MEGADETH's DIRK VERBEUREN Says DAVE MUSTAINE Is 'A Total Badass' And 'A True Rock Star'

In a new interview with Drummer's Review presenter Ollie Winiberg, MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren spoke about his addition to the band a decade ago. Prior to Dirk joining the group, then-LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler had performed all the drums on MEGADETH's 2016 album "Dystopia", and had toured with MEGADETH when not otherwise busy with his full-time band. Dirk said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I'm not gonna lie — it was intense, as you can imagine, mentally. But at the same time, I would also say that the years leading up to that, all the work I put in, obviously as a member of SOILWORK and other bands I was a part of, but also as a studio musician, as sometimes a live session musician, those years prepared me to be in that position at that point. And so I think that's the biggest thing that I took away from it, is that, at the end of the day, the path leads you where it's gonna lead you. And I kind of embraced it at that point, and I was, like, I have to trust myself. And I did. So I think that helped. What also helped a lot was Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] and the guys in the band and the crew were very welcoming to me. They made everything as easy as possible for me and were very forgiving knowing that I had little time to learn the set before the first show. And so then progressively, of course, I had time to get all the details right. So that helped tremendously as well.'

Asked what it has been like playing with an "icon" like Dave Mustaine, Dirk said: "Yeah, it's pretty surreal. I obviously grew up listening to the 'Big Four' [bands of 1980s thrash metal] and to many bands from that sphere of music. And that was everything to me as a teenager. And so to be backing Dave, it's surreal. There's really no words for it. I mean, he is a legend and he is somebody who pretty much invented this style of music. The early things he did, he has such a recognizable style in his riffing and the way he approaches the guitar playing that is just undeniable, how much he was part of making this style of music, giving it birth and then making it what it became over the years. So it's a tremendous honor, and it's also super cool because he is also a total badass, as everybody knows. He likes to think of himself as a skate punk, and he has that spirit. Like the new single on our [latest, self-titled] album, one of the singles, 'I Don't Care', which that's Dave — that's Dave in a nutshell. He's got that attitude, and he doesn't give a damn. And it's great. I love that because I grew up with that. I was also a skater growing up. So, to me, that whole spirit, I understand it and I love it. And I think he's a true rock star — a true rock star."

Last fall, Dirk reflected on his first exposure to MEGADETH's music via the band's 1986 album "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", telling the Vinyl Bang podcast hosted by Nick Martin and Jeff Grindstopher: "I remember going to a little flea market in the town outside of Paris where we lived in a small town, and I just looked at the cover and I looked at these pictures… But these pictures of the four bandmembers [on the album cover], they looked so badass to me on there. And I was, like, 'I don't know this band, but I gotta get this. This looks killer.' And so this was probably, I'm gonna say either '87 or '88. So a few years after the record came out, so I was a few years behind, but at the time it wasn't so like now where, oh, everything is super specific about when it's coming out because it's all online. At the time, it was more, like, whatever you could stumble across, whatever you were lucky to find or get on a tape became a big deal. So it was a bit more spread out in time, I believe, before the Internet."

Dirk continued: "So, anyway, MEGADETH immediately stood out to me from other things I was listening to at the time. The vocals, the lyrics, just the approach was its very own kind of thrash metal, I guess, which I don't even know if at the time I really knew what that style was called. I just knew I loved it. And so that became one of my important albums growing up, which, obviously, given what happened many years later in my life, it's kind of crazy.'

Verbeuren went on to say that it's surreal for him to be in a band that he looked up to when he was still in his early teens.

"A cool story about that is that I saw MEGADETH on the 'Clash Of The Titans' tour [in October 1990 when I was 15 years old]," he recalled. "It was one of the first shows I went to as a young teenager. So this was in Paris at Le Zénith. And I have since now three times played with the band at that very venue. So every time I go there, it blows my mind because I'm, like, 'I can't believe I was here as a teenager seeing the band I'm now a part of.' And all these years later, to be on that stage is just, like [laughs], 'What happened?'"

According to Dirk, joining a band like MEGADETH is "beyond a dream" for him "because I would've never even dared to dream that," he said. "People will say, like, 'Oh, was that your craziest dream?' And I'm, like, 'No,' 'cause I would've never even dared to imagine that that would happen. I was just happy to be making music. I was in SOILWORK for 12 years before I went to MEGADETH, and I was stoked to be in a touring band and in an active, professional band that was making music I liked. So it's beyond — you can't even put words on to that, really. [Laughs] So when I look back at this record, and I remember I having a vision of going to this flea market and flipping through albums and being, like, 'This looks cool.' … There's a few other things I bought that day — I think like a HELLOWEEN album, and I forget what else — but it blows my mind to think that, wow. If you had told me at that time, 'Yeah, one day you'll be in that band,' I think my head would've exploded. So, yeah. Pretty cool. Pretty crazy where life can take you."

Back in September 2022, Dirk told Sick Drummer Magazine that he was "just humbled" to have been involved with the writing and recording of the band's previous album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" He said: "I'm just thankful to be here. That's the best way I can put it. I can't even say that this is a dream come true, 'cause I don't think I ever dreamed anything crazy like [this]. I was just happy to be playing drums and trying to make a living off of doing it, and [that] in itself was a gratifying thing for me. It wasn't always easy, and I don't think any good job is always easy; it was a struggle sometimes. But I never thought, like, 'Oh, I should be in this major band', so when it kind of just happened, I'm still kind of pinching myself to this day. At the same time, I have to say that I worked really hard my whole life. I've always been somebody who I think when I do something I do it one hundred percent. To persevere through the hard times and always try to keep my head up and try to keep learning new things, it's paid off in the long run."

He continued: "There have been times when I wanted to give up, like anybody, when things seem a bit hopeless. There was a few times I told my wife where I thought maybe I should just get a normal job and life would be a bit more simple and I can just stay home and not struggle to try and pay the bills and work my ass off 24/7 — no weekends [off], no time [off] — and just have a normal family life. But in the end, I know where my passion is and so I wouldn't give up. And I have to give a lot of credit to my parents and my wife and my teachers and my friends — everybody who supported me and my family over the years doing this — I owe it to them 'cause they've helped me so tremendously so many times and talked me back into doing what I wanted to do when it seemed a bit hopeless.

"But to answer your question, it's an incredible feeling," Dirk added. "I'm so stoked that people are enjoying the album overall, and I'm just happy to be a part of that. I'm happy to have contributed to it, because I didn't know, going into this, how that part would be. Being on tour with the band was one thing — you play the songs, here's the songs, it's cool. You get to know the guys, you get to know the way the band operates on the road. Now, going into the recording studio, or first rather into the band room and start writing stuff, I had no idea. And Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] said early on to us, 'Bring stuff. Bring ideas. I want your ideas.' And I'm, like, 'Cool.' I wrote some stuff. I play a little bit of guitar, so I made some demos at home, recorded some riffs, recorded some song ideas, brought them on. I didn't anticipate that any of my stuff would go anywhere, because, I mean, c'mon, this is Dave Mustaine we're talking about. Who am I on guitar compared to Dave Mustaine? .. I'm nothing compared to that. Nevertheless, I ended up with some stuff on the album. Like the song 'Life In Hell', which is the second song on the record, is based on a demo I wrote. And then I also have a riff in the third song, 'Night Stalkers', which everybody just enjoyed that riff and was, like, 'We need to use this.' So my mind is just blown 'cause I didn't anticipate that. But again, I'm happy I just went for it. I listened to Dave and tried and went along with his idea and proposed some things. That's the proof that you have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that you can do what you wanna do. And I did wanna contribute. I mean, I was, like, 'It would be cool if I could. Because this is a band I love, and if some of my ideas can inspire the other guys and we can make a song together, hey, that's freakin' cool. If I can do something else than just write the drum parts on the album, that's freakin' cool.' So here we are — it actually happened, and people are loving the thrashy direction of this record in general. And I'm not ashamed to say that I'm definitely a part of kind of pushing that envelope, because that's the MEGADETH I grew up with — 'Peace Sells', 'Killing Is My Business'; the next couple of albums after that, that's the MEGADETH I enjoyed that I saw live back in 1990 on the 'Clash Of The Titans' tour for the 'Rust In Peace' album. So, yeah, it's a wonderful feeling. I'm thankful every day, and I enjoy every single day we're out here [on the road]."

MEGADETH's self-titled album — Dirk's second full-length effort with the group — was released in January. The follow-up to 2022's "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" was made available via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin