MEGADETH: 'Greatest Hits' Package Essay Posted Online

June 19, 2005

MEGADETH's publicists, The Mitch Schneider Organization (MSO),have posted the "package essay" written by the director of "The Decline of Western Civilization" documentary series, Penelope Spheeris, for the group's upcoming "Greatest Hits: Back to the Start" collection, due on June 28. It reads as follows:

"MEGADETH was always on the forefront of innovation, always challenging tradition and bringing new rules to the game.

"Since their inception, I was a MEGADETH fan, but I really got to know them in 1986 when I directed the 'Wake Up Dead' video. In retrospect it seems obvious that this piece set the standard for many metal videos to come. In 1988 I needed one last band to finish 'The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years'. I knew it had to be a band that was going to go down in history, a band with substance, a band that would make a difference in the world. It had to be MEGADETH.

"They were a shining light in the vapid, depressing, glam rock / power-pop atmosphere of the time. While other bands wrote whiny lyrics about their personal problems, MEGADETH addressed the problems of the planet. No other band was cutting the edge with songs about corruption, capitalism, toxic waste, mankind's depravity and human beings' lack of integrity. It was as if Dave Mustaine took on the weight of the world and made us all feel better for it. His devil voice could rattle your soul and his angel voice could make you see God. His lyrics are profound poetry and his masterful guitar skills are unmatched to this day.

"In a landscape of sellouts, MEGADETH has always been intelligent and uncompromising; they gave an entire generation a new perspective on our troubled world. And a live MEGADETH performance is an experience unequalled, their contribution to contemporary music immeasurable.

"Long live MEGADETH."

A 17-track CD and deluxe, limited edition CD/DVD set, "Greatest Hits: Back to the Start" follows Capitol/EMI's 2004 extensive eight-album remastering campaign for the band's catalog and the release of the band's tenth studio album, "The System Has Failed", which debuted at #18 upon its September 2004 release (Sanctuary Records). The "Greatest Hits" tracklist, selected by fans in a poll at the band's official website, www.megadeth.com, packs 17 top hits and favorites on a 78-minute single disc, including "Peace Sells", "Symphony of Destruction", "In My Darkest Hour", "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" and "Sweating Bullets".

The limited edition CD/DVD package is expanded to add approximately 40 minutes of video content, including a new Mega-Mix music video for "Kill the King", edited from past music videos and behind the scenes footage, seven previously unreleased live performance cuts from the band's 1999 "Risk" tour, and a preview for the forthcoming 2-DVD set, "Arsenal Of Megadeth".

To be released this fall, "Arsenal Of Megadeth" is a new career anthology including videos, live performances, interviews and Dave Mustaine's home movies of the band on the road.

(Thanks: Will / www.RattleheadHQ.com)

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