• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

MEGADETH Drummer, TESTAMENT Frontman Talk About Touring Together, Thrash Metal Scene

September 3, 2010

Roadrunner Records conducted an interview with MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover and TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy when the two bands played New Jersey last month as part of the "American Carnage" tour with SLAYER. The guys talked about their current tour and their first-ever meeting and shared their views on how the thrash metal scene has evolved in the last 20 years. Watch the question-and-answer session below.

The final night of MEGADETH's historic month-long "Rust In Peace" 20th anniversary tour has been captured for the upcoming "Rust In Peace Live" Blu-ray, DVD and CD, due out September 7 on Shout! Factory.

On March 31, 2010, at this incredibly special show at the legendary Hollywood Palladium, not far from where Dave Mustaine formed the band in 1983, MEGADETH played their landmark, genre-defining 1990 "Rust In Peace" album in its entirety, in addition to other MEGADETH favorites. "Rust In Peace Live" also marks the return of original bassist David Ellefson (MEGADETH 1983-2002) to the iconic multi-platinum group after eight years. Ellefson (bass),joins Mustaine (lead vocals, guitar),Shawn Drover (drums) and Chris Broderick (guitar).

"Rust In Peace Live" features the entire "Rust In Peace" track listing, including all-time classics "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due" and "Hangar 18" along with bonus fan favorites from various other MEGADETH releases such as "Symphony For Destruction", "Peace Sells" and "Skin O' My Teeth".

The 80-minute "Rust In Peace Live" DVD (5.1 Dolby Surround 16:9 Widescreen) and Blu-ray (5.1 DTS Master Audio 1080p High Definition) were directed by Kerry Asmussen (GREEN DAY, JAY-Z, Coachella). The DVD and Blu-ray will also include behind-the-scenes footage, including a rare glimpse of the band rehearsing in their dressing room as they prepare to take the stage.

In a recent interview with LoudTrax.com, Chuck Billy stated about the songwriting process for TESTAMENT's follow-up to 2008's "The Formation Of Damnation", "We really want to pretend like we're still writing songs for 'The Formation Of Damnation'. We kind of just want to have that mindset and write 10 more tunes as if they were supposed to be on that record."

Regarding the band's continued collaboration with acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY, EXODUS, NEVERMORE),Billy said, "He's a musician first of all before being a producer, and so he understands the style of music and what it takes. If you get a producer who hasn't produced a metal band before, it won't sound good even though he does a good job with big bands that aren't metal. There's a real art to making fast drums and heavy guitars sound clean. So there is a challenge for mixing metal bands and I think Andy's really got a grasp on that as a musician."

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).