Megadeth

Flytjendur

• 

  Megadeth

  “For the first time in a long time, everything that we needed on this record is right in its place,” mulls visionary Megadeth leader and musical architect Dave Mustaine of his band’s incendiary 16th studio album, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! “I can’t wait for the public to get a hold of this!”

  Released by UMe on September 2, 2022, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! further establishes MEGADETH as a band that has both defined and repeatedly redefined heavy metal since its formation. The album follows up 2016’s Grammy®-winning Dystopia, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 (MEGADETH’s highest chart position since its 1992 classic Countdown to Extinction).

  MEGADETH has crafted a record with a visceral energy, heaviness, and sometimes paranormal pace that few would expect from such a seasoned band with so little to prove. The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! melds the ultra-frenetic riffing, fiercely intricate guitar solos, and adventurous spirit of the quartet’s groundbreaking early output with the musicality and melodicism of its ‘90s songwriting, all laced with signature virtuosity and precision – plus, of course, Mustaine’s singular vocal snarl and wry, take-no-shit lyrical vitriol.

  Both defying Mustaine’s recent battle with throat cancer and celebrating his defeat of the disease, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! counterintuitively thrived on delays and canceled tours resulting from both his illness and the worldwide pandemic.

  “The fact that we had so much time to work on it benefitted the songs in the end, because they kept evolving,” notes drummer Dirk Verbeuren. “Parts kept being refined; the ‘ear candy’ and the little details just kept getting better.”

  After his departure from Metallica, having co-written many songs that would appear on their first two albums, the ultra-hungry 21-year-old Mustaine conceived a new band, MEGADETH, which would harness the cinematic songcraft of the new wave of British heavy metal to radically faster tempos, heightened technical agility, complex arrangements, and punk’s primeval aggression.

  “The utmost heaviest, ultra-furious band that I could come up with at that time,” he recalls. “When we came out, there weren’t a lot of bands that were doing what we were doing. There still aren’t a lot of bands that are doing what we’re doing.”

  Mustaine’s rare gift for guitar (ranked #1 in 2009 book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists), ahead-of-his-time sonic ambitions, and superhuman drive put MEGADETH among the legendary pioneers of thrash metal, known as the “Big Four.” Establishing themselves immediately with the release of their legendary debut Killing Is my Business… And Business Is Good, a series of platinum-selling albums soon followed, earning them household-name status. To date, MEGADETH has sold over 50 million albums globally, including the double-platinum Countdown to Extinction, and received 1 Grammy® award with 13 nominations. The band’s uncompromisingly fierce yet fastidious live shows have become benchmarks for heavy metal performance worldwide.

  Yet even amid this lofty legacy and MEGADETH’s prodigious catalog, The Sick, The Dying ... and The Dead! stands apart on multiple levels. Mustaine’s cancer was detected shortly after pre- production began, but he didn’t let that derail the recording. He’s a fighter. Besides his chemo day each week, he was always there! It’s also the first MEGADETH album to feature drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Testament), who temporarily stepped in to record the album–with the kickoff of MEGADETH’s recent tour, alumni James LoMenzo rejoined the MEGADETH family and is now the permanent bass player.

  Mustaine once again opted to co-produce the album with Chris Rakestraw (Danzig, Parkway Drive) in Nashville, reuniting the winning team behind Dystopia, which has scanned over 440K units and scooped the 2017 Grammy® for Best Metal Performance for its title track. “Chris and I have an understanding of what a MEGADETH record is supposed to sound like,” he explains. “And his work ethic is a lot like mine: we worked hard; he worked harder.”

  Featuring some of Mustaine’s strongest-ever songwriting, including collabs with bandmates, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! brings together everything that’s exhilarating and distinctive about MEGADETH. From the blistering throwback fury of “Night Stalkers” (featuring the iconic Ice-T) and first single “We’ll Be Back,” to the more mid- tempo and melodic “Soldier On!” and the very personal title track, with its enthralling twists and turns.

  As always with MEGADETH, every riff is meticulously fashioned to constantly crescendo, with new harmonic elements endlessly manifesting and every detail structured for maximum musical and emotional effect. Yet, through all of the album’s moods and movements, MEGADETH never loses the crucial groove that binds the band members to one another and the foursome to its audience.

  The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! is a relentlessly caffeinated, riff-fueled romp of a record in its technical prowess, ambitious arrangements, staggering guitar solos, and nihilistic yet eloquent lyricism. Acoustic intros and interludes, a sense of progressive adventure, and Mustaine’s trademark socio-political commentary round-out the record.

  “This record could easily sit between Countdown and [1990’s] Rust in Peace,” says Mustaine. “The musicality that we started to add to MEGADETH songs around Countdown to Extinction is pretty prevalent with this record, while it still has a lot of the aggression that Rust in Peace had.”

  Since those landmark albums, MEGADETH has experimented with myriad sounds, songwriting styles, and riff arrangements, forever pushing the envelope of what we know as heavy metal. But with its newer members providing almost a fan’s perspective of what’s made the band so enduring, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! encapsulates the restless musical hydra that is MEGADETH on one record like never before.

  The album captures all the tribal, bonding magic of being alongside thousands of fellow fans at a MEGADETH concert, even when listened to at home alone or on earbuds. It’s a motivating soundtrack to our greatest achievements and the solace through our all-time lows – or simply that invigorating album you stick on during your commute to escape to another place altogether.

  “People don’t make records the way they used to; they don’t make a whole piece of art,” Mustaine explains. “But I think the metal community wants to honor itself and have something that’s unique to ourselves – that sets us apart and rewards the people in this community for their hard work and their perseverance and their loyalty to one another.”

  Currently canvassing North America and Europe on their Crush The World Tour, MEGADETH continues to cement the latest electrifying chapter in a career that has constantly challenged and surprised. Their journey remains one of resilience, artistic integrity, and unbridled passion, leaving an indelible mark on the world of metal.

  “I don’t think we’re nearing the end, not even close,” Mustaine concludes.

  Appropriately, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! closes with “We’ll Be Back” ...

• 

  Exodus

  When we think of the phrase Bonded By Blood, we think of two things: a brotherhood that is meant to outlast the trials of war, pain, and time... and the almighty EXODUS. With a bond forged in youth and decades-old friendship, the undisputed masters of thrash metal return with their eleventh studio album: PERSONA NON GRATA due to be released early fall 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. Literally translating to “an unwelcome” or “unacceptable” person, PERSONA NON GRATA touches on themes of modern societal disgust and degradation. “The people that disgust you - cut ‘em out like cancer,” explains guitarist Gary Holt. “Who is that person? It could be anybody. That’s up to the listener. Who is ‘Persona Non Grata’ to them?”
  
  The underlying irony for many of these songs is the need for unity. “As we were working on these songs, things started happening around the world that ended up tying into it all, and we didn’t even know it! With the general divisiveness in the country today, and everyone being entitled to their opinions; I don’t agree with a lot of them, but I’m not here to be a preacher, either. We want people to listen to the lyrics and come up with their own meanings.”
  
  For decades, EXODUS has impressed us with the ability to attract opposing factions to their music because of its intensity and versatility. A track like “The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves” was inspired by the riots both in theme, and sound. “Without seeming insensitive to the riots, the song is tongue in cheek about what the people beating on the rioters were expecting to happen. Did you think you would beat a smile onto their face? At 3 minutes in length, it’s probably the shortest EXODUS song we’ve ever done. It gets in, gets out, and is just crushing,” describes Holt. While most of the songs do run on the shorter side, this album also comes equipped with crushing, epic tracks.
  
  Whether it’s the music industry gossip sites, or the big players like CNN and FOX, we’re all aware of how news outlets love to set little rat traps; “Clickbait” discusses their methods of picking things out of context to grab your attention, add to their page views, and increase their revenue all while riling up your emotions. “It’s all journalistic dishonesty,” explains Holt, “it’s a modern-day version of Al Capone’s vault, everyone tunes in, and then there’s NOTHING.“ Evenly balanced with extraordinary speed and tremendous, catchy choruses, “Clickbait” is a song that explodes with vigorous energy. “As heavy as this album is, and it’s heavy as fuck, if times were different and there was still metal radio, this song, and probably over half the album, has single capabilities.”
  
  Sitting as the second to last song on the album, “The Fires of Division” keeps PERSONA NON GRATA strong all the way through. “This album doesn’t operate on the normal parameters,” describes Holt, “we didn’t frontload this one, it’s strong right through to the end. It’s supposed to be a musical journey as the songs segway together.”
  
  For the third time in the band’s history, EXODUS returned to Swedish artist Par Olofsson to create the album artwork PERSONA NON GRATA. “After this album, I feel like we probably won’t work with anyone else again, Par just gets it,” states Holt. A three-faced, winged creature sits atop a bloody pile of diseased and rotting humans as they scream in pain and reach their hands up desperately towards the beast. Undead riot cops beat mercilessly, and senselessly upon this pile of the dying and the world is red with fresh, sopping blood. “Is it an angel, a demon? Is the world being created or destroyed,” asks Holt, “you don’t really know.”
  
  EXODUS don’t fall into the usual recording slump that most bands get stuck in. Gathering at Tom Hunting’s house up in the mountains, they avoided the need to book studio time or adhere to a certain schedule. “At first it was just Tom, myself, a half stack, and a drum kit; we call it jam camp. We lived there. We built the studio, we immersed ourselves in it. Number one, because we still enjoy each other’s company enough to do it. When we’re not actively rehearsing or recording, we’re still sitting there talking about the songs, working on them, plucking on acoustics until things really work,” explains Holt, “we’re not settling.” Working from three home-built studios, the band recorded PERSONA NON GRATA themselves with the help of Andy Sneap on mixing and mastering and with Steve Lagudi at the helm of engineering.
  
  “As a band, I’m super grateful. I’ve seen a lot of things around the world and we’re still a band that loves each other, have each other’s back, and we genuinely like to hang out with each other,” explains Holt. “Take it how you will, but I’m this band’s biggest fan. We write songs that are designed to make us feel fired up - that’s why it’s still heavy.”
  
  Line-up:
  Gary Holt | Guitar
  Tom Hunting | Drums
  Steve “Zetro” Souza | Vocals
  Jack Gibson | Bass
  Lee Altus | Guitar