All images courtesy of 5bam Management


By Andrew Daly
andrew@vinylwriter.com

Leave it to metal’s ultimate thrasher, Dave Mustaine, to savagely snatch victory from the seethingly venomous jaws of defeat.

Some thought it improbable, others felt it impossible, and many all but counted him out. But after several harrowing years of uncertainty, Mustaine and his cohorts have unleashed The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, a whirlwind tour de force now screaming up the charts, decimating any brave soul who dares to stand in its way.

In the wake of yet another success, Mustaine’s attitude remains constant, sneering at skeptics as he handily evades ill-timed predictions of Megadeth’s demise. Instead, the luminary icon keeps the superstorm perpetually residing in his mind’s eye emphatically fixed on a future that now seems everlasting.

Stronger than ever and gaining relentless steam, Megadeth is spiraling upward and onward, locked in on a collision course with destiny. At the center of it all is the band’s founder, frontman, lead guitarist, and mad scientist conductor, Dave Mustaine. Between the revolutions per minute, Mustaine can be found side by side with his brothers in arms, bearing a menacing grin, ready to sink his teeth into anyone and anything that dares stand in his way.

Mustaine recently checked in with me via phone from his hotel room, recounting the genesis of The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, his fluid approach to songwriting, his longevity in music, and what lies ahead for Megadeth moving forward.

Andrew:
Given all that you’ve been through over the last few years, was there ever a moment where you thought this record might not get made?

Dave:
No, I was pretty determined. But when you put it that way, it’s funny because most people would think that if your viewpoint changes, then the record is going to sound different. But what it really did was it helped me learn how to do several other things that I had never done before in terms of getting a clearer sound that’s modern yet still my own. What also helped was being able to make the songs as aggressive as we did with no restrictions as opposed to having someone trying to stuff the idea of needing a “radio track” down our throats. Instead, we were able to start from scratch with every idea, and it turned out that we had several really good ideas just by way of the record company letting artists do the painting and not have someone else come in there telling us what we needed to do.

Andrew:
Many people have taken the title track at face value, assuming it’s about COVID. But as I understand it, “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” is about the black plague. Can you expand on that?

Dave:
Well, I would say that a person would have to be pretty fucking ignorant to listen to that song and read those lyrics and still think that’s about COVID. Initially, like you said, it was about the black plague. I had ideas about writing something about this back when I first saw the Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein movie that had Robert De Niro in it. They had some dialogue in there that impressed me, so I wrote some of it down, and I thought about it later on. Now, if you’ve seen it, you’ll remember that when Dr. Frankenstein is trying to reanimate the Monster, he explains a lot about the Monster, how it’ll act, and bringing it back to life. And during all this, the black plague was happening in the background, and people were dying all over. So, his assistant had this plethora of body parts that he had been gathering from all of the people who were dying from the plague. Basically, he would go out and collect sets of body parts, and they would continue their experimentation on the Monster with them.

As for the title of the song, it came from a few places, but the part about going out to get the bodies was a combination of Monty Python; in one scene, he yells, “Bring out your dead,” in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I had that in mind, and I combined it with the scene in the Frankenstein movie where there were actually plague doctors out there collecting the sick and the dying. They were putting them on the back of a cart with these other people who had already died and were on their way to be cremated. And then, there’s the nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie,” which is a pretty fucking morbid nursery rhyme, if you didn’t realize it. I don’t know if you’ve given it much thought, but what they’re talking about in that nursery rhyme with the rosey-colored rings means that you’ve got a disease.

And then when they talk about a “pocketful of posies,” that’s referencing the fact that the stench of the dead was so foul that these people would have to fill their pockets full of flower petals just to make the smell go away because they didn’t know what else to do to stop it. And then you have the line, “Ashes, ashes, they all fall down,” which talks about when the morticians or the plague doctors would pick up these bodies, they would take them to the crematorium if they had them. And if they didn’t have them, they would burn the bodies in pits; that’s the “ashes, ashes” part. So, there you have it. That’s “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead” in a nutshell.

Andrew:
Given the seemingly overt nature of the lyrics, does it bother you that people have made incorrect assumptions?

Dave:
Well, that’s probably why I scoff at people who think it’s about COVID because it shows that they haven’t experienced the record. It shows they’re probably too busy to have even reviewed the record, let alone understand it. I think if you’re going to review a record, you should get a chance to enjoy the thing and maybe listen to it once or twice, I would think. But believe it or not, that doesn’t always happen, so we get these ideas out there. I mean, maybe listen to it in your car, or try listening to it with your home stereo, even though I know that not everybody’s gonna have a great stereo at home.

Andrew:
To that end, what would you say the best way to experience the record is?

Dave:
Personally, I mix Megadeth’s music with headphones, and then I listen to it on my stereo later. I’m sure that people will listen on their computer too because that’s the main three places people listen – the car, a stereo, or with a computer – and I try and take that into consideration. This said, some guy recently asked me if I wanted to endorse his $40,000 speakers. And I just had to tell him, “No,” but he still wanted me to take them. See, to me, it didn’t matter if he was gonna give me a pair of $40,000 speakers; it didn’t matter to me because I knew that I wasn’t going to endorse them. I won’t endorse something like that because I know it’s unrealistic that our fan base would buy $40,000 speakers, so I refused to do that. And if you know anything about me, then you know how I am with endorsements; I’m not an endorsement whore, and I never have been.

All images courtesy of 5bam Management

Andrew:
How did you use the trials you endured while making The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! to your advantage?

Dave:
It’s hard to understand how I did it; all I know is I did it. I do think that it’s ironic that some of the things that would take most people out usually end up motivating me. I don’t know that it motivates me because I find enjoyment from it per se because I probably experience the same kind of feelings you do when the shit hits the fan. But instead of sitting back – as some of my peers do – talking about how bad the planet is, I like to get up and do something about it. So, there’s a guy named Henry Thoreau, he was a writer and a poet, and he said something to the effect of, “You’re either part of the problem or your part of the solution.” And while I’m paraphrasing, the point is that I’d rather be part of the solution than pile shit onto the problem. And that’s not only with my own stuff; I want to be able to share my experiences and my strengths with other people too. The good thing about where I’m at in the music business these days is that because I’m a little bit older now, I think I am a bit wiser too. So, I think it’s time for me to start sharing some of the stuff that I’ve learned with younger musicians that I like and respect. The way I see it is that there really is nothing worse than having to learn a hard lesson on your own. You know, there this old Asian saying that I love that goes something like, “A smart man learns from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

Andrew:
I liken you to a storyteller in terms of songwriting. With that in mind, how would you say that your approach has evolved over the years?

Dave:
I think it changes from song to song because of what each song makes me feel. Sometimes I’ll have a song, and maybe at first, it’s not really that exciting, and I have to sit on it. But then we’ll get in the jam room, we’ll start playing, I’ll change it around, and then suddenly, it comes into focus. Sometimes all that needs to happen is changing riff number one and riff number two around, so now they’re backwards from where they were, but other times is more in-depth than that. Initially, when we get in there and start messing with riffs and everything, we have to work on them to see what we have and what’s going to work. But once things begin to come into focus, it’s always a magical time when that happens.

It’s like when you’re getting an eye test, and the doctor clicks the slides, and then suddenly it’s like, “Wow, I can see,” you know what I mean? That’s kind of how it is with writing songs when you’re on the trail of something great. And when you get to that point, you can’t give up; you’ve got to keep working at it no matter what. Because sometimes I’ll write a riff, I’ll hear it, and I’ll think, “You know, the way this sounds; it’s not good enough,” and I’ll either hang onto it or get rid of it. But I don’t ever archive anything that I don’t like because there’s no point in doing that to me. If it’s good enough initially, I will either pursue it right then or return to it later.

Andrew:
What went into releasing “We’ll Be Back” as the first single?

Dave:
Well, technically, as far as the record label is concerned, that was not the first single. It was the first song we made a video for, sure, but the first single, as far as the record label likes to call it, is “Soldier On!” The other things before that, like “We’ll Be Back,” was stuff the band released on its own. Because I had talked with the team of people who had done the music videos for Dystopia, and we commissioned those same people again to do six videos for The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! And they’ve already got four done, with the fourth being finished just a couple of days ago, and that will go live on October 26th. So, that’s where the timeline for those songs came from. It was “We’ll Be Back,” and then the second was “Night Stalkers,” and then the third and fourth videos were “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” and “Killing Time.” After that, the next video will be for “Soldier On!”  

But we also already had one video for “Soldier On!” called the visualizer, but I have to say, it’s not something I believe in or wanted. But the record company had done that because they wanted to have that track out there in the public’s hands, and I told my management, “I don’t want to do this visualizer thing,” but it’s what the record company wanted. I didn’t want it because I think that it’s as lame as lame can get, honestly. I used to think those lyric videos were the worst thing ever created until I saw these visualizer things. In the end, I said, “Fine, but we’ll do a real video for “Soldier On!” when the time is right because it’s the sixth song in the chapter book. So, yeah, if you want to put out the single, then go ahead and put out the single. Do whatever you’re doing. More power to you.”

All images courtesy of 5bam Management

Andrew:
Does your vision for the upcoming “Soldier On!” video coincide with a particular theme within the record?

Dave:
I mean, I love those guys at the record label, but this is a project that we’re doing that has themes that make their way through the whole album. It’s got different songs and stuff going back through history, giving the listener a lot of cool stuff to make up their mind about, where they can say, “Hey, is this the kind of guy that I’m down with?” Because our mascot Vic Rattlehead is very much like The Punisher from the old Marvel Comics. I’ve always written from that perspective, even dating back to when I wrote “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due,” which was part two of my homage to The Punisher, with the first being “Killing Is My Business… and Business is Good.” That was me talking about Frank Castle [The Punisher], his job as a hitman, being a vigilante, and how he takes on crime with nothing more than a bad attitude and some gnarly street weapons. I translated that again in a second part with “Holy Wars,” and it’s come up again through other songs over the years. This record has that same type of storytelling, and I want the videos to reflect that, and you can’t do that with these visualizer things.

Andrew:
I suspect “Soldier On!” is another track where people may misunderstand its meaning. Would you agree?

Dave:
Yes. I think many people have taken that song at face value and think it is a militant song. And I don’t want to let the air out of anybody’s balloon, but it’s not. Now, I’ve always been reluctant to say exactly what certain songs are about because it could ruin the experience for the listener. But having said that – I’ve given my caveat – “Soldier On!” is not about being in the Army as a soldier. No, “Soldier On!” is about a person who is in a relationship with somebody who is just awful. This person is horrible, and the only way they will be able to persevere is to walk away from this relationship and this person. As the title says, they have to soldier on, get out of there and move forward. Like they say, turn your collar up against the wind, and when the rain hits your face, you just lean into it that much harder. It reminds me of that old Irish poem, “May the Road Rise Up to Meet You,” where it says, “May the sun always shine on your face and the wind always be at your back.” I feel like “Soldier On!” – like that poem – just puts you in the right mindset, and I think that life is too short not to have the right mindset.

Andrew:
What led to Steve Di Giorgio re-recording the bass tracks on The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!?

Dave:
Well, our producer Chris Rakestraw and I were working on the record, and there was no bass player coming out to my house because this was when we were just starting to put the songs together. So, I was playing the bass and putting the tracks down, and when the time came that we were getting the other band members out, by that time, the songs were pretty much pieced together. So, our bass player at the time came out, and he was learning the songs we had in a Dropbox for everyone to get familiar with before going into the studio. And he had recorded some things, but nothing was finalized in my eyes.

So, when the time came to make a change, whatever parts were recorded before Steve came in were removed, and all of those were deleted. Any music that belonged to anybody else during that period was not used; we started with entirely fresh tracks as far as the bass was concerned. I deleted all of that and discarded it because with all of the stuff recorded by the previous bass player; well, I just figured he already had copies of everything because he sent it all to me through Dropbox. And since we’re not working together anymore, I felt we should just cut all of that out and start fresh, and that’s when I brought Steve in. And I have to say that it’s wonderful what Steve did when we were re-recording the tracks. He breathed new life into them from a bass perspective.

Andrew:
What was the approach to the tracks with Steve, and was he considered for the open bass position in Megadeth?

Dave:
Like I said, after all of that was done, that’s when Steve came in. And the songs were so fresh and new, and they didn’t have any bass performances on them at all. And because of that, Steve was able to listen with fresh ears – and I was too – and basically, I talked to him, and I said, “Let’s go at this together, you and me, fresh and new.” I also made sure that Steve knew I wasn’t trying to kidnap him or wanting to poach him from Testament because I think that’s kind of a shitty thing to do. Sometimes people try to steal members of bands, and I think that’s fucking bullshit. There have been times when things like that have caused bands to break up because somebody’s came and snagged another member out of there. That kind of shit just doesn’t sit right with me, and it’s not something I would ever do.

All images courtesy of 5bam Management

Andrew:
What made James LoMenzo the logical choice to fill the role?

Dave:
James’s attitude, appearance, and ability are perfect for Megadeth. He’s got it all; he’s got the “three A’s” that I’ve always talked about from the beginning. Whenever we’ve held auditions because of some of the lineup changes we’ve had, I would always say those are the three things we look for: attitude, appearance, and ability. I mean, James is a great player, an amazing singer, and he has total rock star showmanship and presence. And I have to say, James has helped me and Kiko [Loureiro] both learn to be better singers, which I think is great. James has also helped with a lot of other little things we’ve needed, like, harmony parts within the songs, because not having somebody that can sing harmony parts has hurt Megadeth in the past. And it’s not for lack of trying; I never want to say anybody didn’t try in the past or didn’t have their heart in it. But the truth of the matter is that all my vocal tracks have honestly always been doubled by me. So, with that in mind, it stands to reason that if they want to sound like me, they’ve got to listen to me and then try and emulate that. They can’t just go up there and try to figure it out or say, “Fuck it,” because I’m gonna sing with my voice however I do it, and that’s gonna have to be good enough. So, one of the most profound differences with James in the band is that his singing ability is so much better than anybody that has ever been in the band before him.

Andrew:
You’ve been through a lot, Dave. To what do you owe your longevity in music?

Dave:
Well, I have to think that my longevity might just be stubbornness. I have been secretly hoping there’d be a day where James [Hetfield] and I can write together again. I think the world really does want us to do that, and I think there is a pretty good possibility of it happening down the line. I do think that it’s possible that one day James is going to come around and that he and I are going to be able to do something together again. I guess that’s one of the things that has always kept me pushing forward. I think it’d be good for Megadeth, and it could be great for Metallica too.

One of the other things, as far as longevity is concerned, is that some people have called me a “perpetual badass.” I remember the first time I heard that, and I thought, “Wow, that sounds like a Kid Rock album title.” [Laughs]. But I understand it because when you’re not willing to give up, that’s when a lot of people can start to draw strength from you. And there have been many of my friends who are tough guys, too, but occasionally, they need somebody they can turn to. These are tough, independent guys, but they’ll say, “Dave, I need some advice,” or, “I need someone to give me a hand here.” And the thing is – and a lot of people get this wrong – there’s nothing wrong with that; I do that all the time.

In fact, I do it through prayer all the time, I do it almost daily through my profession, and I do it with some of my closest friends. I think it’s a good thing to give in relationships because it keeps the relationship flowing, and that’s why many of the songs I’ve written have been about relationships. But the thing is that people don’t always get that my songs are about relationships. Like “Dogs of Chernobyl,” what is that song about? Well, yeah, it’s about a fucking nuclear meltdown, but it’s also about a guy losing his old lady. She’s gone, the guy doesn’t know where she’s at, and he’s facing this terrible heartbreak of somebody just leaving. I know a lot of people have had this happen to them, which makes it relatable, and I think that’s also a reason why Megadeth has endured and will continue to.

Andrew:
What are you most excited about as Megadeth moves forward?

Dave:
The holidays. Man, the holidays are going to be great. I can’t wait to see how everybody experiences the new album during the holidays. And we’ve got a bunch of great dates and tours coming up in the next two years for this album, so as we prepare for all of that, I’m just looking forward to keeping one foot in front of the other. Also, the next great thing we’ve got going on is the next batch of Rattlehead NFTs that we’ll be rolling out on October 25th. That’s a significant event for us, and if you get a chance, you should check it out. We’ve got some cool things going with memberships, store discounts, early entry, early access, early ordering, and all kinds of things you can get with the NFTs. So, it’s not just something you can look at, there are all kinds of great things that come along with it, and that’s gonna be out on October 25th.

As usual, we always try to stay ahead with our digital presence. We were the first band to have a website in October of 1994 when Youthanasia came out. Megadeth had the first website for any band, and since then, we’ve always tried to be on the cutting edge as far as the technology that is available to us. So, right now, it’s nothing different for us; it’s the same as it’s always been where we’re gonna make it fun and amazing for our fans to experience. It’s important to me that our fans can rely on whatever we do. And whatever we’re doing, be it our website, or these new NFTs, it’s not going to be like some of these other bands who release these bullshit things and just want to take advantage of their fans. We’ll never sell our fans out; some bands do, but Megadeth won’t.

All images courtesy of 5bam Management

Andrew Daly (@vwmusicrocks) is the Editor-in-Chief for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at andrew@vinylwriter.com

71 responses to “An Interview with Dave Mustaine of Megadeth”

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  19. […] Dave Mustaine has been making the publicity rounds to promote the record, and he recently told Vinyl Writer Music that he hopes to collaborate on new music at some point with Metallica’s James […]

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