Megadeth has remained a vital element in continuing
to define and redefine the sound and the fury of metal music. When Dave
Mustaine met up
with David Ellefson in 1983, several months after Mustaine
departed from Metallica, the musical beast they conceived was Megadeth.
As co-founders of the band, Mustaine and Ellefson have devised a
musical creature that, with each new album, forges new ground and stretches the very
boundaries where metal lives. As the creative genius behind the music, Mustaine writes
lyrics that are pr ofound and that analogous to his sharp, cynical view of modern society.
"It's not like I am this frustrated bleeding anarchist," Mustaine remarks.
"I am just telling a story of how my life is. I grew up in a broken home. I was
latchkey kid. I want our fan s to have better lifestyle than the one I grew up in."
Mustaine's intelligence and talent, combined with those of Ellefson and
the other players who have graced the formation of the band thoughout the years, have
spawned authentic, raw, unruly music. "Our music is very stimulating, aggressive
music, that cont ains influences all the way from blue to jazz fusion to speed and thrash
metal", explains Mustaine. With intricate, furious guitar licks and heavy drums and
bass, Megadeth continues to reign as a premier speed metal band of the 1990's,
personifying metal music itself with every song reeling in ferocity, honesty and powerful
thrash induced rhythms.
Their meteoric rise to forefront of the metal genre began in 1985 with Killing
is my business... and business is good released on Combat records. This powerful debut
propelled them straight into a deal with Capitol records. Their next album, Pe ace
Sells... but who's buying, was released in september 1985. This sophomore release was
a veritable onslaught of pure aggression and went gold.
In 1988 So far, so good... so what was released. The album was
harder, more forceful and maintained an even punk feel, unleashing such monsters as
"Mary Jane" and "Set the world afire."
After the So far, so good...so what album, with Nick
Menza on drums and Marty
Friedman on guitar,
Megadeth began yielding songs, fueled by Mustaine's fierce intellect and supported by
superior musicianship, that spiraled Megadeth towards its best a nd most creative period.
"When the four of us got together and made the record Rust in Peace, we knew
we were on to something special," says Ellefson. "Since then we have really
honed our sound and we have learned how to write and record together." The unique
bond that resulted changed the face of Megadeth's future. "This lineup is more
successful than any other because the vision is the same," says Dave Mustaine, a
sentiment concurred by Marty Friedman who notes, "We are lucky because we are all a
similar age, have a similar vision and share a chemistry. When the four of us strap on our
instruments it just sounds like Megadeth." The four embrace a soulful commonality,
especially regarding what their music is about. "We are focused and in alignment with
what we want to do and how we want to do it," says drummer Nick Menza. "We have
always been the type of band that makes music for ourselves foremost. That is why there is
so much substance to it. It is not contrived. It is real. It is reality."
Megadeth
has done very well at bringing their music to new audiences. Countdown to extinction
was released in 1992, taking them on a world tour. The year also saw Mustaine as a host on
MTV for "Rock the vote" covering the Democratic Convention - a job which
coincided perfectly with Mustaine's penchant for political commentary and social
awareness. Also keeping the band in the limelight, the band's single, "Angry
Again" from the Last Action Hero soundtrack made a major breaktrough and
"99 way s to die", the lead track on the hugely successful The Beavis and
Butthead Experience compilation album, became an MTV and metal radio staple.
The release of Youthanasia brought Megadeth to new heights and
also to parts of the world never before ventured, including Israel and Eastern Europe. It
represented a departure in many ways for the band. "Killing is my business... and
business i s good" up to Countdown to Extinction were all written while
performing previous material," explains Mustaine.
"Youthanasia was written totally and 100% in the studio. We weren't playing
any old cataloged material. None of the past influenced the new record." The album
contains songs that explore the depths of Mustaine's darker, deeper thoughts and feelings
- songs such as, "The Family Tree" a song about child abuse and the deep pain of
lost love described in "Addicted to Chaos" while also delving into his inner
fear of nuclear war in "Black Curtains."
The band withstood controversy after controversy with the release of Youthanasia,
"A tout le monde" being banned by MTV for its suicidal overtones. "This is
coming from an institution that is supposedly for your mind and says that censorship is
un- American," says Mustaine. "We don't write music that makes suggestions of
taking one's own life. It's more saying - we have a problem here, let's be part of the
solution." The cover art for the album, decipting babies hanging from clotheslines,
caused a m ajor stir as well. "We never do anything for shock value or to get
controversial press because that is basically a pain in the ass," says Marty
Friedman. "We like it and that is what we wanted our album cover to be." Youthanasia
has gone platinum.
The band released a new album, Hidden Treasures, in the UK an
March 13, 1995 to coincide with the European leg of the Youth tour. In addition to a new
Sex Pistols cover, the album contains songs only previously released on complation and
soundtrack albums. A version off Hidden Treasures was released in Japan and the
U.S. as well.
1995 also found the band on-line with Megadeth Arizona. "We use it
as a communication tool between us and our fans. We are more accessible and more able to
communicate with include our fans within Megadeth's world," says David Ellefson.
On Cryptic Writings (1997), Megadeth's eighth album, the band's
unwavering conviction mixes with a desire to explore new territory, characteristics which
mark their career as true musical pioneers. Recorded in Nashville, TN, Cryptic Writings
ranges from Mega-rock (the melodic "Trust" and "Almost Honest" with
their relationships-going-to-hell vulnerability), balls-out powerful (the monsterous
thrash of "the Disintegrators" and the fight for freedom of "FFF") and
hard pummeling metal ("Masterm ind" and the edgy "I'll get even").
Cryptic Writings was written during 1996 and the last three
months of the year were spent in the recording studio with producer Dann Huff. When
Megadeth went in search of a cutting edge, not necessarily well-known producer - They
found Huff, the si nger-guitarist of hard rock's Giant in the late '80s to early '90s, who
was also a student of famed producer Mutt Lange.
"I wanted to take guitar lessons from Dann six years ago. I'd
heard a Giant record and said, 'Here's a guy who knows where to put the notes.' He sounded
awesome," Mustaine says. But Huff instead offered to jam with him. Recalls Mustaine,
"I didn't realize that he was a session player and what he meant was 'I'll give you a
free lesson.' So I turned him down." Now Mustaine wanted him as a producer and flew
to Nashville. "I never heard anything he'd produced or even any music from him
recently. He had really short hair and he got us lost driving from his house to the
studio. But I thought, 'He's the guy.'"
Recording far from home, he says, was the best it's ever been for a
band that has been nothing short of volatile over the years. "There was a
congeniality and a level of trust in each of us created an enviroment of cooperation. This
was the most painless experience we ever had in a studio."
In the time between Youthanasia and Cryptic Writings, the
members of Megadeth kept their fierce work ethic in full tilt. Mustaine collaborated with
Lee Ving of Fear on MD.45, the full length album, The Craving, on Capitol. Marty
Frie dman released a solo album entitled, True Obsessions. In addition to
contributing regularly to Bass Player Magazine with the column "The Real
Deal," Ellefson's book "Making Music Your Business" is now available,
published by Miller Freeman. Nick Menza put together a band called SOMA, which has
recorded 14 songs, played a gig opening for Dokken and has yet to release any material.
Megadeth touring plans for Cryptic Writings have the guys on the
road for much of 1997. After promotional touring of Europe and the US, and then
rehearsals, the havoc began in Mesa, AZ on friday, June 13. The summer of 1997 included
rock festivals such as the Waldrock Festival in the Netherlands, Graspop festival in
Belgium and Midtfyn Festival in Denmark. With Megadeth's dedication to their fans, they
fit in gigs at smaller venues as well. July through September marked Megadeth's return to
the US where they continued their onslaught from state to state, leaving sold-out venues
in their wake. Additional dates will take Megadeth all around the world where they can
expect to remain as the reigning beasts of metal music.
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