MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE: 'I Am Going To Trust God To Sort This Out'

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has responded to several fan postings on the band's official forum in regards to the status of the group's relationship with its record label, Roadrunner Records, and the possibility of MEGADETH releasing another studio album as a follow-up to this year's "Endgame".

On the choice of "44 Minutes" as the next single from "Endgame":

Mustaine: "It doesn't matter what song we choose as a single, we have no radio presence. Hell, my own hometown plays nothing from MEGADETH, but they sure do play my last band every hour.

"The radio person at Roadrunner has a very different approach to radio than I do, and since we never get any substantial radio impact, and all I have been able to do was have a Number 1 single, five or so Top 5 singles, many Top 10, dozens of Top 40, yet we can't get anything played from this new record with any consistency, I would say we have a very different approach.

"So far, I have had 'A Tout Le Monde' banned, and rejected last year, and nothing after that, and this year we have given away two songs and we are already on the third track, and I had to actually call up the guy and ask him for interviews, to which he said, 'I didn't know you wanted to do interviews.'

"Therefore, singles do not matter anymore."

On whether MEGADETH can release a "live" or compilation album in order to fulfill the band's current contract with Roadrunner Records:

Mustaine: "I don't know, but I do know that I am a man of my word and that I am going to fulfill my contract. Rest assured though that I am not going to be releasing a compilation record nor a live record for my final record for Roadrunner."

On Mustaine allegedly stating in a previous online post that Roadrunner wanted to extend the MEGADETH contract and re-sign MEGADETH for more albums and that Roadrunner threatened stop producing "Endgame" unless Mustaine complied:

Mustaine: "I said that the president [of Roadrunner] came out and said it was the last record and that if we didn't re-sign with them for more records they were going to stop selling the record, and I have always known that there was another record owed, I just wanted to see what they were going to do, and I also face the physical problems, so regardless of what they say or don't say, if my neck or spine says, 'You're done, Dave,' then I am done.

"I hate talking about this because it is not fair to the other guys [in MEGADETH] when it suggests no job security.

"I love my my relationship with a lot of the people that I am working with, and I know that it seems selfish sometimes to say that I am going to stop. But if the body or the hands say that's it, well, then that is it.

"I still have fire in my belly and I really wished that 'Endgame' was handled differently, but I am going to trust God to sort this out, and if the record was meant to die quickly and if I am meant to suffer another blow to my ego, my pride, my legacy and so on, in order to be a better person and to be closer to God, well, then I will soldier on and complete my time there with grace and honor.

"I can tell you that while it is destroying our tenure with Roadrunner, I am not going to let this bother me anymore. I think history will dictate this whole thing, and I am completely prepared to work, so we will see where it goes now."

"Endgame" has sold around 76,000 copies in the United States since its release five weeks ago. The CD registered the following U.S. weekly sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan:

Week 1: 44,696
Week 2: 12,833
Week 3: 8,640
Week 4: 5,583
Week 5: 3,948

"Endgame" currently sits at position No. 142 on The Billboard 200 chart.