In 2022, after years of trials and tribulations, thrash metal titans Megadeth released their 16th studio LP, The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!, a project that proved Dave Mustaine and company still had as much life in them as their album titles had death. The album doesn’t just stand as a solid set of songs, but also as a prime example of perseverance, integrity, and — yes — banging riffs.
The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! followed a particularly tumultuous few years for the band, including Mustaine’s bout with throat cancer and the unfortunate circumstances that led to the ousting of longtime bassist David Ellefson — and yet, the music chugged on.
After setting their longest streak without a new album, the project arrived to widespread appreciation, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The vacancy left by Ellefson resulted in Testament’s Steve Di Giorgio playing bass on the LP, but former Megadeth member James LoMenzo rejoined the crew as their touring bassist before being named a permanent member.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything that is happening that we can’t handle right now,” Mustaine told Consequence in the video interview above before Megadeth’s set at Louder Than Life 2023. LoMenzo added, “The first time I was in this band, it was amazing to me. To come back a second time, to me, it’s mind-blowing and death-defying.”
As Megadeth continue to record and perform at such a high level, “mind-blowing” and “death-defying” come across like the perfect descriptors. Even as they continue to nab awards and dip into other mediums, most notably with the The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!‘s accompanying multi-part video series, Mustaine remains focused on one thing and one thing alone: writing quality, kick-ass songs.
The songwriter admitted to having little interest in gimmicks or overly-superfluous ideas. Asked if he’d ever consider taking the narrative thread of The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!‘s music videos further and write a full-on concept album, Mustaine offered a sharp and swift “No,” adding, “I think it’s a little limiting to take an idea and beat the shit out of it, make 10-12 songs out of it — I have way more to write.”
Mustaine continued, “When you have so much music to write, why have so much music and not lyrics to balance it out? If you truly are a songwriter, you should be able to do both. A lot of people here, even today, are musicians only — they’re not songwriters. Some of the people that are songwriters are in bands aren’t [even] songwriters. So, it’s always a treat to see people who are masters at their craft.”
For Mustaine’s part, he’s proven to be a master of his craft time and time again. The band’s recent recorded output and run of shows proves as much, and as they showcased on The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!, there’s just about nothing that can stand in their way.
As of now, Megadeth have a Latin American tour set for April 2024 (tickets available here), with an appearance at France’s Hellfest to follow in June. In announcing that guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari would continue to fill-in for Kiko Loureiro next year, Megadeth revealed they’d be touring extensively in 2024, so expect plenty more dates to be added soon.
Watch our full conversation with Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and James LoMenzo at Louder Than Life 2023 above, where the two touch on The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!, their opinions on the Grammys, life on the road, and more.
Trouble viewing the video in the player above? Watch on YouTube.
