MEGADETH Is 'Still Working Every Day' On New Studio Album: 'The Record's Getting Done,' Says DAVE MUSTAINE

In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine offered an update on the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2016's "Dystopia" album. He said (hear audio below): "I just found out yesterday, believe it or not, we got our delivery date, when they want me to have the record turned in by.

"I've had a pretty busy last two years. We were getting ready to start to record, and then stuff started going wrong with my throat, and we found out about the [throat] cancer. The treatment for the cancer was completed in six months, which was mind-blowing for me. But besides that, there were so many other things that had gone wrong — we have the pandemic here, and we have all these things that are going on. The work that I do that affects the people around me, it affects me 'cause I care so much about our fans.

"When we were out doing the Hendrix thing ['Experience Hendrix' tour] last year, we came back to just get started on the record," he continued. "I thought, 'Okay, we're gonna blast through this.' And then, boom, here comes the pandemic, and everything drops down a couple of gears. But you know what? We're still working every day, and the record's getting done.

"It's funny 'cause every person that I know — well, not every person, but the people that I know that know I'm writing a new record, and God bless 'em — they all go, 'So, are you gonna write about the coronavirus?' And I'm thinking, 'Well, now there's a thought...'"

Last month, Mustaine told "The Five Count" radio show that the new MEGADETH LP will "probably" be "one of the most ferocious records we've done since 'Rust In Peace'. David Ellefson, he's a pretty good barometer of things, and when he did his bass parts, he [went], 'Man, my arm is killing me. I can't believe this.'"

In a separate interview with SiriusXM, Mustaine said that the upcoming MEGADETH album will be "up there with 'Countdown [To Extinction]', 'Rust In Peace' and probably 'Peace Sells' and 'Dystopia'."

The early sessions for the LP took place last year with co-producer Chris Rakestraw, who previously worked on "Dystopia".

Guitarist Kiko Loureiro made his recording debut with MEGADETH on "Dystopia", whose title track was honored in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 2017 Grammy Awards.

As previously reported, MEGADETH's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES has been rescheduled for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.