Editing Megadeth (section)

===Legacy===
Having sold more than 50 million units worldwide, Megadeth is one of the few bands from the 1980s American underground metal scene to have achieved mass commercial success.<ref name="auto"/> Along with contemporaries Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, Megadeth is regarded as one of the core founding groups of thrash metal.{{sfn|Thompson|2007|p=135}} These bands are often referred to as the "big four" of thrash metal,{{sfn|Phillips|Cogan|2009|p=210}} responsible for the genre's development and popularization. ''[[Loudwire]]'' ranked Megadeth the third best thrash metal band of all time, praising the group's "provoking lyrics and mind-warping virtuosity".<ref>{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=10 Best Thrash Metal Bands of All Time|url=http://loudwire.com/best-thrash-metal-bands/|work=[[Loudwire]]|date=August 15, 2013|access-date=November 24, 2013}}</ref> ''CMJ New Music Report'' called the band's debut album a seminal release and a representative of "the golden age of speed metal".<ref>{{cite journal|author=CMJ Network, Inc|title=Loud Rock|journal=[[CMJ New Music Report]]|date=February 11, 2002|page=45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7cms1PnqKUC&q=killing+is+my+business&pg=PT13|access-date=November 24, 2013}}</ref> [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] called the band's second album ''Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?'' a "landmark of the thrash movement" whose lyrics it found still relevant.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Paoletta|first=Michael|title=Vital Reissues|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=August 14, 2004|page=45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8RIEAAAAMBAJ&q=peace+sells+megadeth&pg=PA45|access-date=November 24, 2013}}</ref> MTV also recognized the band as an influential metal act, highlighting the technical aspect of the early albums.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wiederhorn |first=Jon |title=Greatest Metal Bands&nbsp;– Honorable Mentions |url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/metal/greatest_metal_bands/071406/index12.jhtml |publisher=[[MTV]] |access-date=November 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021140613/http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/metal/greatest_metal_bands/071406/index12.jhtml |archive-date=October 21, 2013 }}</ref>

Megadeth is considered one of the most musically influential groups that originated in the 1980s. As part of the early American thrash metal movement, the band's music was a direct influence on [[death metal]].{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=53}} Sociologist [[Keith Kahn-Harris]] wrote that the mainstream success of Megadeth was one of the reasons for the expansion of [[extreme metal]] to countries where it had previously been unknown.{{sfn|Kahn-Harris|2007|p=132}} The band had influenced many metal bands,<ref>{{cite web|last=Ramirez|first=Carlos|title=Top 10 New School Thrash Bands|url=http://noisecreep.com/top-10-new-school-thrash-bands/|website=[[Noisecreep]]|date=July 29, 2009|access-date=December 13, 2013}}</ref> including [[Sepultura]],<ref name="Angle 2024-04-03">{{cite magazine |last=Angle |first=Brad |date=April 3, 2020 |title=Sepultura's 'Beneath the Remains': Max Cavalera on "Make-It-or-Break-It Album" |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/sepultura-max-cavalera-beneath-remains |access-date=June 23, 2024 |magazine=[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]]}}</ref><ref name="AllMusic Bio">{{cite web |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |title=Sepultura: Artist Biography |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sepultura-mn0000741746/biography |access-date=October 4, 2013 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> [[Pantera]],<ref name="ultimateguitar 2023">{{cite web |date=June 1, 2023 |title=Pantera's 'Cowboys From Hell' Album Has Been Certified Double Platinum in the U.S. |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/panteras_cowboys_from_hell_album_has_been_certified_double_platinum_in_the_us.html |access-date=June 21, 2023 |publisher=[[Ultimate Guitar]]}}</ref> [[Slipknot (band)|Slipknot]],<ref name="taylor_in3">{{cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=June 28, 2017 |title=Slipknot and Stone Sour's Corey Taylor: My 10 Favorite Metal Albums |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/slipknot-and-stone-sours-corey-taylor-my-10-favorite-metal-albums-198072/anthrax-worship-music-2011-198288/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929041244/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/slipknot-and-stone-sours-corey-taylor-my-10-favorite-metal-albums-198072/anthrax-worship-music-2011-198288/ |archive-date=September 29, 2018 |access-date=September 28, 2018 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> [[Bullet for My Valentine]], [[Trivium (band)|Trivium]], [[Avenged Sevenfold]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=July 10, 2017 |title=Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows: My 10 Favorite Metal Albums |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/avenged-sevenfolds-m-shadows-my-10-favorite-metal-albums-w491063 |access-date=June 24, 2018 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> [[Arch Enemy]],<ref name="guitartheory2">{{cite web |title=Jeff Loomis on Composition |url=http://musictheoryforguitar.com/compositioninterviewwithjeffloomis.html |access-date=August 18, 2013 |website=MusicTheoryForGuitar.com}}</ref> [[Children of Bodom]], [[Lamb of God (band)|Lamb of God]],<ref>{{cite web |author=Phil Freeman |date=February 24, 2012 |title=Lamb of God's Chris Adler's Five Favorite Drummers |url=http://www.wonderingsound.com/interview/lamb-of-gods-chris-adlers-five-favorite-drummers/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709082529/http://www.wonderingsound.com/interview/lamb-of-gods-chris-adlers-five-favorite-drummers/ |archive-date=July 9, 2015 |access-date=April 21, 2015 |publisher=wonderingsound.com}}</ref> [[As I Lay Dying (band)|As I Lay Dying]], [[All That Remains (band)|All That Remains]], [[Evile]] and [[Toxic Holocaust]].<ref name="Drover"/>
According to [[Nielsen SoundScan]], Megadeth has sold 9.2 million copies of its albums in the United States between 1991 and 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Gensler|first=Andy|title=How Marty Friedman Went From Megadeth to the 'Ryan Seacrest Of Japan'|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6106344/marty-friedman-japan-tv-celebrity-megadeth-guitarist-inferno-album|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=June 3, 2014|access-date=June 5, 2014}}</ref>