"Night Stalkers" is a song by Americanthrash metal bandMegadeth. The song was released on July 22, 2022,[2] as the second single from their sixteenth studio album,The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!. The song features rapperIce-T on guest vocals roughly halfway through the song.[3][4]
On the song's lyrical content, frontmanDave Mustaine said, "It's a brutal song. 'Night Stalkers' is about the160th Battalion with the United States Army, and it's all the black-ops helicopters that go in at night — nobody knows they're there; they're in, they're out. And I had my buddy Ice-T join me on a part in the middle of it, because Ice was a ranger for the army, and he did two tours over in Afghanistan, I think it was."[5]
Mustaine also commented, "I think that's the fastest song we've ever done – 190 bpm... the song... needed that frantic pace because Night Stalker is a secret helicopter division of the military. They fly missions at night and no one knows what they're gonna do until it happens."[6][7][8]
A music video was made for the song, the second of the three music videos leading up to the release of the album, chronicling the origins of the band's mascotVic Rattlehead.[9][10] The "Night Stalkers" music video shows Vic Rattlehead's transformation from a husband, father and soldier into an almostDarth Vader-esque monstrosity who exacts revenge on his enemies as he's haunted by memories from his past.[11]
