Former MEGADETH Guitarist CHRIS POLAND Says DAVE MUSTAINE Is 'Very Smart'

Matthew Hoffman of Hardrock Haven recently conducted an interview with former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Poland. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Hardrock Haven: About your MEGADETH creations … I was looking through the album credits today and I didn’t see your name anywhere. What's up with that?

Chris: "Well, here's what the deal was when we joined the band. Dave [Mustaine] said he was going to split everything down the middle and we were like, 'Whatever,' and of course that never happened. But as far as writing, Dave wouldn't let anyone do anything, maybe five-second parts here and there. But one thing I remember was Gar [Samuelson, ex-MEGADETH drummer] being able to make a few arrangement ideas to Dave 'cause at the time 'Peace Sells' was seven minutes long. And it went on and on, and Dave listened to him and that's the reason the band took off."

Hardrock Haven: I guess if he stifled creativity and was that hard-headed and the music is still that damn good, that's got to say a lot about Mustaine, right?

Chris: "Oh, nobody's taking anything away from Dave, man, but basically the reason you liked about 'Return to Metalopolis' [Poland's solo album] is exactly what I would have done if Dave would have let me when I was in MEGADETH. I mean, occasionally I got a tiny bone here and there but at the end of the day it was what it was."

Hardrock Haven: When I heard he brought you back [for the recording of "The System Has Failed"], I thought, you know, he may be this cocky dominating type A, but he constantly brought some of the best guitarists in the world to play with him. You got to be pretty humble to do that.

Chris: "He is very smart, man. And I am not blowing my horn here, but when me and Gar joined the band, a certain amount of fusion feel surrounded the band that probably never would have gotten there and once we joined Dave's writing …"

Hardrock Haven: Well, we would not have been able to write that way unless he had the talented players to play it.

Chris: "Exactly. Not only that, but it was the way that Gar played (Lenny White influenced) and I actually came from that place of fusion style we did not look at it like speed metal when we met Dave we realized it would be just challenging playing, it was kind of like LED ZEPPELIN fusion. If you listen to the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA's 'Birds of Fire', it's a track called 'One Word' and say to yourself I'm going to pretend that Mustaine wrote this song there are double Marshall guitars left and right on it. And that's why we joined the band."

Read the entire interview at www.hardrockhaven.net.