Does DAVE MUSTAINE Like Any Death Metal Bands? 'I Like Bands That Have A Singer', He Says

In a new interview with Sam Sheppard of New Zealand's Mammoth Metal TV, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine was asked if he has ever heard any death metal bands that he liked, even if he perhaps wasn't a fan of the vocal style. Mustaine responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, see, here's the thing. I like bands that have a singer. But I can appreciate the effort that the singers in these death metal bands go to because it is an instrument and you have to take really good care of it. I think when the guys put a little bit more effort forward and they sing a little bit more, it gives them more colors in their palette wheel for them to sing with. An example would be [PANTERA's] 'Cemetery Gates', where Phil [Anselmo] sings one way and he sings another way, and they all work together. But some other singers, because they sing in that growl, going into a singing voice would turn off a lot of their fans."

Mustaine continued: "I think from the very beginning you should explore — whatever you can do with your gifts, try it. Because on our first album, we had a song with two different vocal tracks. I had a high-pitched vocal track and a low-pitched vocal track right under it. The same exact track as the high one was in [MEGADETH's debut album] 'Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!'. And then [GUNS N' ROSES'] 'Appetite [For Destruction']' came out, and I heard 'Mr. Brownstone' was the same thing with a low voice and a high voice. 'Cause we were hanging out with [GUNS N' ROSES guitarist] Slash all the time, and he almost joined MEGADETH at one point. So, we did a lot of guitar playing together. Great guitar player. I thought he was really good. Not a metal guy, but…"

Back in 1992, Mustaine told MTV's "Headbangers Ball" about death metal:  "I've pretty much been aware of the fact how much my role was in creating a big part of the whole scene that's developed in heavy metal, thrash metal and death metal, black metal, all that stuff.

"When I started off with the guys in METALLICA, we had no idea what we had discovered or what we were creating," he explained at the time. "And I think that death metal right now, it's something that I'm not particularly too aware of. I know what it is. I don't really know a lot of the bands that are in it. And I think it's necessary because for as many people that are out there that wanna hear that kind of music, there has to be that many good bands, and there's a lot of great death metal bands."

MEGADETH's 24-date "Breakout: Hibernation Of The Nations" European tour will kick off March 9, 2027 in Belfast and will conclude on April 13 in Lisbon, Portugal. Joining MEGADETH for the entire tour are fellow metal titans BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and TESTAMENT.

The tour will follow the overwhelming global success of MEGADETH's seventeenth and final studio album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — the band's first-ever chart-topping album — and reaffirmed their place as one of heavy metal's most enduring and influential forces.

The European leg will visit 12 of the 22 global markets where the album reached the Top 5, underscoring MEGADETH's continued international appeal. Rather than a single farewell run, the band's final journey has been designed as a multi-year, multi-continent celebration, giving fans around the world several opportunities to experience MEGADETH live.

"Megadeth" debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart after earning 73,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending January 29, 2026, according to Luminate. The bulk of that sum was driven by pure album sales (purchases of physical and digital copies of the album),totaling 69,000.

The follow-up to "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", "Megadeth" was released via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

"Megadeth" also claimed the top spot in Australia (highest previous position No. 2) and Austria (highest previous position No. 8). Other top five spots included No. 2 in Finland (and No. 1 physical),Sweden (plus No. 1 physical; highest previous position No. 9) and Belgium (highest previous position: No. 6); No. 3 in both the U.K. and Germany (highest previous position No. 6); No. 4 in the Netherlands (highest previous position No. 7); and No. 5 in both Italy (highest previous position No. 15) and New Zealand (highest chart position ever).

For its final album, MEGADETH once again worked with Chris Rakestraw, a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two LPs, the aforementioned "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

Photo credit: Ross Halfin