10 Greatest Hard Rock Basslines
9. Peace Sells - Megadeth
Throughout his entire career, Dave Mustaine tried to prove that his band was something much more than a second-rate Metallica. After being sacked by Hetfield and co., Mustaine arrived back in California with a mission to create a metal band good enough to outdo any other thrash act. While Metallica did have some amazing tunes, nothing came close to embodying the thrash metal ethos quite like "Peace Sells."
The song is an absolute classic in Megadeth's catalog, with one of the band's best melodic passages as well as the back to back solos from Chris Poland. On the other hand, the song would not be nearly as badass if not for Dave Ellefson's bass riff. The opening notes have just the right amount of metal swagger to get the audience prepared for the chaos about to unfold.
The lick ended up being such an earworm that stations like MTV picked it up as a musical intro to their "newsbreaks" sections. Compared to the other thrash metal coming out at the time, this bassline gave that added element of gravitas that kept everything rooted in a solid groove. There may have been faster thrash metal out there, but when it comes to mesmerizing the listener, "Peace Sells" will get you nodding along every time.