Greatest Hits: Back to the Start

Boasting songs from eight albums, <i>Back to the Start</i> offers a sweeping view of Megadeth’s growth in the ’80s and ’90s. The pioneers’ infamous spiteful thrash is well represented: “Peace Sells” is a textbook example of their collision of punk rage and hellish speed, and the technically sophisticated “Sweating Bullets” is a showcase for Dave Mustaine’s growling examinations of mental illness. Packed with melodic choruses and rumbling power chords, “Prince of Darkness” reflects the band’s late-’90s push into arena-sized hard rock.