New MEGADETH Album Is ‘One Of The Most Ferocious Records We’ve Done’ Since ‘Rust In Peace,’ Says DAVE MUSTAINE

Megadeth 2020
Photo credit: Mcabe Gregg

During a recent appearance on “The Five Count” radio show, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine spoke about the progress of group’s follow-up to 2016’s Dystopia.

When asked for an update on his health, Mustaine responded: “I’m a little tired, but I think that comes with the territory. When we started this record, I was sick and I didn’t know it. But I’d been going through a lot of stuff. And then, during the course of the [making of] the record, we did a brief tour where I went out and did the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and that’s when we found out I had cancer. And I did my treatment, beat it, got it behind me.

“There were a couple of other places that they found the cancer, and they cut it out,” he continued. “So I’m fine right now. I’m back to training and back to playing. And we’ve got, I think, probably one of the most ferocious records we’ve done since Rust In PeaceDavid Ellefson [MEGADETH bassist], he’s a pretty good barometer of things, and when he did his bass parts, he [went], ‘Man, my arm is killing me. I can’t believe this.'”

“We set out to do this last record because we’re all kind of getting a little older and we’re set in our ways and our families and stuff,” Mustaine added. “One guy [drummer Dirk Verbeuren] lives in California, another guy [Mustaine] lives in Tennessee, another guy [Ellefson] lives in Arizona, and Kiko [Loureiro, guitar] lives in f*cking Finland. I mean, not ‘f*cking Finland,’ but in Finland. Excuse me for the language there. I’m a little bit bothered about having to fly my guitar player from Finland.

“Anyway, so we figured when we got together, what are we gonna do? ‘We’ve got one record left that we owe the record label. And let’s just go in there and write.’ So we wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. And then I got the all-clear from the doctors, and today, I’m actually going over to start getting vocals down, because I’m getting ready to start singing.”

Earlier this week, Mustaine provided an update on MEGADETH‘s upcoming album during an appearance on  Q104.3 New York‘s “Out Of The Box With Jonathan Clarke.”

“We’re in the process of doing guitar solos right now,” Mustaine said. “Kiko Loureiro [guitar] is at the studio with me, and we’re done with all the bass and drums and almost done with all of the rhythms. We’ve still got little punch-ins we need to do here and there, and then it’s off into singing and solo land. And then probably the last thing, which is always my favorite thing, is the ear candy.”