MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE: 'I'm A Free Agent Of A Fortunately Very Large Band That Owes Nobody Anything'

In a new interview with Amy Harris of The Travel Addict, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine briefly touched upon the band's plans for the rest of 2023. He said: "So far, it doesn't seem like anything is out of reach. We have the elusive Grammy that we were trying to reach for so long. That happened and it was really exciting. We've completed our record deal, our publishing deal. Everything. I'm a free agent of a fortunately very large band that owes nobody anything.'

He continued: "Right now, the world's my oyster. We're getting ready to look for a new record deal, new publishing deal, merchandise deal, all of that stuff. We got rid of everybody from our past and we wanted a brand-new start. New broom sweeps clean, right? So, we've started the process and I've never been happier."

Mustaine added: "It's funny because one of the guys I fired used to say 'onward and upward' and I got to say right now to him, 'fuckin' A, baby.'"

MEGADETH's recently completed "Crush The World" tour kicked off in British Columbia, with shows in Abbotsford and Kelowna on April 28 and 29, respectively, before making stops in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal and Moncton, and wrapping up on May 15 in Halifax. BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and ONI provided support on the tour.

MEGADETH's current lineup includes guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, Belgian-born-and-now-Los-Angeles-based drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who had played with SOILWORK for more than a decade before joining MEGADETH, Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was previously best known for his work with ANGRA, and bassist James LoMenzo. James was MEGADETH's bass player in the mid-2000s and stepped back in as a touring member for the 2021 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year". In May 2022, it was announced that Lomenzo was officially rejoining the MEGADETH family.

Last September, MEGADETH's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", debuted at the top of the charts during its first week of sales, taking the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 as well as number ones on Top Album Sales, Top Current Albums Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums. "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" was the highest-charting MEGADETH album of all time around the world, notching No. 1 In Finland, No. 2 in australia, poland, Switzerland, and Scotland, No. 3 in the U.K., and more.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

MEGADETH recently received its thirteenth Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" for the song "We'll Be Back" from "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!".

MEGADETH won the 2017 Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for the title track of the band's 2016 album "Dystopia". This marked the group's twelfth Grammy nomination in this category (including nominations in the discontinued "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category).

Image credit: Live Rock Music Concerts