Megadeth (also known as the White Album) is the seventeenth and final studio album by the American thrash metal band Megadeth. Produced by Dave Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw, the album was released on January 23, 2026. It is Megadeth's only album with guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, and their first since 2009's Endgame to feature bassist James LoMenzo.
The album was announced on August 14, 2025; its release was accompanied by the band's farewell tour. Four singles were released, starting with the lead single "Tipping Point", followed by "I Don't Care", "Let There Be Shred", and "Puppet Parade". The album received mixed to positive reviews from critics. It is the band's only album to reach number one on the Billboard 200, with 73,000 units.
Production In December 2024, frontman Dave Mustaine announced on Twitter that production of the album was underway with producer Chris Rakestraw. At the time, every other member of the band was away from the studio due to the holiday season, although he and Teemu Mäntysaari were working on new music remotely; the album is Mäntysaari's only appearance on a Megadeth studio album. Mustaine said that the band members would meet up in the studio to record the album a couple of weeks after Christmas. By June 2025, the album was near completion and Mustaine shared another social media post of him recording vocals.
Promotion and release Megadeth was formally announced on August 14, 2025, with a social media trailer featuring band mascot Vic Rattlehead as well as a press release from Mustaine. Both stated that the record would be the band's last. It will be accompanied by the band's farewell tour. The album was released on January 23, 2026, and the tour will take place throughout the year. While the album was initially announced without a title, the band unveiled its cover art, which depicts a burning Vic Rattlehead.
The album's lead single, "Tipping Point", was announced on September 25, 2025; a 30-second clip of the music video was also released. The single was released on October 3, with the music video released the same day. The album's second single, "I Don't Care", was released on November 14. The third single, "Let There Be Shred", was released on December 19. The fourth single, "Puppet Parade", was released one month later.
Songs
Following the release of the first two singles, the titles of the rest of the songs from the record were slowly revealed over the course of a few days in October 2025. In addition to the ten main tracks, two bonus tracks have been made for the album. These include a cover of Metallica's "Ride the Lightning", a song which Mustaine co-wrote, and "Bloodlust", which was available exclusively on versions of the album purchased at Target stores.
In a video posted to the band's Youtube page, Mustaine described "Bloodlust" as being about vampires and immortality.
Critical reception
Megadeth received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Metacritic, it holds an average score of 61 out of 100 based on 12 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Megadeth Dave Mustaine – guitars, vocals, production, engineering Teemu Mäntysaari – guitars, additional production, engineering James LoMenzo – bass guitar Dirk Verbeuren – drums
Additional musician Brandon Ray – backing vocals
Additional personnel Chris Rakestraw – production, engineering Isabel Caballero – engineering assistance Campbell Young – engineering assistance Steve Fisher – additional recording Mathias Sorum – additional recording Matt Hyde – mixing Ted Jensen – mastering Keaton Rich – guitar & bass tech Bryan Jones – guitar tech Thomas "Ozzy" Richens – drum tech Matt Latorre – assistant drum tech Reece Bittner – studio runner Stephanie D'Orso – studio runner Reney Drake – studio runner Andrew Kaplan – studio runner Michael Schnur – studio runner Blake Armstrong – artwork & album design Ross Halfin – band photo Roddy Navarro – cover logo render
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Megadeth Chart (2026) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 1 Croatian International Albums (HDU) 5 Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 29 French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP) 1 German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 1 Irish Independent Albums (IRMA) Note: Select 2026 on the year selector and 30-Jan-26 on the date selector. 2 Italian Albums (FIMI) 5 Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon) 11 Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan) 3 Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon) 1 Japanese Top Albums Sales (Billboard Japan) 11 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 5 Norwegian Albums (IFPI Norge) 18 Norwegian Rock Albums (IFPI Norge) 2 Portuguese Albums (AFP) 34 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 2 Swedish Hard Rock Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 1 US Billboard 200 1 US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard) 1
Monthly charts + Monthly chart performance for Megadeth Chart (2026) Position Japanese Albums (Oricon) 26 Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon) 2
Certifications +RegionCertificationCertified units/salesPoland (ZPAV)Gold10,000‡‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Notes indicates an additional writer.
References