It's Official: MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Signs With DEAN GUITARS; Unveils The 'VEHEMENT: VMNT'

As BLABBERMOUTH.NET first reported on January 13, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and Dean Guitars have announced a new guitar line called the "Vehement: VMNT" (Photo#1, Photo#2),and unveiled the new instruments today (January 19) at the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) convention in Anaheim, CA. (A live video feed of Dave Mustaine taking part in a signing session at the Dean Guitars booth at NAMM is available at this location.) Mustaine and Dean Guitars joined forces late last year and are working closely on the specifications of the guitar line.

"The whole process has been surreal," said Mustaine. "It's been dream-like, but is more real than any dream I've ever had. They understand what a guitarist expects out of his gear, and we share a vision, a loyalty and an understanding of guitars. Working with Dean has been one of the greatest thrills for me as a musician."

Commenting on his new Dean guitar, Mustaine said, "We designed this thing… the last couple of hours. [Laughs] It feels like that. Dean [Dean Guitars founder Dean B. Zelinsky] I talked a little bit over a month and a half ago. And we just went into the shop and started bulding this [guitar] right away. We wanted to make it play better than any of the other guitars I had, so we took a lot the old guitars that had really good things about them, and we added it all together, and this is the end result."

When asked why he chose Dean over other guitar companies, Mustaine said, "Because they understand the value of Dave Mustaine and MEGADETH. And it's mutual. I know that this is the right place for me to finish out my career, endorsing their products, and having my guitars made by Dean."

"Having Dave Mustaine join the Dean family is a dream come true for me," says Dean Guitars CEO Elliott Rubinson. "We pride ourselves on having the world's greatest players playing our instruments and Dave is certainly the company that we are proud to keep. We think the VMNT series of guitars will be the best playing and sounding guitars Dave Mustaine fans have ever seen."

The initial model in this exclusive line will be limited to a worldwide run of only 150 pieces. This guitar will be a signature Mustaine V with a heavily flamed top, Dave Mustaine custom Live Wires pickups, ebony fingerboard and gold hardware. Players and collectors can choose from three finishes — Transparent Amber, Transparent Red and Transparent Black. The guitar will include a stenciled hardshell case and a Deth certificate hand signed by Dave Mustaine himself. The second guitar is the Dean Dave Mustaine VMNT import complete with the custom Live Wires pickups, Grover tuners and hardshell case. The guitar is available in Classic Black or Metallic Silver and the first 500 sold will include a MEGADETH CD signed by the man himself. Retail price of the Dean VMNT is $1,520.

As previously reported, MEGADETH's new song, "Gears of War", is available for download at this location. The track comes off the group's upcoming album, "United Abominations", tentatively due in March via Roadrunner Records.

Said Dave Mustaine about the track: "This was a mix made by Andy Sneap to apply for the job as mixer on this record and I was so impressed I wanted him to help me finish up the last parts as well as cutting two new songs we hadn't planned on releasing. [It was] a great start to one of my favorite records to have ever made so far. If the process of writing and tracking, and the energy we felt in the studios is any indication, then this is just the beginning of the rebuilding of the perfect beast!"

A video clip of MEGADETH performing "Gears of War" live on October 31, 2006 at Six Flags in Springfield, Massachusetts during the "Gears of War - Match Made In Hell" event has been posted online at YouTube.com.

Check out the "Gears of War" lyrics at Megadeth.com.