Ex-MEGADETH Bassist JAMES LOMENZO Weighs In On 'Singles Versus Albums' Debate

In a new interview with the "Nothing Shocking" podcast, former MEGADETH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and WHITE LION bassist James LoMenzo commented on the recent trend of rock artists releasing new singles every few months as opposed to putting out an album every few years.

"I'm on both sides of that fence," James said (hear audio below). "When I was a kid — before I could actually play an instrument — I was delighted to go and pick up a 45. A 45 is, for you young kids out there, a little circular seven-inch disc with a giant hole in the middle… I loved singles when I grew up. I used to listen to AM radio, and AM radio was wonderful because you'd hear all kinds of music right next to each other. So you'd hear THE BEATLES right next to THE ROLLING STONES right next to Ray Charles right next to Frank Sinatra. And I could go on and on. And to me, that appealed to me — all these different styles of music coming at you [one after the other]. Now, having said that, as we moved into the '70s and '80s, when albums started actually saying things — I guess right after [THE BEATLES'] 'Sgt. Pepper's [Lonely Hearts Club Band]' is when you started making a statement with a whole collection of music — there was something almost spiritual about that; that was a church of sorts. You'd pick up an album and you'd go from cover to cover, and you’d listen to that album half a side. I mean, we used to just lay in our beds, individually in our rooms, and really get lost in these albums — especially when bands like PINK FLOYD came around and stuff like that, where it was really deep stuff. And that was an experience, And, like I said, it was sort of a religion. That got tossed out when MTV came along and lowered everybody's attention span — along with everything else."

Full-length albums seem to be a dying art these days, with streaming services like Spotify altering the way people consume music.

Even though digital downloads had a short run as the top-selling format in the music industry, they were overtaken by music streaming services just a few years later. As a result, an increasing number of artists no longer release full-length albums, but continue to issue singles in a time where iTunes, Spotify and YouTube are the primary access points for music.

LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group's studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame". He was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with returning original MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson.

For the past seven years, LoMenzo has been performing with iconic rocker John Fogerty. James is also a member of FIRSTBORNE, which features ex-LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler, singer Girish Pradhan and guitarist Myrone.