Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Gets In the Octagon For Street Fighting Video For ‘Let There Be Shred!’ Single From Final Album

Perhaps you thought Megadeth would go quietly into that bad night? No chance. The Dave Mustaine-led thrash metal band unleashed the MMA-themed video for the latest single from their upcoming self-titled studio swan song and “Let There Be Shred!” more than lives up to its title.

The performance video finds Mustaine and the gang galloping through the relentless metal anthem as we’re introduced to the rogues gallery of fighters (Zulu, Strongman, Snake Eyes, Kung Fu Lou, Knuckles, Skate or Die, Sumo and Mustaine’s “Shred”) awaiting their turn in the octagon as the band’s skeletal mascot, Vic Rattlehead, looks on ominously.

“The stage has been lit, get up on your feet/ Heart start to pound, everyone get off your seat/ My fingers spontaneously combust into flames/ Destroying pretenders, only ashes remain,” Mustaine howls over the song’s galloping rhythm and wailing guitars. The triumphant chorus says it all: “On the day I was born, a guitar in my hands/ The earth started rumbling a thunderous command/ To bash and to thrash, to band my head/ To smash my guitar and ‘Let There Be Shred!’”

While the other combatants go at it as the band performs, Mustaine sticks to rocking before he lays down his instrument and easily defeats Sumo, with Rattlehead giving the singer/guitarist the “finish him” throat-slashing sign at the end of the bout.

Megadeth is due out on Jan. 23 and in a statement Mustaine said of the new single, “When Megadeth started we said we would be fast and furious… we said so on the flyers we handed out.. This song is fast and furious. Know it! It has a very hooky chorus that draws you in and you can’t help but play air guitar and headbang to this one.” Like the first single, “I Don’t Care,” the video for “Shred!” was directed by Keith Leman and Mustaine — who is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — said it’s a tribute to his first Sensei, Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and his grappling mentor, Reggie Almeida.

“Everyone on the set was really stoked to see each of us do our stunts. In the end, we got the balance of shredding and ass kicking just right!,” Mustaine said.

In addition to the new single, the band will release the documentary Megadeth: Behind the Mask in theaters worldwide on Jan. 22 and host an exclusive, day-long celebration, “Let There Be Shred: The Ultimate Megadeth Immersive Listening Event” on Jan. 17 in La Vergne, Tenn. After that, Megadeth will kick off their farewell North American tour beginning on Feb. 15 in Victoria, British Columbia.

Watch the “Let There Be Shred!” video below.