Youthanasia is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994, through Capitol Records.

It was commercially successful, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, and in 1995 was certified platinum for shipping one million copies in the United States.

Megadeth's previous studio release, Countdown to Extinction, became the band's biggest commercial accomplishment, entering the Billboard 200 at number two and eventually becoming double platinum.

[2] It was a time of problems and conflicts for Megadeth, that in every two weeks or so, according to frontman Dave Mustaine, there were "outrageous emotional interventions" in order to make the group a democracy.

The cover art by Hugh Syme features an elderly woman hanging babies by their feet on a seemingly endless clothesline.

According to bassist David Ellefson, the artwork concept was directly inspired from a line of the title track, "We've been hung out to dry".

He explained that the title track "was probably the strongest representation of how we feel about the young people who listen to our music and what their future holds for them.

According to Billboard, from the drumbeat opening of "Addicted to Chaos" to the precise instrumentation of "Train of Consequences", Megadeth delivered "trademark aggressive rage 'n' roll to powerful effect".

They wrote that the record was musically diverse, from the "slow-tempo acoustic lines" of "A Tout le Monde" to the "breakneck riffing" of "Train of Consequences" and "Family Tree".

[10] Q found that Megadeth's "trademark crunchy riffs, thundering drums and bitter vocals" were still present on the album, with the lyrics being more introspective.

[15] The latter would later be re-recorded with Lacuna Coil vocalist Cristina Scabbia under the title "À Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)".

Though noting that the album, like its predecessor, was a distinct move away from the sound heard on 1990s Rust in Peace, Stagno suggested that the lack of a fast-tempo is made up for by the catchiness of the tracks.

[24] Paul Corio, in a retrospective review for Rolling Stone, wrote that the album features "metal-machine music" that is "calibrated to kill".

[33] It eventually received a platinum certification from Music Canada and a silver award from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 100,000 and 60,000 copies, respectively.

Ellefson shared his impressions from performing in front of European fans: "So far, the audiences have been really good and it seems to me that heavy metal and especially Megadeth are very much at the forefront of music in Europe.

[5] The worldwide tour ended in September 1995, with the band performing at Monsters of Rock in South America with Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper as the headliners.

[38] In an interview for Hard Rock Examiner, Mustaine revealed that there was a possibility of Megadeth performing the album in its entirety in 2014, honoring the 20-year anniversary of the record's release.

[39] All tracks are written by Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson, Marty Friedman and Nick Menza.Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.