DAVE MUSTAINE: 'I Have A Much Better Life Right Now Than I Used To Have'

Charlie Steffens of KNAC.COM recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

KNAC.COM: How did you come up with the title for the forthcoming album, "United Abominations"?

Mustaine: Traveling as much as you do as an American, people are prejudiced to Americans who travel because a lot of Americans that travel are really rude travelers. That doesn't mean that all Americans are, but sometimes we'll be someplace and people will take their stuff out on us because the ass-wipe with the nosecoat and the inflatable horsey ramp down by the pool is bellyaching because they're not getting served within the first five seconds of sitting down. That's just not the way they do things outside of this country and you tend to take a look at different people's political viewpoints and one thing that is a common thread with everything — with the United Nations being the appointed entity to promote peace and keep us from going to war…they've failed. They've failed miserably. And I thought, "The United Nations is more like the United Abominations," and I went, "Holy shit, that's a great title." Then I wrote a song about it and went, "You know what? That's the title track."

KNAC.COM: When does the new record street?

Mustaine: Next year. We're still working on the record. I'm on my way to the studio right now. We thought that we would have it done before Gigantour and we just didn't have enough time. It's good, I think, for us to have that separation, to be able to walk away from the project and get a little bit of distance so that we can have some perspective or…in the words from my friends from SPINAL TAP (as Dave takes on his best British accent) "A bit too much perspective."

KNAC.COM: Father Time has been good to you, considering the battles you've had with alcohol and chemical dependency. How are things now? It seems like that is in remission…

Mustaine: No. No. Let me reassure you on something. For me, there was something that happened in the '90's, where the "sobriety police" went through the music business and anybody that did anything to excess was immediately branded a drug addict. And, to me I believe that there is use, abuse, and addiction. Am I in a 12-step program, no? I made a personal decision a few years ago to change my life and it's affected all areas of my life. I enjoy who I am right now — I'm no teetotaler. I have a much better life right now than I used to have. About the temper — when you get angry you get just as angry…for me, it was such an uphill battle in the music business for so long, because my previous band had a great opportunity and not everybody else had the same opportunity. In order to get to the top of the heap that's that high there's a lot of kicking and scratching going on, and unfortunately you pick up a bad reputation along the way. This is my way of making good for it.

KNAC.COM: Which songs are your favorites to perform live?

Mustaine: My favorite songs to play live — it kind of goes back and forth. Sometimes if I'm in Spanish-speaking countries it'll be "Trust", because I sing "Trust" in Spanish, and a lot of times if I'm in foreign countries it'll be "A Tout Le Monde" because they all sing it in French. If I'm in countries that speak English it kind of goes back and forth between songs like "Hangar 18" and "Holy Wars" and some of the new stuff, like "Kick the Chair", where people don't know what to expect — they haven't heard any new stuff and they're listening to the new stuff and they're kinda going, "Okay, this is what it's about, this new record." The last record, it was on a record label that was going through some considerable growing pains, which ultimately led to its demise, and that's why we left — we left before the bloodletting started. I think we were one of the first bands that made the decision to leave them. After that it was pretty much mass exodus. We had a good time while we were there, for a little while, and then it just became obvious we had outgrown the label. I'm really looking forward to seeing what's going to happen with this new relationship with Roadrunner. I think it's going to be fantastic. It's been great, so far.

Read the entire interview at KNAC.COM.