9 Reasons Megadeth Are Better Than Metallica

Not everything is about album sales, you know.

By Brian Wilson / December 9, 2015

Megadeth versus Metallica a battle more infinite than outer space, more perpetual than time itself. It's a war that has raged between many fans since Dave Mustaine was kicked out of Metallica in 1983, not long before the release of their first album Kill 'Em All.

There are two sides to every story. In reality, history is written by the victors. In the case of the music business, history is written by the most sales.There's no doubt that Metallica has the bigger fan base, managing to successfully infiltrate the mainstream (an act that has damaged their integrity amongst many long-time fans) with a bunch of radio-friendly songs. But just because Metallica fans shout louder doesn't make them right. I mean, in some ways it's understandable. When a band releases so little material (approximately zero albums in the last five years) fans will naturally start getting defensive. In reality, though, there are quite a few reasons why Megadeth are ultimately a better band than Metallica (and it's got nothing to do with the whole Napster thing, either).

9. They're Actually Productive

Metallica has been riding the release of 2008's Death Magnetic for the past seven years, and it's unlikely there'll be another studio release until early 2017. By the time Metallica's next album releases, it'll have been almost a decade since their last, and before that there were a further five years between Death Magnetic and St. Anger.

Megadeth, on the other hand, are set to release their next record Dystopia in 2016. Their last album was in 2013, and before that 2011 and 2009 respectively. Of course, quality doesn't equal quantity, but Metallica's near ten years is a bit ridiculous by anyone's count.

You've only to compare the overall output of the two bands to see what I'm talking about. Megadeth have released fourteen albums since they formed in 1985, with a fifteenth upcoming. Metallica have released nine since 1983.

While Metallica struggle each time to write a new album, Megadeth are pumping out track after track of heavy-metal brilliance.