归于死寂 (1990)

Rust in Peace is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 24, 1990, by Capitol Records. It was the first Megadeth album to feature guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. The songs "Hangar 18" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" were released as singles. A remixed and remastered version of the album featuring four bonus tracks was released in 2004.

Since its release, Rust in Peace has often been named as one of the best thrash metal records of all time, by publications such as Decibel and Kerrang!, and listed in the reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 33rd Grammy Awards. At the 1991 Foundations Forum, the album received a Concrete Foundations Award for "Top Radio Album" and the single "Hangar 18" won "Top Radio Cut" award.

Background and production

In 1988, Megadeth appeared at the Monsters of Rock festival at Donington Park in the UK, alongside Iron Maiden, Kiss, Helloween, Guns N' Roses, and David Lee Roth. The band performed to an audience of more than 100,000 people and was soon added to the "Monsters of Rock" European tour, but dropped out after the first show due to bassist David Ellefson's drug problems. Further issues within the band caused frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine to fire drummer Chuck Behler and guitarist Jeff Young, and cancel their scheduled 1988 Australian tour. Nick Menza, previously Behler's drum tech, was hired as the band's new drummer. The search for a new guitarist was a drawn out process; Mustaine examined a number of guitarists for the job, including Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, who was initially offered the job before declining, as he requested that his brother, Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, also be hired. Jeff Waters of Annihilator was also considered. Mustaine had asked original Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland to rejoin the band, with Poland tracking lead guitar parts on demo versions of Rust in Peace ... Polaris, Lucretia, Five Magics, Tornado of Souls, Take No Prisoners, Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due and Poison Was the Cure. According to Poland, he was "99 percent going to join" the band but was talked out of it by his manager. According to Mustaine, one of the last guitarists he had heard about, Marty Friedman, had sent him a copy of Dragon's Kiss, Friedman's debut album. Upon listening to the record, Mustaine had him come in to audition and hired him. This would become the band's first stable line-up and, as recognized by fans, the 'classic' Megadeth lineup.

The album title Rust in Peace was inspired by a bumper sticker that Mustaine saw on the back of a vehicle while driving home from Lake Elsinore, California. The sticker read: "May all your nuclear weapons rust in peace". Mustaine liked the concept and decided to use it as a title for Megadeth's upcoming album. Rust in Peace was recorded at Rumbo Recorders with producer Mike Clink, while the mixing was handled by Max Norman. Clink was brought in for his work on both Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction and UFO's Strangers in the Night. Mustaine, however, was not present for the first half of recording due to being in rehab for his drug addiction, so recording proceeded with Clink at the helm. The producer's work dealt mostly with the bass, drums and Friedman's guitar. Clink later had commitments to produce Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I and II, so he left the project to engineer Micajah Ryan to finish recording the guitars and vocals, primarily with Mustaine. In a 2002 interview, Mustaine declared that they "really didn't make the record with [Clink]" as at the time he was focused on Guns N' Roses and stated most of the work in the album was done by himself, Norman, and engineer Micajah Ryan.

Artwork

The album artwork was created by artist Ed Repka, who previously had done the cover for Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? in 1986. It references "Hangar 18", and depicts band mascot Vic Rattlehead and world leaders of the era viewing an alien body. In addition to creating the album's cover, Repka also supplied artwork for the album's two singles. The object Rattlehead is holding was confirmed by Mustaine to be a material resembling Kryptonite.

The men featured on the cover are, from left to right: an unidentified British representative, Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, West German President Richard von Weizsäcker, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, and United States President George H. W. Bush.

Composition

The album features multiple lyrical themes: religion, politics and warfare, as well as Mustaine's personal issues, such as his fight against drug and alcohol addiction, UFO conspiracy theories and the Marvel Comics character Punisher.