“Symphony of Destruction” is a song by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released as a single from the band’s fifth studio album, Countdown to Extinction (1992). The lyrics explore the hypothetical situation where an average citizen is placed in a position where he runs the country while the public is led by a phantom government. Penned by vocalist and frontmanDave Mustaine, the song received significant radio play and charted in various territories, making it one of Megadeth’s best known songs.
The song was generally well received by critics,[citation needed] and its accompanying music video by Wayne Isham initially received heavy rotation on MTV, but eventually became controversial and was edited because of an assassination scene that MTV felt was “too harsh”. The video features each band member individually playing, with a mostly black-and-white, nonlinear narrative revolving around a political candidate who is assassinated, and the massive amount of anarchy and riots caused by the event. The song has been featured in several sources of media, and has been covered by several bands.
