Megadeth have chosen the second night of their This Was Our Life tour to play their cover of Metallica's Ride The Lightning for the first time.
Dave Mustaine & Co. performed the song – which the frontman co-wrote during his tenure with Metallica in the early 1980s, and which Megadeth recorded for their current, self-titled album – at the 14,000-capacity Movistar Arena in Bogota, Colombia.
"I’ve got my own band that I love," Mustaine told Classic Rock earlier this year. "It just felt right to do a version of a song that I had written earlier with Metallica, and put my DNA on it."
According to Mustaine, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich wrote Ride The Lightning's melodic introduction, while Mustaine came up with the first verse's riff and the guitar part that starts after the second chorus.
Other Metallica songs co-written by Mustaine include The Four Horsemen, Jump In The Fire, Phantom Lord, Metal Militia and The Call Of Ktulu. Mustaine also maintains that he contributed to the Master Of Puppets track Leper Messiah, a claim dismissed by Metallica.
Megadeth's This Was Our Life tour will arrive in Europe in May, before the band return to the US to play on Iron Maiden's Run For Your Lives tour in July. Full dates below.
Megadeth This Was Our Life tour 2026
Apr 30: Buenos Aires Tecnópolis, Argentina
May 02: São Paulo Espaco Unimed, Brazil
May 04: Santiago Movistar Arena, Chile
May 05: Santiago Movistar Arena, Chile
May 08: Monterrey Arena, Mexico
May 10: Mexico City Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
May 11: Mexico City Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
May 13: Guadalajara Arena Guadalajara, Mexico
May 17: Columbus Sonic Temple, OH
May 25: Valencia Roig Arena, Spain
May 27: A Coruña Coliseum, Spain
May 29: Bilbao Bizkaia Arena BEC!, Spain
Jun 02: Hanover Heinz von Heiden Arena, Germany
Jun 04: Gdansk Mystic Festival, Poland
Jun 06: Maastricht South of Heaven, Netherlands
Jun 07: Gelsenkirchen Amphitheater, Germany
Jun 10: Hradec Králové Rock For People - Park 360, Czechia
Jun 11: Esch-sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Jun 14: Ferrara Ferrara Summer Festival, Italy
Jun 15: Zurich Halle 622, Switzerland
Jun 16: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Jun 18: Dessel Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium
Jun 20: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jun 23: Istanbul Kucukciftlik Park, Türkiye
Jun 26: Helsinki Suvilahti, Finland
Jun 28: Almaty Spartak Stadium, Kazakhstan
Jun 30: Athens Release Athens, Greece
Jul 03: Barcelona Rock Fest, Spain
Jul 05: Lisbon Evil Live Festival, Portugal
Jul 18: Reno Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, NV *
Jul 19: Corning Obsidian Spirits Amphitheater, CA *
Jul 20: Paso Robles California Mid-State Fair, CA *
Aug 08: Sturgis Sturgis Buffalo Chip, SD *
Aug 22: Palmer Alaska State Fair, AK *
Aug 29: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON *
Aug 30: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON *
Sep 03: Montréal Parc Jean Drapeau, QC *
Sep 05: Harrison Sports Illustrated Stadium, NJ *
Sep 06: Harrison Sports Illustrated Stadium, NJ *
Sep 09: Boston TD Garden, MA *
Sep 11: Bristow Jiffy Lube Live, VA *
Sep 12: Charlotte PNC Music Pavilion, NC *
Sep 15: Hershey Hersheypark Stadium, PA *
Sep 19: Shakopee Mystic Lake Amphitheater, MN *
Sep 22: Tinley Park Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, IL *
Sep 25: Los Angeles BMO Stadium, CA *
Sep 27: Los Angeles BMO Stadium, CA *
Sep 29: San Antonio Alamodome, TX *
Nov 07: Auckland Spark Arena, New Zealand *
Nov 08: Auckland Spark Arena, New Zealand *
Nov 11: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Australia *
Nov 13: Melbourne AAMI Park, Australia *
Nov 15: Sydney Allianz Stadium, Australia *
Nov 18: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Australia *
Nov 19: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Australia *
* = with Iron Maiden
