DAVE MUSTAINE Defends MEGADETH's Lineup Changes, Praises Upcoming Album

MEGADETH recently finished recording its fifteenth album in a Nashville studio for a tentative late 2015 or early 2016 release. The production duties on the follow-up to 2013's "Super Collider" were handled by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and Toby Wright (ALICE IN CHAINS, KORN). The CD is currently being mixed by Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with LAMB OF GOD, ALL THAT REMAINS and GOJIRA.

The new MEGADETH album will be the band's first to feature LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA. They were recruited earlier this year following the departures of drummer Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick, who have since launched a new project called ACT OF DEFIANCE.

Speaking to The Leader about MEGADETH's most recent lineup changes and the upcoming CD, Mustaine said: "Bands are living organisms, and sometimes when you have four people and they don't all have the same vision, you've got to ask yourself what's good for the band rather than the individual, and we made some changes. The two guys we have playing for us now have been great."

He continued: "My godfather is Alice Cooper. How many guys has he had in his band? SLAYER has had tons of people and METALLICA has had changes, too. We all go through these unfortunate changes.

"You be the judge when you hear the record."

Mustaine added: "Our publishing company just said this is the best thing we've done in 15 years. I was a little bit offended, but excited at the same time. It's like when someone says, 'Wow, I didn't know you knew how to cook this good.'"

Mustaine told Revolver magazine about MEGADETH's forthcoming CD: "There's a lot of riffing going on in there, that's for damn sure. There's a lot of solos, a lot of pounding drums and bass. I knew from the start that I wanted to go back to my roots, and I wanted to make a thrash record."

Regarding his mindset during the making of MEGADETH's new album, Mustaine told Rolling Stone: "Over the years we've always said, 'We're going back to our roots.' But the naysayers, they just want 'Rust In Peace' 20 times, which is never gonna happen. Because I've never written the same song twice. Unlike a lot of other rock and metal bands that, you know, they rely on a set formula, I try and make the songs all different. The funny thing, though, was that when [MEGADETH bassist David] Ellefson was doing the bass tracks, I was telling him, 'This is the 'Tornado' ['Tornado Of Souls'] part,' 'This is the 'Bad Omen' part,' 'This is the 'Black Friday' part,' 'This is the 'Holy Wars' part.' Because a lot of the things were in that kind of vein. Now, is it going back in time? Hell, I don't know. But I like what I'm hearing."