One of the more vocal and historically provocative figures in metal, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has gotten himself in trouble over the years for speaking his mind with little discretion. But these days, he’s pretty self-aware about what he says and how it comes out.
It’s not that he has anything more substantial to lose, he’s just more compassionate than he’s ever been — genuinely concerned about the effect his words will have on others. In this case, it’s former guitarist Glen Drover, who quit suddenly last month, leaving Megadeth in a pinch. Mustaine probably harbors some ill feelings about Drover’s departure, but he’s not about to say anything nasty. Instead, he focus on the positive, stressing how Drover’s replacement, ex-Nevermore guitarist Chris Broderick, is injecting fresh life into the group and leading it towards one of the peak periods of its career.
Mustaine’s optimism is a reflection of his good fortune. Megadeth are as healthy right now as they’ve been in a long time. Their most recent album, United Abominations, is their best since 1992’s Countdown to Extinction and Mustaine’s Gigantour could be the metal tour of the summer now that Sounds of the Underground is taking the year off and the future of Ozzfest is uncertain. At the very least, the Gigantour lineup — Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job For a Cowboy and High on Fire — is the tour’s heaviest and hippest lineup yet.
During our Megadeth podcast discussion, Mustaine talked about why Drover left, how Broderick entered the band, how he chose the bands for this year’s Gigantour, the recent resurrection of thrash metal, the disappointing absence of strong Presidential candidates and why you should fork out the cash for a pot of his delicious custom coffee.
Click here for a direct MP3 download of the podcast interview with Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine.
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