Toxic Holocaust’s Joel Grind Created Shorter, Leaner Versions of the Latest Metallica and Megadeth Albums

Did you think Metallica’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct and Megadeth’s Dystopia were too long, mired in needless wankery and overly-indulgent song structures?

Well, you’re in luck: Toxic Holocaust’s Joel Grind has taken matters into his own hands by selecting what he deemed to be the best parts of those albums and truncating them into new versions that run only 23:33 and 16:02, respectively.

These kinds of shortened album treatments aren’t necessarily a new thing — fans have been putting them together for years, with Metallica always a favorite target — but it’s still fun to hear them, especially coming from a respected metal musician. Somewhat hilariously, Grind’s version of Megadeth’s latest has all the vocals stripped out. That’s, um… quite a statement!

Check out the “Grinded Down” re-edits below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kat5T3xRsqU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HfZGlxz9kE