"Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" by Megadeth
4/17/202659 min
Kirk surfs an avalanche straight into Thrash Valley, where he delves into the depths of Megadeth's 1990 opus "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due." It's an unstoppable rockslide of layered riffs, tempo shifts, power chords, and... power thirds?
Written by: Dave Mustaine
Album: Rust in Peace, 1990
Listen/Buy via Album.Link
ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED:
- "Tornado of Souls" by Mustaine/Ellefson from Rust in Peace, 1990
- “The Four Horsemen” by Metallica (Hetfield, Ulrich, and Mustaine) from Kill ‘Em All, 1983
- “Peace Sells” by Megadeth from Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, 1983
- “Welcome To The Jungle” by Guns n’ Roses from Appetite For Destruction, 1987
- “Speed Metal Symphony” by Cacophony from Speed Metal Symphony, 1987
- Mr. Tabs' "Holy Wars" transcription (YouTube)
- Megadeth Live in 1992 at Hammersmith Odeon
- “Channel 1 Suite” by The Buddy Rich Big Band feat. Don Menza, 1968
- "What It Sounds Like" from KPop Demon Hunters, 2025
- Angry Crowd Sound by Michael Ghelfi Studios
- Megadeth plays “Holy Wars” live on Sirius XM in 2022
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsKirk Hamilton· Host0:00
[theme music playing] Hello everyone, Kirk here with a very special announcement before we start the episode. This summer, I am going to be taking to the stage for the first ever Strong Songs live show! It will be on Saturday, July 11th at the Alberta Rose Theatre in my hometown of Portland, Oregon, and I really hope that you can make it. I'll be on stage with a large group of killer local musicians, many of whom will be familiar to longtime listeners of this show, along with some special guests and all sorts of surprises. We'll be playing a mix of original music that I'm writing just for the show, and covers of some of the strongest songs that I've talked about on the podcast. It's gonna be so cool. It'll be a musical journey that we will all share together. I'm incredibly excited to finally do this, to take what I've been making with Strong Songs and turn it into something that we can all share in together in the same room. It's the first step toward making Strong Songs live shows a regular thing, and it's gonna be a really special night. So get your tickets now, July 11th, 2026 at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland. There is a link down in the show notes. I really hope you can make it. Okay, on with the episode. [rock music playing] In music, the terms gain and distortion are often used interchangeably, but they actually don't quite mean the same thing. Gain just means