Thirteen (stylized as Th1rt3en) is the thirteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth.

It is the first Megadeth studio album since The World Needs a Hero (2001) to feature bassist and founding member David Ellefson, who returned to the band in 2010.

The album followed the successful Endgame, released two years previously, and was recorded in late spring 2011.

"Sudden Death" was released as a single prior to the announcement of Thirteen to promote Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, but was later included on the album.

[4][5] Mustaine subsequently revealed that the album would be titled Thirteen and would feature previously released tracks such as "Sudden Death" and "Never Dead".

He went on to compare the sound to "really old classic Sabbath and with a little bit of a modern edge of Queens of the Stone Age kind of thing.

"[12] In a later interview, Broderick again touted the sonic diversity of the album, noting that it is "like a cut in time from each CD of the past Megadeth discography".

"Sudden Death" though originally recorded for the Guitar Hero franchise, was also later confirmed to be included on Thirteen.

In an interview with Terrorizer magazine, Mustaine, taking note of the connection to the unlucky number 13, explained "This is our 13th studio record, and we've already had a bunch of weird things happen.

"[22] In addition, Mustaine announced on Twitter that producer Johnny K was "suddenly struck ill", and the band had ceased recording for the time being.

[27] To help draw publicity for the then-upcoming release, Mustaine had scheduled an appearance on the October 14–16 edition of the Full Metal Jackie radio show[34] and premiered a new track from Th1rt3en, "Whose Life (Is This Anyways?

"Sudden Death" was originally written for the 2010 music video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

[41] "New World Order" was originally written during the Clash of the Titans Tour in 1991,[42] however, early versions of the song were not released until years later.

The original finished version was released on the Duke Nukem soundtrack in 1999, and a demo had been included as a bonus track on the 2004 remix/remaster of Youthanasia.

[44] "Black Swan" was originally intended as a special edition bonus track for United Abominations.

[47] In part of the effort to promote the album, the song was released for streaming via Hot Topic's official YouTube page on October 24, 2011.

[48] According to Ellefson, "Millennium of the Blind" was originally written in 1991 and a demo was recorded,[49] and a version of the song would later be included as a bonus track on the 2004 remix/remaster of Youthanasia.

[14][54] To help promote the album, Roadrunner Records posted the song on their YouTube channel for streaming on September 21, 2011.

[67] Carla Gillis from Now described the record as "thrashy, angry and melody-packed, like Megadeth's best Peace Sells-era songs".

[65] Dom Lawson, writing in The Guardian, stated that Megadeth's "music has lost none of its intensity, passion or rage" over the years.

[63] Similarly, Chris Colgan of PopMatters named Th1rt3en "the latest in a series of well-composed and well-executed albums" by Megadeth.

Colgan went on to say that "Mustaine and his cohorts are still making great music and keeping classic thrash relevant in the metal community".

[66] Heather McDaid from This Is Fake DIY described the record as "good old fashioned, classic heavy metal in its rough and ready glory".

Neil Arnold from Metal Forces was disappointed by the album's musical direction, because he felt that Mustaine "has reverted back to a more simple, less furious sound".

1" and "Guns, Drugs & Money" were "deceptively melodic hard rock not far from Alice Cooper's early classics" but also said they lack the same sense of humor.

This was a slight fall from the first-week sales (about 45,000 copies) and chart position (number 9) of its predecessor, Endgame.

"Sudden Death" was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 2011 Grammys, but lost to Iron Maiden's "El Dorado".

1" received a nomination in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category the next year, but lost to the Foo Fighters' "White Limo".