MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine was interviewed on the April 4-6 edition of Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show. You can now listen to the chat using the Podbean widget below. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow.
To see a full list of stations carrying the program and when it airs, go to FullMetalJackieRadio.com.
Full Metal Jackie: When you look back on the timeline between records, there's usually a year or two typically between records. Are you starting to look ahead on when you're going to work on [the follow-up to last year's "Super Collider"]?
Mustaine: Well, we have already started the process of listening to licks and talking to people about working. The funny thing is, I'm not a big believer in coincidence as I think that's just people's way of saying that there's no powers greater than us that help line out our life. I totally believe in destiny. And we just got done doing the VEVO acoustic performance a while ago, and some lady walks by and she goes, "Hey, Max Norman [mixer of MEGADETH's 1990 album 'Rust In Peace' and producer of 1992's 'Countdown To Extinction' and 1994's 'Youthanasia'] says hi," right as the elevator door closes. I stuck my hand in the door and said, "What did you say?" "Max Norman says hi." "Max Norman? Max Norman Norman?" "Yeah." "Wow! Wow! Really?" 'Cause we kind of hadn't spoken in… Jesus… forever. So I called him up and said, "What are you doing? Are you still doing this?" 'Cause he had gotten out of making records and he's back into making records and I thought, "I wonder what it would be like to maybe try one song with this guy and see if we can catch lightning twice." So it's just neat to be in that position where you can do stuff like this, because I know how hard it is for bands to make it nowadays. And that's still the underlying goal for me, with my band, is to be able to bring other bands out with us to play live and see how great it is to play in front of some of the greatest metal fans in the world. And I'm not saying MEGADETH fans are the best fans in the world; I believe that, but I know that there's a lot of metal fans out there that, they may not like MEGADETH, but that doesn't mean that they're not great people. So, you learn a lot of crap as you go along, too.
Full Metal Jackie: Dave, many musicians, yourself included, have described an album as a snapshot or representation of where they are in their life. What are your life priorities right now? How do you anticipate they'll affect the musical direction of the next MEGADETH album?
Mustaine: My priorities have changed. Before I got married, it was just about myself and my band. As you change, as you grow, as you pick up people in your life, whether you're planning on getting married or having a casual relationship, whether you're straight or not, or whatever you do, you find love, your life changes and you start to have to think about somebody else. At least I would think that if you weren't a selfish prick, you would be thinking about someone that you love. And once you bring a life into it, again, whether you're straight or gay or have a child naturally or by in vitro or adoption or whatever — which, I think adoption is cool too — to have a responsibility like that totally changes things. [My son] Justis just turned 22, and he's doing great — he's got a great job, he works at our management company, he's in college and all that stuff. And go figure, you would think that having a rock star as a dad, you would be a complete loser, and he's not. [My daughter] Electra is doing great too, and as they grow up, I start to get my "Dave time" back. And I've gotta tell you, man, I'm loving this right now because I've been playing, I've been sitting in my studio listening to music and falling in love with the guitar again. Chris [Broderick, MEGADETH guitarist] and I just wrote some really killer stuff two days ago. I'm excited; I can't wait to see what this new record is going to sound like.
Full Metal Jackie: Awesome, so is Max going to be somebody that you think is going to produce the whole next record?
Mustaine: No. At this point, right now, I would say a definitive "I don't know," because we don't know. We don't even know when it's going to happen. I do know I have tremendous respect for Max. I know Cameron Webb is gonna involved with the record for sure. And I know that Max is a very positive, very hopeful question mark. But I'm a capable record producer and I know that if I did it solely with Cameron, as much as he did the last record ["Super Collider"]… He was one of [producer] Johnny K's guys, and Johnny had some stuff he needed to do and Cameron filled in for him really well, and we made a great team. So I'd like to have Max try some stuff, but if it ain't right, it ain't right. Hard to think that something that Max would do wouldn't be right, but times are a little different, and sometimes people grow apart. I'm hopeful and I'm optimistic.
Full Metal Jackie: Sounds like it's early to tell. You have so much coming up this year.
Mustaine: Plus there's so many frickin' songs too. I was going through all the stuff that we had… I mean, honestly, I have more songs than I know… I don't have to write another note for the rest of my life and I have enough music written to finish my career out. It's a matter of just weeding out what I wanna use and what I don't wanna use. And there's a huge library of metal riffs for other bands and stuff. That's one of the things we're looking forward to too, as I go off into another phase of my career, is doing some co-writes.
Earlier this week, Michael "Mick" McDonald of the National Rock Review conducted an interview with MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On whether MEGADETH will try anything new, stylistically speaking, on its next studio album:
Drover: "I don't think so. We definitely branch out to a couple of different areas, stylistically speaking. For me, I'm always an advocate for the heavy stuff, so that's usually what I present to the band — something a little more violent, a little more heavy and oftentimes fast stuff. Because that's how I write. Of course, MEGADETH has done so many different kinds of metal over the years, but for me, I'll always try to represent the more furious side of it, because that's just part of who I am, it's part of my creative DNA to try to write heavy riffs. Whether it gets accepted not, it obviously just depends on how it's going [with the writing process for] the record. We all have so many ideas, not everything is gonna make it. Case in point, on the 'Endgame' record, I had a song called 'Head Crusher', which was a pretty fast, heavy song. It was the first single, the first video and it was nominated for a Grammy Award. So you always try, but you just never know what you're gonna end up with. It just depends on how the recording process goes. But I'll always have ideas to submit, certainly."
On how music downloading has affected the record industry and rock bands in particular:
Drover: "If you're a real fan, you're gonna buy the product. And nowadays it's [done largely] through iTunes or Amazon or Spotify or things of that nature. But, to be honest, a lot of kids don't. And their theory is, 'Why should I spend fifteen dollars on something when I can get it for free?' You just go to a torrent site and you can have it [for free] in a matter of seconds. I think a lot of this younger generation, and not to generalize, [because this doesn't apply to] everybody, but a lot of people, a lot of the younger people, and maybe even the older people, they're, like, 'Why should I buy a record when I can get it for free?' Not even thinking of the damage that it has done to the music industry since this whole Napster garbage started over 15 years ago that's caused irreparable damage to the music industry. It's not debatable; that's a fact."
"This could turn into a really long and potentially depressing conversation, but it is what it is, and it happened. Until somebody can figure out how to change this, whether it's some kind of new format, or something that you can't… I think if someone could find a format where you could purchase a product and there's no way that you could copy it or get it on a torrent site, then that would obviously help the industry. But that's wishful thinking, I think, on my part. I just think the damage has been done now and record buying is slowly becoming a thing of the past. And certainly, to a large degree, record sales are down right across the board. You don't see bands selling 15 million albums, like DEF LEPPARD's 'Hysteria' or all the pop [albums], like the MICHAEL JACKSON records and the MADONNA records, I don't see anybody selling eight, 12, 13 million albums anymore. It's just not happening."
MEGADETH latest album, 2013's "Super Collider", sold 29,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart. "TH1RT3EN" opened with 42,000 units back in November 2011 to enter the chart at No. 11. The band's 2009 CD, "Endgame", premiered with 45,000 copies to debut at No. 9. This was slightly less than the 54,000 first-week tally registered by 2007's "United Abominations", which entered the chart at No. 8. 2004's "The System Has Failed" premiered with 46,000 copies (No. 18) while 2001's "The World Needs A Hero" moved 61,000 units in its first week (No. 16).
Interview (audio):
TheRockRevival.com's Matt Bishop sat down with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine backstage on the band's "Super Collider" tour to talk about the group's latest album, touring, and what's next for the band in 2014.
Asked what it means that "Super Collider" entered the The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 6, marking MEGADETH's highest chart debut in the U.S. since "Countdown To Extinction" and "Youthanasia", Mustaine said: "It means a lot of different things."
He continued: "People that like the record like the record.
"The public made their statement.
"A lot of people that don't particularly agree with my viewpoint, whether it's spiritually or religiously or politically, they attack our music instead of saying, 'I disagree with what Dave says.'
"We've gotten to the point where people are so vicious in the things that they say. Because they are not very educated and they don't really understand The King's English, they'll say words that are much more heavier than what they really say. Perfect example is when you watch politicans speak; they pick their words very carefully. And they don't have to go overboard and say, like, 'That guy's a fucking asshole.' They can say, 'Well, we question his integrity,' and stuff like that. Or, you know, 'Experience shows that this is the wrong decision to make.' And you can bitch-slap someone pretty good without having to get down and dirty with it.
"The problem is, with critics, it's their job — to criticize things.
"The fans spoke; they like the record.
"Obviously, when you're with a record company, they have songs that they believe in and they pick an order of songs, and all kinds of stuff like that.
"There's a lot of wisdom in watching the way record companies develop bands.
"We're kind of at a point right now where we get to, kind of, do what we know to do, and they trust us with it, which is really cool.
"There was just so much life infused back into the band when we got signed to Universal; just the writing progression… 'Cause when we first got signed, it was, like, 'OK, great! This is really cool.' And we started writing and stuff. And as that record came out and the subsequent touring and all the good that happened with that, the guitar playing started getting a lot more ferocious. Because we weren't really relying on radio anymore, because we're back.
"We're the most popular we've been, I think, since 'Countdown' right now. Record sales don't really correlate popularity, because of piracy and stuff like that. But I honestly believe we're the biggest right now we've been since 'Countdown'. It's a great feeling."
"Super Collider", sold 29,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart. "TH1RT3EN" opened with 42,000 units back in November 2011 to enter the chart at No. 11. The band's 2009 CD, "Endgame", premiered with 45,000 copies to debut at No. 9. This was slightly less than the 54,000 first-week tally registered by 2007's "United Abominations", which entered the chart at No. 8. 2004's "The System Has Failed" premiered with 46,000 copies (No. 18) while 2001's "The World Needs A Hero" moved 61,000 units in its first week (No. 16).
During a brand new interview on "The MetalSucks Podcast", MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine was asked by SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya's recent claim that "the politics of character in one particular band" were preventing more shows featuring the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — from happening in the future.
"I didn't say that [no more 'Big Four' shows were ever going to happen again]. I said that I'm not the one to ask," Mustaine said.
"I love Tom," he contonued. "I think that all the hardship that we've had has been really sad, because, again, the media and stuff like that sometimes…
"People back in the day would try and propagandize everything I would say or put this inflammatory twist on whatever.
"There was things I did and said that caused some problems between Tom and I, and we worked it out.
"So, man, I have no problem with him or ANTHRAX or METALLICA, so I don't know where that came from. It could be some really old stuff that got regurgitated again. But, you know, I buried the hatchet a long time ago with those guys."
Speaking to Gazette.net, Araya spoke about the possibility of more "Big Four" shows in the future, saying: "I don't want to say politics is preventing that," Araya said. "It's not the politics between bands; it's the politics of character in one particular band."
He continued: "We had an issue that came up on the New York show, which really freaked everybody out, but the New York show happened. I think, in all honesty, that was the last time we did the 'Big Four.'
"I think another 'Big Four' show might not happen. They could prove me wrong.
"Those shows, basically, even though it was called the 'Big Four,' it was done through METALLICA. It was with METALLICA's blessing that allowed those shows to happen.
"If they want to continue and do a couple more shows, I think that would be great… If we were to sit down with them and communicate with them, that's what I'd tell them."
The "Big Four" played its last concert on September 14, 2011 at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
Two days prior to the "Big Four" event in New York, rumors spread that MEGADETH had pulled out of the concert so that Dave Mustaine could undergo surgery for stenosis, a neck and spine condition that he said was caused by "years of headbanging." Mustaine eventually had a change of heart and decided to go through with the performance, but struggled through the set due to the pain. He later told NY Hard Rock Music Examiner: "It was very close, the day after that. I was supposed to not do that show. I'd been laying in the emergency room getting ready to have them put me to sleep, and I’d said we had to cancel the concert. And one of the people associated with the concert said I was a pussy, and I thought, 'I'm a pussy. I'm getting ready to have two major spinal surgeries done and I'm a pussy. Okay.' Obviously, you don't know what pussy is, because that's not pussy."
In his autobiography, "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir", Mustaine addressed the issue of where his band fit in the "Big Four" order. According to The New York Times, he assured the reader that he was not offended by being put behind SLAYER. But he added an interior monologue: "O.K., we'll play ahead of you guys on this trip, and God willing we'll do it again sometime in the near future and we can flip things around."
The idea for the "Big Four" tour first came up in 2009 and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio he was glad to finally see it happen. "It's pretty amazing, if you think about it, that it's the first time basically in 25 years or 30 or whatever that the four of us have actually played shows together," he said. "So it was a lot of fun, a lot of memories, a lot of fun times — new fun times, and fun times talking about the old fun times. So it sort of was a, it was a winner on every front."
In the spring of 2011, METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX were presented with double-platinum plaques for the two-disc DVD release of "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria", containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria leg of the touring rock festival featuring all four groups. The presentation took place on April 23, 2011 at the first-ever "Big Four" concert on American soil at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" was certified double platinum on December 17, 2010 by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. (Note: Due to the fact that the set consists of two discs, it was eligible for platinum certification after shipping 50,000 copies; platinum certification for a single-disc release is 100,000 copies.)
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard "Top Music Videos" sales chart in November with first-week sales of 22,000 copies. The set also debuted at No. 1 in Canada, the U.K. and Austria, while entering at No. 4 in Germany.
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" set features full shows from all four bands along with behind-the-scenes and interview footage.
