Hangar 18 (song)

"Hangar 18" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth from their 1990 studio album Rust in Peace. Hangar 18 is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, and it is speculated that an alien aircraft was brought there from Roswell in 1947. The song reached number 25 on the Irish Singles Chart,[2] also reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart.[3]

"Hangar 18"
Single by Megadeth
from the album Rust in Peace
ReleasedFebruary 4, 1991 (February 4, 1991)
GenreThrash metal
Length5:14
LabelCapitol[1]
Songwriter(s)Dave Mustaine
Producer(s)
Megadeth singles chronology
"Holy Wars...The Punishment Due"
(1990)		 "Hangar 18"
(1991)		 "Symphony of Destruction"
(1992)
Music video
"Hangar 18" on YouTube

Art

The cover of Rust in Peace, the album on which the song appears, depicts the band's mascot, Vic Rattlehead, and a number of world leaders viewing an alien in a cryogenic chamber, a clear reference to the track.[4] Both the album's cover and single art were designed by the same artist, Ed Repka.[5]

Music

"Hangar 18" was one of a handful of Megadeth songs written for Dave Mustaine's first band, Panic.[6] Other songs written for Panic include "Rust In Peace... Polaris", "Mechanix" and "Jump In The Fire".[7] A unique feature about the song is that the bass uses a different tuning from the two lead guitars, the bass being in Drop D[8] while the guitars are in standard tuning. The intro is a rapidly strummed version of the D minor arpeggio that Mustaine wrote for the Metallica instrumental track "The Call of Ktulu",[9] which was the final Metallica song for which he was given writing credit.

Sequel

A sequel to "Hangar 18", called "Return to Hangar" was included on Megadeth's ninth album The World Needs a Hero. It tells the fictional story of the life-forms said to be contained in Hangar 18 coming back to life and killing those inside the building before escaping.[10]

Recognition

"Hangar 18" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards. It won a Concrete Foundations Award for Top Radio Cut at the 1991 Foundations Forum.[11][12]

Accolades
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2022 Louder Sound United States The Top 20 Best Megadeth Songs Ranked[13] 3
2018 Billboard United Kingdom The 15 Best Megadeth Songs: Critic’s Picks[14] 4

Music video

The "Hangar 18" video is themed after the song's lyrical concept. It depicts the torture of aliens and, at the end, shows all the band members in freezing chambers. The video was shot at the Scattergood Generating Station.[15] It was filmed in one of the main power generating buildings and it was directed and produced by Primetime Emmy Award Winning Visual Effects Supervisor,[16] Paul Stephen Boyington,[17] Some of the performances and the visual effects for the video were created and produced at Boyington's visual effects studio in Culver City CA. Paul S. Boyington [16] also created the visual effects[18] for Tim Burton's[19] film Ed Wood.[20] Coincidentally, the band would film the video for "Crush 'Em" on this same site nine years later.[21] An edited version of "Hangar 18" is typically shown on MTV2 which has the song length cut down drastically. During the intro to the video the song "Dawn Patrol" from the Rust in Peace album can be heard in the background.

Track listing
  • US CD single (C2 15662)[22]
  1. "Hangar 18" (AOR Edit) – 3:17
  2. "Hangar 18" (LP Version) – 5:14
  3. "The Conjuring" (Live) – 5:06
  4. "Hook in Mouth" (Live) – 4:28

 • Live tracks recorded at Wembley Arena, London, England on October 14, 1990.

  • UK 12" LP single (12CLG 604)[23]
  1. "Hangar 18" – 5:11
  2. "Hangar 18" (Live) – 5:14
  3. "The Conjuring" (Live) – 5:06
  4. "Hook in Mouth" (Live) – 4:28

 • Live tracks recorded at Wembley Arena, London, England on October 14, 1990.

Charts
Chart (1991) Peak
position
European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)[24] 83
Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)[25] 29
Ireland (IRMA)[26] 25
UK Singles (OCC)[27] 26

Personnel

References
  1. "Megadeth – Hangar 18 (1990, CD)". Discogs.com.
  2. "Search the Charts". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  3. "Hangar 18". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  4. Chantler, Chris (January 27, 2016). "An Illustrated History of Vic Rattlehead". Teamrock.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  5. Rust in Peace liner notes (original release). Capitol Records. 1990. p. 3,16.
  6. "DAVE MUSTAINE Says His MEGADETH Bandmates Submit Songwriting Ideas To Management And Label First". Blabbermouth. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  7. "Dave's band Panic?". Megadeth.com. August 27, 2007. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012.
  8. "Hangar 18 Bass Tab by Megadeth - D. Ellefson (4 strings) - Electric Bass (pick) | Songsterr Tabs with Rhythm". Songsterr.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  9. "The Quietus | Features | Tome On The Range | Dawn Of Thrash: Metallica, The Early Days". The Quietus. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  10. Kotsonis, Christoforos. "Interview with Dave Mustaine and Al Pitrelli from Megadeth". Metal-temple.com. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  11. "Raw" (PDF). Concreteplanet.com. November 12, 1991. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  12. "Megadeth wins stuff @ Foundation Forum 1991". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-18.
  13. Stewart-Panko, Kevin. "The top 20 best Megadeth songs ranked". Louder Sound. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  14. Titus, Christina. "The 15 Best Megadeth Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  15. "LADWP Begins Rebuilding Scattergood Power Plant to Eliminate Ocean Water Cooling, Reduce Emissions and Improve Reliability Project Marks Continued Progress Towards Clean Energy Future for Los Angeles". Ladwpnews.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  16. "Ed Wood: A Man, a 'Plan,' a Banal . . ". Los Angeles Times. 1994-10-02. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  17. "Megadeth: Hangar 18 (Video 1991)". IMDbc.om. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  18. "Ed Wood(1994) With Paul Boyington ... visual effects supervisor | Visual effects, Ed wood, Visual". Pinterest. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  19. "Tim Burton". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  20. "Ed Wood (1994)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  21. Rosen, Craig "Megadeth Talks About 'Crush 'Em'; Donates Horse To School" Yahoo! Music (June 15, 1999). Retrieved on April 19, 2008.
  22. "Megadeth - Hangar 18". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  23. "Megadeth - Hangar 18". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  24. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles (See last week's position)" (PDF). Music & Media. April 6, 1991. p. 37. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  25. Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Otava Publishing Company Ltd, 2003. ISBN 951-1-21053-X
  26. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Megadeth". Irish Singles Chart.
  27. "Megadeth: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
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