MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Is 'In Love' With His New Record Company

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

"If there was a time that I wished you could all be here with me, it would be now. We are playing [in Tokyo, Japan] tonight [Saturday, October 14] with ANTHRAX and Ronnie James Dio, and I think that this maybe the last time that I see the ANTHRAX guys for a while.

"I am so very excited to be here, and besides wishing that I could see my old guitarist Mr. Marty Friedman to tell him that I would like to make peace with him and introduce him to Glen [Drover, current MEGADETH guitarist], it would just be great to see the little guy and tell him thank you for being so freaking good.

"There is not too much time left on this tour and then we go to finish ['United Abominations'] and take the rest of the holidays off. In the meantime, I am looking forward to talking to all my friends from the beginning of the American metal scene and see if we can do something.

"I don't know what the chances are, but I can tell you that just being able to spend time with the guys from ANTHRAX and seeing Ronnie in the pub at the first hotel we stayed at in Tokyo was a blast. I have had a good chat with Scott Ian and Dan Spitz, and of course you know as a frontman, I had to talk to Joey Belladonna and tell him how much I respect him. I hope that they will make another record.

"Anyway, our beloved webmaster Dave McRobb and I are trying to make our sites and forums for MEGADETH, Gigantour, and my solo site the best sites we can. These will all have different purposes, but the main purpose is to keep you fed on the best of the best of all-things-mega (and Gigantour, and Mustaine). I am also going to try to get my lyric book out to you when I get home. It may just be an internet release, but there is a lot of good stuff that I think you may find funny and entertaining.

"Keep tuned, and just know that I am so in love with my new record company Roadrunner that I can't see straight. Here's to the best years ahead."

As previously reported, MEGADETH has tapped British producer Andy Sneap (NEVERMORE, MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY, CRADLE OF FILTH) to mix its long-awaited new album, "United Abominations", tentatively due in March 2007 via Roadrunner Records.

Commented Sneap: "[I] did a test mix for 'Gears of War' [new MEGADETH song] just before I went out to Cleveland [to work on the new CHIMAIRA album] a couple of weeks ago. Had a good chat with Dave [Mustaine] the other day. He seems very cool, matter of fact, and we begin in L.A. November 6th, so should be great. [I'm] really looking forward to it."

"United Abominations" will include a cover of LED ZEPPELIN's "Out on the Tiles", which Mustaine has previously described as one of the CD's highlights. "It could be the best song," he said. "I think it rocks!"

Dave previously told MTV.com about the album's initial recording sessions (which were held at Sarm Studios, outside of London),"We rented [LED ZEPPELIN drummer] John Bonham's drum kit and recorded at a studio in [PINK FLOYD guitarist] David Gilmour's house, which was great."

"The kit is the only one that's available in the world to rent," drummer Shawn Drover added. "Dave surprised me with that, which was pretty incredible because I didn't even know it was possible to get Bonham's kit to rent for anybody. So I incorporated the bass drum and his floor tom and a snare on the kit that I use in the studio, and that was really inspiring. We played in the middle of nowhere and it was just a really cool vibe."

"United Abominations" was recorded under the watchful eye of Mustaine and co-producer Jeff Balding. The initial studio sessions were filmed by director Michael Sarna (ANTHRAX, OBITUARY) and are available at Megadeth.com to fan-club members. Other songtitles set to appear on the CD include "United Abominations" and "Washington Is Next" (video).

MEGADETH's last CD, "The System Has Failed", has sold 183,000 copies since its September 2004 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group, who were most recently signed to Sanctuary Records, were joined by bassist James Lomenzo (ex-BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, WHITE LION) in February following the departure of James MacDonough (ex-ICED EARTH).

(Thanks: Rattlehead HQ)