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Countdown to Extinction is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on July 14, 1992 through Capitol Records. It was the group's second studio release to feature the "classic" lineup of Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson and Nick Menza, with all of them contributing to songwriting on the album. The album features some of the band's best known songs such as "Symphony of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets" and "Skin o' My Teeth", which enjoyed significant chart success and made a great musical impact.

Countdown to Extinction received positive reaction from music critics, who noted its politically oriented lyrics and simplified sound in comparison to their previous record. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number two, the band's highest position ever. It eventually achieved double platinum status and became their most commercially successful album. The record was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards, while the album's title track won the Humane Society's Genesis Award for raising awareness for animal rights issues.

In 2012, in recognition of the album's 20th anniversary, Megadeth kicked off a 20th anniversary tour in South America, playing the album in its entirety. In addition, a 20th anniversary special edition of the album was released in November 2012, and a live album featuring a performance of the full album was released in September 2013.

Countdown to Extinction is Megadeth's fifth studio album, and the second to feature the line-up of Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson and Nick Menza. In an interview for Billboard at the time, Mustaine admitted that he fired past members Chuck Behler and Jeff Young because they resisted his pleas to seek rehabilitative counseling. He added that it was a "major accomplishment" that all four members of Megadeth contributed material to the album, unlike their earlier releases which were "nearly all Mustaine". Mustaine also revealed that producer Max Norman had significant input to the album by making "a lot of suggestions and a lot of great artistic ideas". Guitarist Marty Friedman said that unlike Rust in Peace, the creation of this record was "completely different". He further stated that the band had changed the songs "a million times" before recording them on demo and entering the studio.

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