MEGADETH Mainman Says ANTHRAX Will Be Joining 'American Carnage' Tour

During an interview MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine gave (see video below) to Boštjan Tušek of the 24ur.com web site prior to the band's June 29, 2010 performance in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the guitarist/vocalist revealed that ANTHRAX will be taking part in some of the upcoming "American Carnage" tour dates alongside MEGADETH and SLAYER.

The previously announced "American Carnage" tour — featuring SLAYER, MEGADETH and TESTAMENT — is scheduled to kick off on July 23 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and conclude on September 4 in Portland, Oregon.

Although Mustaine did not divulge any further details about ANTHRAX's participation in the trek, it is believed that Scott Ian and Co. will take part in a yet-to-be-announced second leg of the tour, which is expected to kick off a short time after the first leg wraps. It should be noted, however, that this information **has not yet been corroborated by an official source** and should be treated as a rumor only.

Excerpts from Mustaine's interview with 24ur.com:

On how some people are happy that he isn't part of METALLICA anymore, because he has accomplished so much on his own and with MEGADETH:

Mustaine: "Yeah, I understand that. I didn't understand it at the time because all I could see is that this is a band I was in and they went on to bigger and better things, and I wasn't really looking at what I had and how great what I had was and the fact that I am the only guy in the world that can say he played in METALLICAandMEGADETH. And that's quite an honor. And to be able to go up on stage [at the 'Big Four' show in Sofia, Bulgaria] and have the whole world make comments about who I hugged that night — because I hugged James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] and Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer]... It's really a really, really big deal. I kind of took for granted how important it was. I thought it was just important to me, but it really is important to a lot of other people — the whole 'Big Four' and the healing that took place in Sofia. It was great. And I don't know that it's gonna continue on — I hope it does. I hope that we get to play more 'Big Four' dates certainly here, but I'd like to do it in the States, too."

On whether his "feud" with METALLICA is now finally over:

Mustaine: "Lars, I had a glass of champagne with him at the dinner that we had at the beginning of the tour.

"We all [the members of METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX] met in a restaurant [on June 15 in Warsaw, Poland]. James had put it together.

"Of course, I think it's [the bad blood between him and METALLICA] behind us. You see us hugging on stage and playing music together. What more do you need? Me to kiss him?"

On how the whole Sonisphere / "Big Four" touring experience has been for him:

Mustaine: "It was great. I think it's one of the more productive and fun things that I've done in my career.

"Lars and I have been talking all day today — we've been texting and e-mailing each other back and forth.

"I think it would have been cool if I would have gotten a chance to spend a little more time with Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist]. But we never really were close. I didn't really see him very much. But as far as everything else is concerned, it was great. We hang out with SLAYER all the time, and we're on tour with them in the States on 'American Carnage'. And ANTHRAX is gonna be joining us, so it's gonna kind of be like the 'Clash Of The Titans' thing we did back in the '90s, too."

On his religious beliefs:

Mustaine: "A lot of people said some really horrible things when I got saved. And I don't push it on anybody — it's my own personal thing. I mean, if anybody needed to have their life changed, it was me, 'cause I was heading down a very, very bad road.

"I think it's kind of a bummer when you've got somebody that's a great musician, who can write great lyrics that chooses to write something that isn't gonna help him in the long run, you know what I mean?! The amount of people that are gonna be able to listen to your music if you write about stuff like that, it's small. As you choose other things to write about that more people experience, it will open up your marketplace. For example, Ronnie James Dio — I loved Dio; I thought he was great. I think if his lyrics were a little different, he would have been even more popular. He had the voice to be as big as BON JOVI. Totally. He had the voice to be... as big as LED ZEPPELIN in whatever he did. He was the master.

"I think lyric choices, for a lot of people, limit where they go."