NICK MENZA: MEGADETH Expected Me To Work On New Album For Free

Former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza was recently interviewed by Caleb Smith of the "The Sick Room" podcast in New Zealand. You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On why he is not playing on the new MEGADETH album after apparently holding discussions in December and January about a reunion with the group:

Nick: "I'm thinking [MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine] doesn't wanna pay anybody any money. They didn't show me any kind of love at all. They were just, like, 'No, dude.' Basically, 'You're not worth what you're wanting.' And it sucks it all has to come down to that; that it all has to come down to money and it's about the money. But you know what?! I don't work for free, first of all. And second of all, they made me such a ridiculous offer that it just wasn't cool. And I wasn't the one that said no. They just cut it off and then I was left standing there, going, 'Okay, now I'm not gonna do it, so…' I wanted an agreement in writing is what I wanted. They didn't wanna give me that. They didn't wanna give me anything."

On what exactly went down during the talks about his return to MEGADETH:

Nick: "Basically, I went out there [to Dave Mustaine's studio] and jammed with [Mustaine and David Ellefson]. We played for, like, a weekend — like, three days — and on the third day, we were working on new songs. And everything was cool. They were telling me, 'You're back in the band. We'll do a press release.' And I'm, like, 'I don't wanna say anything until I have an agreement, a contract in writing of what's gonna happen.' And then they send me this ridiculous proposal stating that, 'You're not gonna paid anything until the touring starts.' So, basically, I was gonna work for nothing, doing the record. Which I was still kind of ready to bend in that direction anyway. But I'm, like, 'You know what?! I'm not gonna break or sell myself short with something that's gonna be huge. They've gotta realize the longevity of it.' And then they were kind of coming back at me the same way. So the whole thing was silly. I didn't even get a chance to negotiate with them about anything. They just put it off and said, 'That's it.' And I couldn't get hold of anybody. Believe me, I wish I was doing it, but, hey, it's not meant to be, obviously."

On whether guitarist Marty Friedman was involved in discussions about a reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup of MEGADETH:

Nick: "We had a meeting at NAMM [in Anaheim, California in January] — the four of us [including Marty Friedman]. We got together with the manager, our old manager, and started talking about touring plans and making a record. Marty didn't say whether he was in or out, but I was definitely in. And, yeah, it just took a turn for the 'not happening.'"

On the current drummer position in MEGADETH:

Nick: "I kind of cracked up when I thought about all the drummers that have been in MEGADETH. There's, like, six or seven of them, and now there's another guy playing on the record, Chris Adler [LAMB OF GOD], and I'm sure he's gonna do an awesome job and it's gonna sound rocking. But who's gonna do the live gig?"

Speculation has been rife over the last five months as to whether fans could expect a reunion of MEGADETH's classic late 1980s and early 1990s lineup featuring Nick Menza on drums and Marty Friedman on guitar.

Both Menza and Friedman indicated in recent interviews and online postings that they weren't opposed to rejoining MEGADETH, with Menza saying: "I'm open to whatever could possibly happen. That's up to Dave [Mustaine." Friedman, who was also part of the band's "Rust In Peace" lineup, said in January that he "would not be against considering" a possible return to the band as the replacement for Broderick, but cautioned that fans shouldn't "get [their] hopes up either."

Drummer Shawn Drover quit MEGADETH last November "to pursue [his] own musical interests."