeling claustrophobic
Like the walls are closing in
Blood stains on my hands
And I don't know where I've been
I'm in trouble for the things
I haven't got to yet
I'm sharpening the axe
And my palms are getting wet
Sweating bullets
Solo - Mustaine
I hear it in hear...
Blood stains on my...hands
The big axe...
Sweating...
Well, me, it's nice talking to myself
A credit to dementia
Some day you too will know my pain
And smile its "black-tooth grin"
If the war inside my head
Won't take a day off I'll be dead
My icy fingers claw your back
Here I come again
Feeling paranoid
True enemy or false friend?
Anxiety's attacking me
And my air is getting thin
Feeling claustrophobic
Like the walls are closing in
Blood stains on my hands
And I don't know where I've been
Once you committed me
Now you've acquitted me
Claiming validity
For your stupidity
I'm chomping at the bit
I'm sharpening the axe
Here I come again
Sweating bullets -
ANGRY AGAIN
ANGRY AGAIN
The more of you that I inspect
The more of me I see reflect
The more I try to read your lips
The more the mask you're wearing rips
But when I seek out your voice
My ears are overcome with noise
You show and tell with greatest ease
Raving impossibilities
Engaged in crime I grasp my throat
Enraged my mind starts to smoke
Enforce a mental overload
Angry again, angry again, angry ow
And when the story takes a twist
If folds like a contortionist
Slight of hand and quick exchange
The old tricks have been rearranged
Engaged in crime I grasp my throat
Enraged my mind starts to smoke
Enforce a mental overload
Angry again, angry again, angry
The searing of the sinew
My body fights for air
The ripping of the tissue
My lungs begin to tear
Gravity's got my bones
It pulls my flesh away
The steam finally dissipates
I make out my sweaty face
Association that I choose
Game I inevitably lose
Governed by laws set up by me
Fracture its jaw to let me be
A cut-out cardboard condo maze
Filled with an insubordinate race
Irrational youths stop to stare
As music rubber hosed the air
Engaged in crime I grasp my throat
Enraged my mind starts to smoke
Enforce a mental overload
Angry again, angry again, angry again
And again and again, again
Engaged in crime I grasp my throat
Enraged my mind starts to smoke
Enforce a mental overload
Angry again, angry again, angry ow
Music & Lyrics - Mustaine
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A TOUT LE MONDE
A TOUT LE MONDE
Don't remember where I was
I realized life was a game
The more seriously I took things
The harder the rules became
I had no idea what it'd cost
My life passed before my eyes
I found out how little I accomplished
All my plans denied
So as you read this know my friends
I'd love to stay with you all
Please smile when you think of me
My body's gone that's all
A tout le monde
A tout mes amis
Je vous aime
Je dois partir
These are the last words
I'll ever speak
And they'll set me free
If my heart was still alive
I know it would surely break
And my memories left with you
There's nothing more to say
Moving on is a simple thing
What it leaves behind is hard
You know the sleeping feel no more pain
And the living all are scarred
A tout le monde
A tout mes amis
Je vous aime
Je dois partir
These are the last words
I'll ever speak
And they'll set me free
Solo - Friedman
So as you read, know my friends
I'd love to stay with you all
Please smile, smile when you think about me
My body's gone that's all
A tout le monde
A tout mes amis
Je vous aime
Je dois partir
These are the last words
I'll ever speak
And they'll set me free
Solo - Mustaine & Friedman
Music & Lyrics - Mustaine/Friedman/Ellefson/Menza -
TRUST
TRUST
Lost in a dream
Nothing's what it seems
Searching my head
For the words that you said
Tears filled my eyes
As we said our last goodbyes
This sad scene replays
Of you walking away
My body aches from mistakes
Betrayed by lust
We lied to each other so much
That in nothing we trust
God help me please, on my knees
Betrayed by lust, by lust
We lied to each other so much
That in nothing we trust
Time and again
She repeats let's be friends
I smile and say yes
Another truth bends,
I must confess
I try to let go, but I know
We'll never end 'til we're dust
We lied to each other again
But I wish I could trust
My body aches from mistakes
Betrayed by lust
We lied to each other so much
That in nothing we trust
God help me please, on my knees, on my knees
Betrayed by lust, by lust
We lied to each other so much, so much
That in nothing we trust
How could this be happening to me
I'm lying when I say, "Trust me"
I can't believe this is true
Trust hurts
Why does trust equal suffering?
Solo - Friedman
My body aches from mistakes
Betrayed by lust
We lied to each other so much
That in nothing we trust, in nothing we trust
God help me please, on my knees
Betrayed by lust
We lied to each other so much, so much
That in nothing we trust
Absolutely nothing we trust
Music - Mustaine/Friedman
Lyrics - Mustaine -
KILL THE KING
KILL THE KING
Broken down, feeling naked
Leaving me unfulfilled
Promising compromise
Championing mediocrity
Time and time again
What you said ain't what you mean
Even if all my bones are broken
I will drag myself back from the edge to
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the King
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the King,
I am the King, God save the King
Kill the King, The King is dead
I am the King, Long live the King
Kill the King, The King is dead
I am the King, Long live the King
I reveal a deceiver
In the highest seat in the land
His idle hands the Devil's workshop
Generate more smoke than heat
Time and time again
What you said ain't what you mean
Even if all my bones are broken
I will drag myself back from the edge to
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the King
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the King,
I am the King, God save the King
Kill the King, The King is dead
I am the King, Long live the King
Kill the King, The King is dead
I am the King, Long live the King
A new precedent in pain, a new precedent in pain
Mankind is blown to dust, mankind is blown to dust
An explosion of the Brain, an explosion of the Brain
Spontaneously combust, spontaneously combust
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the King,
I am the King
Kill the King, I, The King is dead, I am, Long live the King,
I am the King
Kill the King, I, The King is dead, I am, Long live the King,
I am the King
Kill the King, I, The King is dead, I am, Long live the King,
I am the King
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SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION
SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION
You take a mortal man
And put him in control
Watch him become a god
Watch people's heads a-roll
Just like the Pied Piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the Symphony of Destruction
Acting like a robot
Its metal brain corrodes
You try to take its pulse
Before the head explodes
Just like the Pied Piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the Symphony of Destruction
Solo - Friedman
The earth starts to rumble
World powers fall
A-warring for the heavens
A peaceful man stands tall
Just like the Pied Piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the Symphony of Destruction
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MECHANIX
MECHANIX
Imagine you were at my station
And you brought your motor to me
You're a burner yeah a real motor car
Said you want to get your order filled
Made me shiver when I put it in
Pumping just won't do ya know luckily for you
Whoever thought you'd be better
At turning a screw than me, I do it for my life
Made my drive shaft crank, made my pistons bulge
Made my ball bearings melt from the heat
We were shifting hard when we took off
Put tonight all four on the floor
When we hit top end you know it feels too slow
Said you want to get your order filled
Made me shiver when I put it in
Pumping just won't do ya know luckily for you
Whoever thought you'd be better
At turning a screw than me, I do it for my life
Made my drive shaft crank, made my pistons bulge
Made my ball bearings melt from the heat
I'm giving you my room service
And you know it's more than enough
Oh, one more time you know I'm in love
Said you want to get your order filled
Made me shiver when I put it in
Pumping just won't do ya know luckily for you
Whoever thought you'd be better
At turning a screw than me, I do it for my life, fuck yeah
Made my drive shaft crank, made my pistons bulge
Made my ball bearings melt from the heat, oh yeah
Solo - Mustaine
Music & Lyrics - Mustaine -
TRAIN OF CONSEQUENCES
TRAIN OF CONSEQUENCES
I'm doing you a favor
As I'm taking all your money
I guess I should feel sorry
But I don't even trust me
There's bad news creeping up
And you feel a sudden chill
How do you do? My name is 'Trouble'
I'm coming in for the kill
And you know I will
Set the ball a-rolling
I'll be clicking off the miles
On the train of consequences
My boxcar life of style
My thinking is derailed
I'm tied up to the tracks
The train of consequences
There ain't no turning back
No horse ever ran as fast
As the money that you bet
I'm blowing on my cards
And play them to my chest
Life's fabric is corrupt
Shot through with corroded thread
As for me I hocked my brains
Packed my bags and headed west
I hocked my brains, headed west
Set the ball a-rolling
I'll be clicking off the miles
On the train of consequences
My boxcar life of style
My thinking is derailed
I'm tied up to the tracks
The train of consequences
There ain't no turning back
Solo - Friedman
Set the ball a-rolling
I'll be clicking off the miles
On the train of consequences
My boxcar life of style
My thinking is derailed
I'm tied up to the tracks
The train of consequences
There ain't no turning back
Solo - Mustaine
Harmonica Solo - Jimmie Wood
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WAKE UP DEAD
WAKE UP DEAD
I sneak in my own house
It's four in the morning
I had too much to drink
Said I was out with the boys
I creep in my bedroom
I slip into bed
I know if I wake her
I'll wake up dead
Solo - Mustaine
Solo - Mustaine
Solo - Poland
Ooh, I wonder will she find out
About the other, other lover Diana?
Solo - Mustaine
Wake up dead, you die
Wake up dead and buried
Wake up dead, you die
Wake up dead
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HANGAR 18
HANGAR 18
Welcome to our fortress tall
I'll take some time to show you around
Impossible to break these walls
For you see the steel is much too strong
Computer banks to rule the world
Instruments to sight the stars
Possibly I've seen to much
Hangar 18 I know too much
Solo - Friedman
Foreign life forms inventory
Suspended state of cryogenics
Selective amnesia's the story
Believed foretold but who'd suspect
Military intelligence
Two words combined that can't make sense
Possibly I've seen to much
Hangar 18 I know too much
Solo - Friedman
Solo - Friedman
Solo - Mustaine
Solo - Friedman
Solo - Mustaine
Solo - Friedman
Solo - Mustaine
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DREAD AND THE FUGITIVE MIND
DREAD AND THE FUGITIVE MIND
Let me introduce myself I'm a social disease
I've come for your wealth leave you on your knees
No time for feeling sorry, I got here on my own
I won't ask for mercy, I choose to walk alone
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
If you shake my hand better count your fingers
What if I do get caught? What if there is no judgment?
If I'm right I lose nothing, if you're right I lose it all
I ought to get caught because I'm doing something wicked
I'm guilty haunted by my fear and the only consequences
Are Dread and the Fugitive Mind
You built walls to protect you so no one will infect you
Pursued by those out there that vanish in thin air
Come a long way to find what you really left behind
You don't know when the end is but it's coming fast
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
If you shake my hand better count your fingers
What if I do get caught? What if there is no judgment?
If I'm right I lose nothing, if you're right I lose it all
I ought to get caught because I'm doing something wicked
I'm guilty haunted by my fear and the only consequences
Are Dread and the Fugitive Mind
Solos - Mustaine, Pitrelli
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SKIN O' MY TEETH
SKIN O' MY TEETH
I had wrists donning slits
Flowing constantly
My broken body in a wreck
Wrapped around a tree
A crosswalk hit-and-run
The finish line for me
People clutter in the gutter
Take a look and see
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clinging on to life
By the skin of my teeth
My blood flows through the streets
Deluge from the wounds
Empty jars of sleeping pills
On the dresser of my room
My wet-brained neighbor cranes
His neck to see
In time the white light's a train
Bearing down on me
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clinging on to life
By the skin of my teeth
Solo - Friedman
I won't feel the hurt
I'm not trash any longer
That, that doesn't kill me
Only makes me stronger
I need a ride to the morgue
That's what 911 is for
So tag my toe and don't forget
To close the drawer
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clinging on to life
By the skin of my teeth
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SHE-WOLF
SHE-WOLF
The mother of all that is evil
Her lips are poisonous venom
Wicked temptress knows how to please
The priestess roars, "Get down on your knees"
The rite of the praying mantis
Kiss the bones of the enchantress
Spellbound searching through the night
A howling man surrenders the fight
One look in her lusting eyes
Savage fear in you will rise
Teeth of terror sinking in
The bite of the she-wolf
My desires of flesh obey me
The lioness will enslave me
Another heart beat than my own
The sound of claws on cobblestone, I'm stoned
One look in her lusting eyes
Savage fear in you will rise
Teeth of terror sinking in
The bite of the she-wolf
Beware what stalks you in the night
Beware the she-wolf and her bite
Her mystic lips tell only lies
Beware what stalks you in the night
Beware the she-wolf and her bite
Her hidden will to kill in disguise
Solo - Mustaine
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PRINCE OF DARKNESS
PRINCE OF DARKNESS
My victims are rich or poor, young or old, strong or weak
I cause millions of accidents, I am cancer in your bones
I fathered the lie, twist what you say, speak not the truth
I am insidious, impartial, deep inside your chromosomes
I take what you love, and leave you in tears
I imprison your soul, your hopes are my games
I strip you of pride, my promise is in vain
While you burn at the stake I dance with the flames
I bring poverty, sickness and death
A worthless handshake, the slickest thief, I steal your wealth
I answer your prayers for greed and lust
More than evil, I laugh at your trust
I am more powerful than all the armies of the world
I am more violent than violence, more deadly than death
I have destroyed more men than all the nation's wars
I am relentless, unpredictable, waiting for your last breath
Evil, more evil than violence
Violent, more violent than death
Deadly, more deadly than man
I am yeah, yeah, I'm evil I am
My kingdom corrupt with dissent
Your sins erupt by my intent
I loathe your prayer, I wallow in sin
Let the nightmare begin
Prince of darkness, your satanic highness
Prince of darkness, the devilish serpent, the dreaded Lucifer
Prince of darkness
I take what you love, and leave you in tears
Imprison your soul, your hopes are my games
I strip you of pride, my promise is in vain
While you burn at the stake I dance with the flames
My kingdom corrupt with dissent
Your sins erupt by my intent
I loathe your prayer, I wallow in sin
Let the nightmare begin
Prince of darkness, your satanic highness
Prince of darkness, the most beautiful angel
Prince of darkness, the devilish serpent, the dreaded Lucifer
Prince of darkness
Solo - Friedman
Prince of darkness, your satanic highness
Prince of darkness, the most beautiful angel
Prince of darkness, the devilish serpent, the dreaded Lucifer
Prince of darkness, unpredictable, the prince of darkness
Prince of darkness
Solo - Mustaine
Music - Mustaine/Friedman
Lyrics - Mustaine