MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE: 'We've Never Been A Band That Was Strong In The Singing Department'

In a new interview with Greg Prato of Consequence, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine was asked how he is feeling about the band's current lineup after all the personnel changes the group has gone through over the years. He responded: "There hasn't been that many when you think about how many some of these bands go through. A lot of popular bands will go through lineup changes and sometimes it's really bad for the band. Other times, it's necessary. So, I try not to hold it against guys that are in bands when they have personnel issues. Sometimes, you just end up having a different perspective, and when you guys start off doing stuff, it's very much like a marriage, and you want to have the same vision — but it doesn't always stay that way. So, compared to some bands, yeah, we've had several lineup changes, but not as many as others have. And the lineup that we have right now, I think is magic."

He continued: "I can tell you at any given time, we may have had a period where there was a more popular person on drums or a more popular person on bass or a more popular person on lead guitar. But the magic that the band is operating under right now is so different. I mean, it's literally mesmerizing for me to take a step back from the microphone and look over and see things like Kiko [Loureiro, current MEGADETH guitarist] playing with Marty [Friedman, former MEGADETH guitarist, who made a guest appearance with the band in Tokyo in February]. And James [LoMenzo, current MEGADETH bassist] floating around the stage like a sage with his craft, and going up to the microphone and singing as good as I do — or better. And we've never been a band that was strong in the singing department. All of the background vocals we've ever had have always been the person at the time that was doing the least amount of playing or whatnot, if they could even sing the parts would go and sing. And to hear the difference between someone who actually is a singer versus someone like myself who is, is… I don't know, for lack of a better term, a 'vocalizer' — that has made me a better singer. And that was one of the things I was hearing every night out on the tour: 'Man, you're really singing so much better.' When we would see our friends that would come out and visit us – 'Wow, Dave, you're singing great. Your voice sounds great.' And I'd like to think I'm not doing anything different. But the truth remains your vocal box is a muscle just like anything else, and you have to take care of it."

Mustaine added: "I have to be careful when I eat or drink or if I'm around anybody smoking. That was one of the things that with smoking and drinking and everything, that gravelly voice — like Janis Joplin — works for some people. And then when you start having your voice clear out and get a little bit cleaner, and you start really hearing your voice — you have a choice. You can either say, 'Now I sound like a guy that can't sing' and stop smoking, or, you end up saying, 'I can do this and I know I can take baby steps and get my voice stronger, and take care of myself health-wise.'

"I'm almost 62 years old and I've got a handful of friends that are my age and they look like shit. I even question if they could do a week out on the road with us because of the grind that we're under. But it doesn't mean I don't love them; I'm just talking about the fact that I think we are out on the road working at such a high level — this lineup. And our outlook being so congruent that when we get done playing, it's like 'heavy metal calisthenics' every night for 90 minutes. You get back into the dressing room and cool off, and you don't realize, 'Man, I just sweat off four or five billion calories, and I'm really doing good for where I'm at in my life, where I'm at with my playing, where I'm at with my career.'

"MEGADETH's been around for a long time, and a lot of bands when they become successful and they start going off into that 'legendary status stuff,' they kind of get a little complacent. And I think that happens with a lot of bands, and it's not something you can cover up with a fancy leather jacket — if you're out of shape and you look disgusting, you're out of shape and you look disgusting. I think that if you're going to take care of yourself, then share that and talk about it. I've always talked about my health and my fitness."

Read the entire interview at Consequence.

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).