CHRIS BRODERICK Explains Why It Was Important For Him To 'Recreate' Classic MEGADETH Solos 'As Closely As Possible'

In a new interview with "Coffee With Ola", the YouTube program hosted by Ola Englund, the Swedish guitarist, record producer and owner of Solar guitars, former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Broderick was asked if tried to replicate the solos in the band's classic songs perfectly while he was a member of the Dave Mustaine-led outfit. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes. And I'll tell you why. Because not only, at the time, was I thinking about probably what Dave would want but also mainly, even more importantly, what the fans would want. Because ultimately they are now the owners and the keepers of that music, and they are the people that you're playing to and that are listening to you. So as cool as I think I can come up with some riff — like, 'Oh, they'll love this riff' — it doesn't belong in that song at that point. So, for me, it's all about recreating and trying to do [former MEGADETH guitarist] Marty Friedman justice — in the case of Marty Friedman or Chris Poland [another ex-MEGADETH guitarist] or any of the others. So I definitely wanted to try and make it as authentic as possible. The one thing that you can't deny, though, is your own sense of phrasing, and for me that comes down to timing and articulation and stuff like that. So, as far as the notes go, I really tried to recreate it as closely as possible, but then with my sense of timing and phrasing — maybe put it my own sense of phrasing."

Broderick joined MEGADETH in late 2007 as the replacement for Glen Drover, who left the group in order to focus on family life.

In a 2015 interview with the online teaching site Guitar Zoom, Drover was asked what it was like stepping in and playing parts originally performed by other guitarists during his stints with bands like KING DIAMOND and MEGADETH. He said: "I've always felt that you should always try to keep… in terms of playing solos, you should always try to keep it somewhat close, I think, and at least keep the stronger melodies of solos intact, so that people, when they listen to it, they can identify, because they know the songs and they know how the solos should sound and this and that, and I've always tried to do that, not by force, but because I wanted to, starting with KING DIAMOND. But at the same time, you have to inject your own kind of personality in there, because you're you. And with MEGADETH, it was a little bit different, because there was a lot of force of trying to be somebody else to a tee. And I don't think that's right, because I think that you should try to keep certain pieces intact, certain melodies and certain key points of solos or whatever it is. But everybody's got their own DNA, and that should be injected. You shouldn't try to play something note for note. Because, for me, you sound like a robot, at the end of the day, if you try to do something note for note. And then you're just kind of a puppet. And I don't believe in that."

He continued: "In MEGADETH, there was a lot of pressure from not only the fans but certain people in the band for that. And I was just very… It's, like, 'This is not really what I envisioned from a musical standpoint.' As an individual guitar player, you have your own thing. For me, it didn't take too long to get to the point where it became boring."

Glen also spoke about the 2014 departures from MEGADETH of his brother, drummer Shawn Drover, and Broderick. He said: "Well, I really can't speak too much for those guys a hundred percent, but all I can say is that there's definitely a lot of puppeteering going on, and I'm just not into that kind of thing, man. For me, it's more about the music, and it's about the individuality, it's about expression. Music is about that — it's not a sport, it's not about, you know, you're copying this guy to a tee or this and that. It's definitely an expression. I would never wanna abuse music in any way, and I felt it was definitely being abused."

He continued: "You know, when I played in bands like KING DIAMOND and TESTAMENT, where it was okay to be, like ,'Okay, try to play the solos like they are, but you're not that guy, so you inject your own personality into that.' For me, even outside of that, just watching as a fan, I wanna see what the guy has to offer. I don't wanna see somebody being a complete clone. That's boring. I can listen to the album at home, man. That's the way I see it. But not everybody sees it that way. And that's cool."

Only hours after drummer Shawn Drover announced his exit from MEGADETH on November 25, 2014 to "to pursue [his] own musical interests," Broderick revealed he also quit the legendary metal band, saying that he was leaving the group "due to artistic and musical differences."

Six and a half years ago, Broderick spoke to Ultimate-Guitar.com about the circumstances that led to his decision to exit MEGADETH. He said: "I wouldn't say it's necessarily artistic and musical differences as much as it is the ability to express my musical and artistic choices. Everybody knows that MEGADETH is really Dave and that's fine."

He continued: "I knew that [Mustaine was captain of the ship] going in. But there comes a time where you're like, 'I've done this and it's great but I'm a musician and artist at heart and I need to express myself that way. So I need to have that outlet for myself and not just do it in support of another person.'"

Regarding how MEGADETH was run, Broderick said: "It wasn't a democratic or an equal band in terms of the decision-making process. And again, I was totally fine with that at the time. It was awesome for my career and it was great playing for all those fans but at some point, when do you decide you're gonna be a musician and really create your own music or are you just going to record what somebody else wants?"

Broderick joined IN FLAMES in early 2019 as the replacement for Niclas Engelin.