“On the day I was born, a guitar in my hands

The heavens rumbled a thunderous command”

-“Let There Be Shred”

As anticipation continues to build for MEGADETH’s final studio album—out January 23, 2026 via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label)—the metal titans have released the latest single and video for “Let There Be Shred”. The track is a rapid-fire manifesto with jaw-dropping riffs and “a tsunami of sound,” to quote a lyric from the song. Directed by Keith Leman, the music video features DAVE participating in a mixed martial arts battle alongside live performance footage that highlights the track’s fretboard ferocity.

“When Megadeth started we said we would be fast and furious…we said so on the flyers we handed out,” DAVE MUSTAINE says.  “This song is fast and furious. Know it! It has a very hooky chorus that draws you in and you can’t help but play air guitar and headbang to this one.

“It’s the second video from the new record that we made with Keith [Leman], who also directed ‘I Don’t Care.’  It was a blast to make and it’s a tribute to my first Sensei, Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez and my Professor, Reggie Almieda.  Everyone on the set was really stoked to see each of us do our stunts. In the end, we got the balance of shredding and ass kicking just right!”

Meanwhile, MEGADETH are preparing for a busy month with a series of events leading up to the album’s release, along with the launch of their final tour. 

MEGADETH have teamed with Trafalgar Releasing for MEGADETH: BEHIND THE MASK, a cinematic legacy event that will debut on screens worldwide January 22nd on the eve of the new album’s January 23 release, and again on January 24th. The film will screen in over 1,000 cinemas across 35+ countries. 

On the live front, MEGADETH will kick off their farewell tour in North America with a cross-country headlining tour of Canada launching February 15 in Victoria, BC and include stops in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Ottawa before wrapping March 6 in Quebec City, QC. 

MEGADETH have also announced a very special bonus track from the album: a reimagined version of “Ride The Lightning,” which MUSTAINE co-wrote with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich and was the title track from the group’s landmark 1984 album.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, MUSTAINE revealed in a social post directly shared with his worldwide fanbase and Cyber Army that the forthcoming album will mark the final studio album from MEGADETH, who are always and forever the point of no return for heavy metal. It would be nearly impossible to conceive where heavy music and culture would’ve gone without the band founded, fronted, and fueled by vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Dave Mustaine. The blast radius of their impact has only magnified since 1983. Thus far, they have sold 50 million records worldwide, received a GRAMMY® Award (w/12 additional nominations), generated billions of streams, notched seven Top 10 entries on the Billboard 200, and enthralled millions of diehard fans in arenas and stadiums across the globe.