"Dystopia"
Single by Megadeth
from the album Dystopia
ReleasedJanuary 7, 2016
RecordedApril–July, 2015
StudioLattitude Studio South, Leiper's Fork, Tennessee
GenreThrash metal
Length5:00
LabelTradecraft/Universal
Songwriter(s)Dave Mustaine
Producer(s)
  • Dave Mustaine
  • Chris Rakestraw
Megadeth singles chronology
"The Threat Is Real"
(2015)		 "Dystopia"
(2016)		 "Post American World"
(2016)

"Dystopia" is a song by American heavy metal band Megadeth, written by Dave Mustaine. It is the second and title track from their fifteenth studio album Dystopia, which was released on January 22, 2016. The song was released early on streaming services on January 7, 2016.[1]

Performances

The song debuted live in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 26, 2016. The performance was entirely instrumental.[2] It is the most performed song from the album, being played over 280 times as of September 2022.[3]

Lyrical meaning

Mustaine has said that "Dystopia" was inspired by the movies "Total Recall", "Twelve Monkeys", and The Terminator franchise.

Music video

The song's post-apocalyptic animated video follows on from the band's "The Threat Is Real" clip. It features a high-speed chase and a bloody fight in the futuristic war zone envisioned by Megadeth. About the video direction, Dave Mustaine told Mashable.com: "We had met with a guy in England, and I basically talked to him about this dystopian city that I had kind of visualized. You see all these movies like Armageddon, Independence Day, 12 Monkeys, Planet of the Apes and stuff, and there's always a moral at the end of the story: If you stand up for what's right, you won't have to give in to a dystopian world. It's just one of those things we grew up in. Explaining that concept to the artist - I thought he got what I was saying pretty clearly."[4]

Critical reception

The song is the top rated track from the album on Metacritic.[5] Rolling Stone called it, "The most radio friendly Dystopia single so far."[6] It was ranked the best song from the album by Return Of Rock.[7]

Grammy

"Dystopia" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 2017 Grammy Awards, the band's first win after 12 nominations. Mustaine, Loureiro, Ellefson, and Verbeuren attended the ceremony; however, album drummer and award recipient Chris Adler did not.[8] While accepting the award, the house band played Mustaine's former band Metallica's "Master of Puppets" causing some controversy among fans.[9]

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[10] 28

Personnel

Megadeth

References

  1. ↑ Monomyth. "Megadeth Dystopia". Megadeth. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  2. ↑ "Megadeth Setlist at Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, NV, USA". setlist.fm. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Dystopia by Megadeth". setlist.fm. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Megadeth - Dystopia". songfacts.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Megadeth - Dystopia". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  6. ↑ Grow, Kory. "Hear Megadeth Shred Guitar on 'Dystopia' Title Track". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Dystopia Songs Ranked". Return Of Rock. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "Chris Adler". The Grammys. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  9. ↑ Teitelman, Bram (February 19, 2017). "Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Reflects on First Grammy Win, House Band Playing Metallica". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Megadeth Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
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