MEGADETH's CHRIS BRODERICK: 'I Try To Be Confident With My Playing'

Sonic Excess conducted an interview with MEGADETH guitarist Chris Broderick on Friday, November 6. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Sonic Excess: MEGADETH's U.S. tour kicks off on November 14th. How many new songs from "Endgame" will be added to the setlist, and what has been the crowd's reaction to new material so far?

Broderick: As far as the reaction, it has been great. It has been quite surprising to me, because usually when I am up on stage and playing music I'm trying to put on a good show. But I do tend to notice things that people do, whether it's throwing fits in the air or crowd surfing. The big one for me is when people are singing along with the lyrics. When you see that, it's a good indication that people like the songs and genuinely want to hear them. I have seen that in both of the new songs we are playing live, those being "Head Crusher" and "1,320", and I have been very impressed by that. With MEGADETH having such a big catalog and long history, for the fans to want to hear the new material is great.

Sonic Excess: MEGADETH is missing a lot of major cities on this first leg, so I'm guessing more tour dates will be announced.

Broderick: Right, you can expect them soon.

Sonic Excess: Today (November 6) I heard a rumor that MEGADETH will be touring with SLAYER and TESTAMENT in the U.S. Can you put the rumors to rest or confirm?

Broderick: I read that myself, but I have not heard anything to that effect. So, I cannot really comment on that.

Sonic Excess: You just released your first album with MEGADETH back in September. What was the process like for you during the recording of "Endgame"?

Broderick: It was very cool. Coming in from the bands I came from, I would have a very strict deadline and a limited amount of time for recording. When we came into "Endgame", it was very cool because we could start with just a simple riff, and we all record with the drums, bass guitar, listen to it, and then just start arranging from there. We had a lot of time to listen to what we were creating and rearrange it. That was a luxury I never had.

Sonic Excess: Dave [Mustaine] seems like he has a strong work ethic and expects nothing but the best. Were you a bit intimidated?

Broderick: Well, there were some tense moments, but that's when I had my own personal goal I was trying to meet. I guess what I would call a personal deadline for me, like executing solos and making sure they where what I wanted. That is where the stress came from. It was self-induced in this case, but it was relaxed overall. Dave does expect a lot, but, at the same time, he was happy with what I produced.

Sonic Excess: You are also a classically trained musician. How did you incorporate your personal style into "Endgame"?

Broderick: There were some personal touches, like with "The Hardest Part of Letting Go...Sealed With a Kiss", and then there were a lot of arrangements, in terms of the harmonization process, melodies over the top of rhythms and stuff like that. A lot of the theory knowledge I have, concerning how to harmonize and things of that nature, came into play at that point

Sonic Excess: How has being in MEGADETH changed your perspective of being a professional musician?

Broderick: I think, in a way, it really has made me look at the way I present myself in every aspect. I think you can be a great musician, there are some awesome guitarists out there that play for 12 hours a day, but they don't think about the way they are presenting the material that it plays into. That is one area that I think it really helps me. Also, the way I present my playing too. I try to be confident with my playing, so that is one thing it really helped me do.

Read the entire interview from Sonic Excess.

Photo below courtesy of Metal Mind Productions