MEGADETH's SHAWN DROVER: 'Like A Kid In A Candy Store'

MEGADETH is in the final stages of the songwriting process for the band's new album, which is tentatively expected later this year via Roadrunner Records. The CD is once again being helmed by acclaimed British producer Andy "Undie" Sneap, who produced MEGADETH's last album, "United Abominations" (May 2007, Roadrunner Records).

MEGADETH's forthcoming LP will be the group's first with guitarist Chris Broderick, who replaced Glen Drover at the end of 2007.

MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover has posted the following message via the "Forums" section of the band's official web site:

"Yesterday was a good day for me for a few reasons; one of them being that my 2009/2010 Ddrum touring drum sets arrived at Vic's [MEGADETH's newly built recording studio Vic's Garage in San Marcos, California]. Needless to say, I felt like a kid in a candy store!!! In all honesty, they are the most beautiful drum sets I have ever seen, let alone now being the proud owner of. I have to thank Elliott, Terry, Rick and all at Ddrum for going way beyond the call and making my 'dream kit' a reality. You can see my kit next week for yourself at the NAMM show, located at the Ddrum booth. I will be signing on both Friday/Saturday at 4:00 p.m. If that wasn't good enough for me, my new signature Ddrum snare will also be on display, which I will be debuting in a live setting on tour in February 2009.

"OK, back to Vic's-related stuff. Yesterday was a day of last-minute song tweaking, etc. before I begin tracking drums on what will soon become our 12th record.

"Sometimes it seems like yesterday when I was driving home from downtown Montreal on a Friday night, listening to 'The Metal File' on CHOM FM when I first heard several tunes from [MEGADETH's debut album] 'Killing Is My Business'. That was almost a quarter of a century ago."

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine told Revolver magazine that the band's upcoming CD will contain "stuff that's melodic like nobody's business, stuff that's heavier than hell, and stuff that's a combination of both." He said, "The way I write, I'll play a riff and tape it and save it. And if I don't use it now, I'll use it later. The very first song I ever wrote, 'Rust In Peace… Polaris', didn't appear on anything until the fourth MEGADETH record. Right now, there are about 20 songs that are in the making, and there's another good 25-to-30 hours worth of guitar riffs on tape. And I've also got a lot of old lyrics I've assembled over my career. Some of it's relevant to this day and age; some of it is stuff that, if I released it, would probably get me in a lot of trouble. Those songs deal with a lot of the anger that I felt when I was younger and reading things like [the 1971 underground manual for making homemade explosives] 'The Anarchist Cookbook'."

In a recent online posting, Mustaine stated about the band's new material, "I am more excited about this new record than I was with 'United Abominations' or anything in the last several years. . . I am not saying that this is 'Rust In Peace 2'! But I can say that the five out of nine songs I have arranged, I like and love them all, and every one of the songs has one or more of the strong points of me as a guitarist being showcased instead of me writing songs for radio — radio that won't play us anyway. . . This is really going to be a record that will make a lot of people that thought we couldn't do it anymore sit up and take notice."

Photos of Shawn Drover at Vic's Garage in San Marcos, California - January 2009: