"99 Ways to Die" is a song by the American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

. The song was recorded for the soundtrack to ''

The Beavis and Butt-head Experience ''The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience'' is a compilation album released in 1993 by Geffen Records and related to the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head''. The name is a reference to Jimi Hendrix's original band, The Jimi Hendrix Exp ...

'', and was released as a single and a music video. The song was nominated in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the

1995 Grammy Awards The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were presented on March 1, 1995, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Bruce Springsteen was the night's biggest winner with 4 awards, including Song ...

Background

"99 Ways to Die", like many other Megadeth songs, is about band frontman

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has releas ...

's ex fiance, Diana. The song has rarely been performed live by Megadeth, with it only appearing live a handful of times in 1995. Mustaine played the song for the first time in over 20 years at the "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp" in Deerfield Beach, Florida, in January, 2022. The song was performed with some campers as well as Brittany Denaro (AKA

Britt Lightning Brittany Denaro (born February 2, 1985), best known as Britt Lightning, is the lead guitarist for the band Vixen. From 2004 to 2011, Lightning performed in Jaded, an all-female hard rock based in Boston. The band released two albums, the latter in ...

), guitarist for the band

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

Critical reception

The "Hidden Treasures" received generally mediocre reviews from critics, with "99 Ways to Die" being one of the only songs received well. ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

wrote that the EP does not have many "first-rate songs" and that only "99 Ways to Die" made an impression. The ''Rolling Stone Album Guide'' was dismissive of the EP; the staff reviewer commented that the album is worth hearing only for "99 Ways to Die".

Track listing

All credits adapted from CD single.

Charts

Personnel

Credits are adapted from "Hidden Treasures" liner notes and "99 Ways to Die" CD. Megadeth *

– guitars, lead vocals *

David Ellefson David Warren Ellefson (born November 12, 1964) is an American musician, best known for his long tenure as the bassist for thrash metal band Megadeth. Ellefson initially became an accomplished bassist and honed his songwriting skills while leadin ...

– bass, backing vocals *

Marty Friedman Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until ...

– guitars, backing vocals *

Nick Menza Nicholas Menza (July 23, 1964 – May 21, 2016) was an American musician best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1989 to 1998. He recorded drums on four of Megadeth's albums: ''Rust in Peace'' (1990), ''Countdown to Extin ...

– drums Production *Production -

Max Norman Max Norman is a British record producer and recording engineer active since 1973. He produced many acclaimed heavy metal releases. While Norman was resident engineer at Ridge Farm Studios in London, Ozzy Osbourne was recording his debut solo ...

and Dave Mustaine *Executive production - Mike Judge and Tony Berg *Engineering - Max Norman *Mixing: Max Norman and Dave Mustaine *Musical supervision - John Cannelli *Guitar/bass/amplifier technician - Michael Kaye *Drum technician - Bruce Jacoby

References

{{authority control 1993 songs 1993 singles Megadeth songs Songs written by Dave Mustaine