![\"Megadeth-Issue-No27\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Megadeth-Issue-No27.jpg\")
MEGADETH<\/h1>\nMEGADETH<\/h1>\nDave Mustaine explains why these metal icons aren\u2019t afraid to take risks<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b>Megadeth\u2019s latest album,\u00a0Super Collider<\/i>, celebrates 30 years in the metal trenches\u2014and it will certainly satisfy the cravings of fans who feast on the band\u2019s stock-in-trade: shock-and-awe thrash metal. But it may also confuse\u2014and even anger\u2014some die-hard headbangers. This is the most melodic record frontman Dave Mustaine has made in years, and there\u2019s even an electric banjo on one track. Still, Mustaine\u2014who\u2019s the only consistent member of the band\u2014isn\u2019t worried. \u201cThere are people who take exception with this because they want to hear \u2018Black Friday\u2019 the rest of their lives,\u201d\u00a0he says. \u201cI feel for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Have you earned total creative license?<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t have a license to make bad music. When you take risks with your music and put everything on the line and it works, it makes it all worthwhile. I couldn\u2019t have written\u00a0\u201cThe Blackest Crow\u201d 10 years ago because I would have been closed-minded, and I don\u2019t think I had the skills. When I think about all these years trying to write music and having all this adversity, it tires you out. You\u2019ve got to ask yourself, \u201cAm I writing because I want to? Or am I writing because I want others to like my music?\u201d At some point people cross that line and have to say, \u201cIt\u2019s just\u00a0not worth it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What was your approach?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ll usually go into the studio and listen to a bunch of riffs and start piecing together songs. Then if there\u2019s a part missing in between the riffs, I\u2019ll write it on the spot. When Shawn [Drover, drums] comes he\u2019ll listen to it and play through it a couple of times. We\u2019ll try and get the take and build the energy of the song off the drum track. After that\u2019s done it\u2019s a matter of icing the cake with the bass, guitars, vocals and solos.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You selected producer Johnny K again.<\/b><\/p>\n
We do about two records per producer and move on, and that\u2019s been our mantra. We\u2019ll work with somebody and if it\u2019s successful we\u2019ll work with him again. In an effort to stay fresh, we always try something new. We thought it had worked and was successful with Johnny [on the Thirteen<\/i> album] and that\u2019s why we revisited that. Are we going to work with a new guy next time? Probably.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And you chose the same lineup as well.<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s like when you\u2019re watching a\u00a0two-on-one breakaway in hockey. You see the two players and they know\u2014step, stride and pass. Note by note they\u2019re synchronized. You feel that when you\u2019re onstage.\u00a0There\u2019s awkwardness when you\u2019re playing with somebody and they\u2019re behind\u00a0or in front of you or playing the wrong stuff. It\u2019s like, \u201cDude, do you really want to be here?\u201d The guys we\u2019re playing with right now are hungrier and better players than I usually am. So I\u2019ve got to\u00a0stay on my toes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How does it feel having reached the 30-year mark?<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a total blessing. There\u2019s nothing I could have done with my life that would have been this fulfilling. Having people come up and say, \u201cYou have no idea what \u2018In My Darkest Hour\u2019 meant for me. And doing all kinds of charity work with kids: Last year we brought a soup kitchen to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The fans helped provide the funds. People think I\u2019m this ogre, this unapproachable guy, and nothing is further from the truth. No matter what anybody says about me, at the end of the day, I know a thousand little kids are getting fed. So\u00a0you know what? Tough.<\/p>\n
\u2013Steve Rosen<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MEGADETH Dave Mustaine explains why these metal icons aren\u2019t afraid to take risks \u00a0Megadeth\u2019s latest album,\u00a0Super Collider, celebrates 30 years in the metal trenches\u2014and it will certainly satisfy the cravings of fans who feast on the band\u2019s stock-in-trade: shock-and-awe thrash metal. But it may also confuse\u2014and even anger\u2014some die-hard headbangers. This is the most melodic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[6923,6875,3133],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10320"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10323,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10320\/revisions\/10323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}