MEGADETH Mainman Is 'Still Eyeing' The Top Spot On BILLBOARD Chart

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has posted the following message in the "Forums" section of the band's official web site:

"I am sending you this post from Maui, Hawaii, where I currently am, to get one last vacation in before I start my next record.

"We also are going to be announcing some really major news this week coming up, it could be about my book, it could be about a tour coming up; it could be about a whole lotta stuff!

"I really had fun answering your questions from the MEGADETH widget. I hoped to be able to answer some more questions, but I won't be able to get in front of my rig until Saturday. Until then I will keep updating you, making regular posts here — and at MEGADETH's other sites. I also enjoy listening to and leaving messages for you at TheLiveLine. (TheLiveLine is also almost ready to release its next version in the next several weeks.)

"Onward with the updates.

"The studio is turning out to be such a magical place and we are got so much done in such a seemingly easy and effortless few months of preparing the studio. Jeff Payne, Shane McConnell, Brandon Webster, Shawn Drover, my son Justis and his current bandmates, and a hustling cast of great friends and skilled personnel. The most impressive fact is being able to say this included all four band members; that has made this more exciting with each and every passing day.

"Now the details: I have gone through all of the micro-cassettes that I have saved, and James Lomenzo [bass] has uploaded them into our ProTools rig for evaluation. I went through some classic VHS tapes — one of which is all backstage 'never-before-seen' footage of the classic 'Rust In Peace' lineup and it was from the Clash of The Titans era. This was from a show we did at the Ventura Theater, and I can see dozens of old staffers and their very gay hair-cuts!

"I guess I am most excited that I have another shot at breaking the Billboard Top 200 chart and I am still scratching and 'a clawing to get that 'as-of-yet' elusive number 1. I've had a number 2, number 4, number 8, and a number 10. We are missing the obvious integer of 6 in the 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 pattern in the top ten.

"Seriously though, it has been an honor to have made so many high debuts in this career of mine, and I am still eyeing that top spot, so let's see what comes out of this next session. Maybe even an eight Grammy nod? Who knows, but i do know this, I am very excited that Roadrunner has seen what we all did right last time and are making adjustments of the things that were beneficial for our careers. I am most excited about the confidence that the label now is displaying with me and my goals and direction. I have always said that I loved Roadrunner outside of the States and I am now very eager to meet the new Roadrunner staff that are going to be working with me on these next two very busy years of my life.

"Thanks goes out to Dave Rath and Mike Gitter for your passion and compassion for this institution that is MEGADETH! I know you guys get it, and I may be sad to see some of the people get taken off of this project, but it is what is best for the band, and what is best for them to be the best for their fans that counts. I have a sensation that I haven't felt for a long time about making a record. Almost like I have something to prove. And with Chris [Broderick, guitar] and the boys ready to kill it! . . . we are going nuts as you can imagine.

"On the tech side, I am going to be continuing on with my Dean VMNT's as my guitar of choice, and I will be using my Signature GHS Dave Mustaine Progressives 10-52 gauge strings, Jim Dunlop Tortex picks and my signature Dave Mustaine Live Wires by Seymour Duncan, and DigiTech's killer GSP1101. I am proudly using Marshall Amplifiers and Cabinets, and boy do we have a surprise for you, but I will leave that up to the noble Marshall family to say.

"I also am very anxious to get my fingers deep into Pro Tools new Software "Eleven."

"We have chosen to work with Mr. Andy Sneap again, and he is coming and going all day, every day leading up to this, and I for one am pumped to see what we are going to do fresh out of the gate this time. He has not only made his presence felt with great suggestions about the music on the last record, but he has been over to make sure that the studio was coming along, and to check on the colors and furniture so that we will have a comfortable environment here; and since I intend on making this a studio open to select clientele, I want to make sure that this is the kind of place that a hot-shot like Andy will feel perfectly at home in.

"Thank you to Shawn Drover for coming out and doing all of the building things that you did. Jeff painted yesterday and it looks great. Since Shawn gets the live room out in the warehouse, it is prolly time to have our personal assistant Adrian Biondo from touring with MEGADETH come and make the dressing room vibe in the studio's drum room. She could make an outhouse look like a dressing room, and in fact she did on the last tour.

"As we are nearing the first day of recording, some of the remaining work is to mount the acoustic hardware, rack mount all of the ProTools items and outboard gear in the control room, as well as wire all of that, and I intend just keep hustling and to keep working on making the best record I have ever made; from the leasing of the building the very first day, until the last second when I lock the door and fly to England to mix this record with Andy at his studio in Derbyshire again.

"It is nearly 6 PM Hawaii time and I am getting ready to go to Bubba Gump's for dinner. I love that goofy joint, it's better than the burnt-out dive across the street.

"And yes, I did actually go to the Maui Coffee Plantation to check out some potential coffee for my coffee line, and if it is going to be the 'coffee that I actually drink' then this would prolly not have been included. It was a little bit 'not to my liking' and I prefer the Peruvian coffee that I have now, as well as the 'Kona' and 'Jamaica Blue Mountain,' which we are going to be discussing introducing to our coffee customers after the holidays are over. I just have to make sure that you know it is not 'blend' where they put three Kona beans in with all of the Arabica beans and call it 'Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend' or the same with the 'Kona Blend.'"