Anyone who grew up with MTV in the ‘90s, whether they’re a metal fan or not, will instantly recognize the bass line to Megadeth’s “Peace Sells.” The snippet played at the close of every MTV News segment, and those news breaks happened frequently throughout the day.
Author Greg Prato has a new book, “The World’s State-Of-The-Art Speed Metal Band: The Megadeth Story 1983-2002.” In the book, Prato references a Rolling Stone interview where Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine said, “They didn’t give me a penny. They cut it off right before they’d have to pay me, which was very clever. I don’t think anybody with a conscience at MTV did that — it was probably somebody in their legal department.”
Prato explained on the Booked on Rock podcast: “If you play something for four seconds, you don’t have to pay for it. That’s exactly what they did with ‘Peace Sells.'”
Prato explained that the riff, though played by bassist David Ellefson, was actually written by Mustaine. “Although, of course, David Ellefson played it, Ellefson talks about how they were at rehearsal one day, and Mustaine picked up his bass and was noodling around, like, ‘Hey, what do you think of this?'”
Released in 1986, “Peace Sells” remains a setlist staple for the band to this day. Prato’s full interview can be viewed below.
