Reckoning Day

Album: Youthanasia (1994)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Reckoning Day," or the "Day of Reckoning," is the biblical prediction of the apocalypse, when God will judge us for our sins. In this song, Dave Mustaine is warning his enemy that he's due for a reckoning, meaning all this person's misdeeds will come back to haunt him.
  • Dave Mustaine got the idea for the song after watching the 1993 movie Tombstone, where Val Kilmer's character (Doc Holliday) says: "Make no mistake. It's not revenge he's after. It's a reckoning."
  • Dave Mustaine takes the reins when it comes to songwriting in Megadeth, but other band members contribute here and there. On this song, guitarist Marty Friedman helped with the music and bass player Dave Ellefson worked on the lyrics.

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