MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Says His Singing Voice Doesn't Go As High As It Used To

Richard Bienstock of Guitar World recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and guitarist Chris Broderick. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitar World: You've stated publicly that you feel Chris is the best guitarist you've ever played with.

Mustaine: He's such an enigma. What Chris is capable of doing and what he does are two totally different things. He could do a mind-blowing, over-the-fretboard seven-string solo for six minutes. But he can also play something incredibly melodic. You need to be able to play what fits the song. And that's the cool thing about the journey we've been on together: we've learned a lot about each other as people and learned a lot from each other as players. And when it comes to solos, especially for a band like this, you gotta think about it. You gotta really think about where you're going. You can't just do scales and sweeps. That said, the guy can do 800 notes in four bars if he wants to.

Guitar World: Chris, how does it feel to hear Dave say things like that?

Broderick: It's always very humbling, because he's worked with a lot of incredible guitarists. Every past player in MEGADETH has brought something great to the table, and I think I'm lucky to be counted among them. But as far as how I work with Dave, in a way he makes it easy. The type of personality I am, I like to have a direction and a path and to know what I'm doing. And Dave has such a clear idea of what he wants that I don't have to deal with a lot of decisions. I just pick up my guitar, put it on and play the songs.

Guitar World: As much as the band explores new territory on "Super Collider", there are also some vintage MEGADETH moments. [MEGADETH bassist] Dave Ellefson has said that parts of the new record reminded him of "Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!", and you can certainly hear that on something like the second half of "Dance In The Rain".

Broderick: Definitely. When I hear a rhythm like the one at the end of "Dance In The Rain", I start thinking about songs like "Rattlehead" [from "Killing Is My Business…"] and all of that older stuff that has so much angst to it. I definitely draw from that. I think there's a direct line to those parts. They have that same mood. That same aggression.

Mustaine: But you know, when I'm writing stuff, I don't think, This sounds like it's from this era. I don't have the ability to think like that. I wish I could. God, I'd go back to "Rust In Peace" and write another one! Because I was listening to it the other day and I thought, Man, what the fuck was I thinking when I wrote that? Because I know my limitations and shit, and I listen to the title track and I think, That was a lucky day!

Guitar World: Along those lines, you've been doing some of the old albums onstage for a few years now, first with the "Rust In Peace" 20th anniversary tour and more recently for a similar celebration for "Countdown To Extinction".

Mustaine: It's like a big giant circle. We were actually mixing the "Countdown" live DVD at the same time we were doing "Super Collider". And the interesting thing is, I was listening to those songs and thinking they're just as relevant today. Take "Psychotron", and think about all the stuff that's going on now with drones [unmanned combat vehicles]. So I don't feel that there's such a big stretch between then and now with this band. The only time I experience the passage of time is when I try to sing some of those songs. My voice doesn't go that high anymore!

Read the entire interview at Guitar World.