MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE On Recording 'The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!': 'It Was Really Tough This Time'

MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine was interviewed this past February for an episode of AXS TV's "Power Hour" which has just been uploaded to YouTube. Asked during the chat by co-host Matt Pinfield if making MEGADETH's latest album, last year's "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", was as enjoyable as recording the band's previous efforts had been in the past, Dave said: "It was really tough this time because of [my May 2019 throat] cancer [diagnosis]. The plandemic and everything was enough for us all to have to deal with. And getting cancer on top of that was just kind of the cherry on the top. I was feeling kind of a little detached from myself for a little while, and I need to get into that place of uncomfortability to write good. 'Cause when I'm feeling comfy, I don't really push myself. When I'm feeling angry or agitated or things aren't going my way, I start to feel out of place and that place is [where] I feel like I create my most intense music, because I'm a person that if you bump me, at that moment I don't know what's gonna come out."

The 61-year-old MEGADETH guitarist/vocalist revealed his cancer battle in June 2019 on social media, saying the doctors had given him a 90 percent chance of beating the illness.

Mustaine addressed his cancer battle during MEGADETH's concert in January 2020 at The SSE Arena in London, England. Speaking to the crowd before launching into the title track of MEGADETH's previous album, "Dystopia", he said: "About a year ago, we were working on our new album back in Franklin, Tennessee, and I started to feel some pain over here [points to his throat]. So I went to the doctor and he said, 'Dave, you have cancer.' And I went, 'Fuck! I have cancer.' And I was so shocked."

He continued: "At first, I thought, 'Am I afraid?' And then I said, 'No. I'm fucking pissed.' And we stopped the record; we stopped everything. I went into treatment for cancer. It was 51 radiation treatments and nine chemo treatments. And when it was all said and done, every day I would think, 'I can't face not playing again. I can't face not playing again.' So I would pray. I know a lot of you guys know that I pray. I say that in [the MEGADETH song] 'Peace Sells'. I pray every day. I say that in the song. I've said it since the second record. But I thought about you guys every day too. And I thought about my family. And I got this power from you guys. And I just kept thinking about it. And on October 16th [2019], I went to go see the doctor, and he said, 'You're 100 percent free of cancer.'"

Last September, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" debuted at the top of the charts during its first week of sales, taking the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 as well as number ones on Top Album Sales, Top Current Albums Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums. "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" was the highest-charting MEGADETH album of all time around the world, notching No. 1 In Finland, No. 2 in australia, poland, Switzerland, and Scotland, No. 3 in the U.K., and more.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

MEGADETH recently received its thirteenth Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" for the song "We'll Be Back" from "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!".

MEGADETH won the 2017 Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for the title track of the band's 2016 album "Dystopia". This marked the group's twelfth Grammy nomination in this category (including nominations in the discontinued "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category).

MEGADETH's recently completed "Crush The World" tour kicked off in British Columbia, with shows in Abbotsford and Kelowna on April 28 and 29, respectively, before making stops in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal and Moncton, and wrapping up on May 15 in Halifax. BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and ONI provided support on the tour.

MEGADETH's current lineup includes guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, Belgian-born-and-now-Los-Angeles-based drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who had played with SOILWORK for more than a decade before joining MEGADETH, Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was previously best known for his work with ANGRA, and bassist James LoMenzo. James was MEGADETH's bass player in the mid-2000s and stepped back in as a touring member for the 2021 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year". In May 2022, it was announced that Lomenzo was officially rejoining the MEGADETH family.