Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson (Above) tells an indie blogsite:

” … for those who really get ahead in the entertainment business, they have to have something unique for their audience.”

Well, Megadeth is certainly unique — and to any aspiring music biographer, they will be a fascinating subject. But Megadeth is unique without using parlor tricks or entertainment devices like, say, W.A.S.P.  Megadeth only used their music to gain recognition, and then later, success.

It’s too bad Ellefson isn’t still a member of Megadeth. He was almost as much of the face of Megadeth as Dave Mustaine. When interviewing Ellefson, he comes off as the polar opposite of Mustaine, too — level-headed, business-like, emotionally-stable. Mustaine can be intimidating right off the bat. Mustaine stares at you with a challenge in his eyes and a devilish smirk; whereas you can feel very comfortable speaking to Ellefson. Others may have experienced something different with Ellefson, but that was my experience when interviewing the two. And Megadeth needs someone like Ellefson right now to handle the media. This last year has been a deluge of very high-strung and damaging quotes from Dave Mustaine, as the sole media representative of Megadeth now. It hasn’t been good publicity for the band Megadeth at this stage of their history. Mustaine should have let the music (“Endgame”) do the talking. Megadeth’s music was always the secret to their success.

There are a lot of great guitarists out there, but being unique makes you stand out from the crowd. People who made innovations in guitar techniques also have their place in history. That’s why I’m going to settle the age old question: Who is the greatest guitarist of all time? Well, here’s my top ten.

10.  Randy Rhoads (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne) - He’d be a lot higher if he’d had more time to play material, but sadly, he died in a plane crash. Still hell of a guitarist. Best solo is “Mr. Crowley” and obviously most recognized is “Crazy Train.”

9. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) – What can I say. He’s Jimmy Page! Probably most recognized solo is “Stairway to Heaven”, but his best is “Achilles Last Stand.”

8. Slash (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolover, Slash’s Snakepit) - One of the most recognizable guitarists with his top hat and hair. Best solo is ”Paradise City”, but most recognized is either “Sweet Child O’ Mine” or “Welcome to the Jungle.”

7. Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) – Best red haired guitarist out there and one of the smartest guys in metal, EVER. Best solo is Hangar 18 but most recognized is probably “Peace Sells.”

6. Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Janick Gers (Iron Maiden) – There’s nothing better than having three guitarists on stage at the same time. The guitar solos are…amazing…seriously. Best solo(s) in technical terms is probably “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, but my personal is either “Deja Vu” or “The Clairvoyant.”

5. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) – One of the most innovative guitarists of all time… Pink Floyd is just awesome. Best solo and most recognized is probably “Comfortably Numb.”

4. Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield (Metallica) – Probably the most recognizable metal band out there because of the crossover on the Black Album. In the beginning, however, they led the thrash metal movement and their solos changed metal completely. Best solo(s) is either “Fade to Black” or “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” but most recognized would be” Enter Sandman.”

3. Angus Young (AC/DC) – The school boy! There’s nothing better than watching Angus moon the crowd in AC/DC boxers after he’s stripped down from his school attire. He’s one of the first guitarists to really put personality to rock and making it more of a show than a concert. Best solo is “Highway to Hell” but probably the most recognized is “Back In Black” or “You Shook Me All Night Long.”

2. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell, Iommi) – THE METAL GOD. He created what we know today as heavy metal. If he had never gotten the tops of his fingers cut off, we probably would never gotten the heavy, deep sound that he created. Very innovative and inspriring, and he’s also a hell of guitarist! Best solo is “I Go Insane” and most recognized is either “Paranoid” or “Iron Man.”

1. Eddie Van Halen/ Joe Satriani (Van Halen/ Joe Satriani, Chickenfoot) – Well, I tried to, but there’s no way you can put one of these guys over the other. Eddie is….amazing and Joe is just insane… Eddie might get a slight edge for being the major innovator in tapping, but that’s about it. Eddie’s best solo and most recognized is “Eruption”, and Joe’s best solo is “Surfing With the Alien.” Of course, everyone knows Joe’s most recognized solo, “If I Could Fly”, because Coldplay STOLE IT (if you don’t believe me, look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb49QuPLuHg). Fuck you Coldplay. You have no talent…

Ex-Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young (above) came out to claim that he couldn’t take Dave Mustaine’s bullshit any longer. — that Mustaine has been “dissing, exaggerating and just plain lying on some level about nearly every talented musician that has passed through his dysfunctional little ensemble.” Young says that he has kept quiet for a long time but a comment by Mustaine in Guitar World gave him the opening for a catharsis of sorts.

In what can be called an open letter (titled DAVE MUSTAINE: YOUR PANTS ARE ON FIRE!) to Dave Mustaine, Young let it rip on his MySpace blog, saying:

“Until now, I chose to keep my mouth shut, even for the VH1 ‘Behind the Music’ episode. And boy, could I have eaten up some serious air time with the truth about what REALLY went on ‘behind the music’ in MEGADETH. But it’s been well over twenty years and the guy just can’t seem to stop himself.

“Here [Mustaine] goes again, bragging in the pages of Guitar World about how he allegedly sings the solo melodies to all his lead guitarists!!

“Seriously, folks? This guy should take his comedy act on the road, if you’ll pardon the pun.

“I can’t speak for the others but as exceptional as all the MEGADETH lead guys have been, I don’t believe his preposterous yarn for a second.

“Regarding the ‘So Far, So Good, So What?!’-era sessions: Mustaine was nowhere in the building during any of my rhythm or lead tracking sessions. And since I came into the process at the last minute, there were also NO band rehearsals whatsoever. So when, exactly, did he sing me those solos?

“Fact is, from what I heard of his unedited ‘So Far, So Good, So What?!’ lead tracks, the guy can barely play his own lead lines, let alone sing some of the stunning lines that Chris [Poland], Marty [Friedman] or Glen [Drover] played.”

“Let’s be clear for the record: you were not in the studio with me during any of my tracking… not one song — not one second. You know it and I know it. You need to stop blatantly lying to your fans and in the media.

“Perhaps next time you look in the mirror with the ole’ ‘hello me, meet the real me’ crap — you’ll pause to consider why you feel the need to continually perpetuate ridiculous bullshit and belittle others in order to make yourself seem more significant or talented.

“You consider yourself a ‘genius,’ yet after all these years, you’re still not smart enough to comprehend that when you diminish others, you dimish yourself most of all — even as you clearly telegraph your raging insecurity for anyone with an ounce of insight to see. You may also want to go back and re-read the lyrics you wrote in ‘Liar’. Then consider the giant glass house you’ve built for yourself and put your silly little stones down, once and for all. At the very least for all the players that helped create all the success you now so arrogantly and selfishly enjoy.”

“Oh, and while we’re at it: you may want to stop telling the world that you invented the ’spider chord!’ Classical guitarists commonly use that approach and it is considered part of the standard classical guitar technique, you fool.

I guess it is more obvious than ever that Mustaine’s comment this year — about finally being a less hated person — is very, very delusional.

I’m thrilled to find out that “The Big Four” Thrash Metal Bands will finally be sharing a stage in one show. I’ve heard about the effort to bring all four bands together for quite some times, mostly all talks.

Now, here’s the completely unofficial news. The Big Four might be doing a “few” shows in North America. A little Danish Elf is surely thinking about it.

Metallica.com News
Slayer.net News
Megadeth.com News

Pretty big news for heavy metal fans!  The interesting story will be how Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and James, Lars and Kirk from Metallica agreed to tour together.  Now let’s just pray they don’t restrict their tour dates to Europe!

http://www.billboard.com/events/metallica-slayer-megadeth-anthrax-to-tour-1004053671.story#/events/metallica-slayer-megadeth-anthrax-to-tour-1004053671.story

Wow did you know that former occultist and Megadeath artist Dave Mustaine recently became a Christian after finding out about the New World Order, now he warns people about what’s about to happen

2nd interview with former occultist Megadeth artist… he shares his testimony on how he got saved and now his music is to expose the darkness of the new world order and spread the light of God’s Word.

He may not be a very mature Christian yet, but I’m glad that he’s changed the direction of his life and his music towards Christ and the Word of God.

(Above: Megadeth perform “Hangar 18″ in England earlier this year. The audio quality is pretty much what it sounded like inside the Beaumont Club as well.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Blazing fast guitar licks, double-kick bass-drum riffs and an armada of metal anthems: Dave Mustaine brought everything that made Megadeth famous to the Beaumont Club on Saturday night.

The majority of the quartet’s 90-minute set drew from its reign at the top of the thrash heap in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when it played before massive crowds alongside Slayer and Anthrax and was compared to Mustaine’s former bandmates, Metallica.

Although Mustaine had to rehearse the crowd’s part for “Head Crusher,” one of four songs performed off the band’s current album, “Endgame,” most of the time he was able to step back and let the mob rule the mic. The schizophrenic “Sweating Bullets” and outro to “Peace Sells” were especially lusty sing-alongs. The audience vocals were frequently clearer than Mustaine’s, which were buried in an abysmal mix that made every number sound and feel like brick to the head.

Snarling vocals aside, Megadeth’s other hallmark is lightning-fast, labyrinthine fretwork gymnastics. Although he’s yet to celebrate his second anniversary in the band, guitarist Chris Broderick was more than up to the task, ripping up the extended instrumental half of “Hangar 18,” tearing through the epic “In My Darkest Hour” and trading solos with Mustaine on “She-Wolf” and the warp-speed new song “1,320’.” Ever the gracious host, Mustaine frequently retreated to bang his rusty locks alongside the bank of Marshall amplifiers lined across the back of the stage while Broderick took center stage.

The rhythm section of Shawn Drover and James LoMenzo – Megadeth veterans with six and four years of service, respectively – guided the groove into “Trust” and held down the framework for the guitar pyrotechnics.
While many metal songs focus on war, Mustaine has never been afraid to get political. Megadeth’s previous album was called “United Abominations” and features a song called “Washington is Next!” The closing triptych revealed an interesting point of view.

“Symphony of Destruction” deals with political puppets propped up by a government bent on war. “Peace Sells” discusses disillusionment and hypocrisy of politicians who aim for peace but somehow end up perpetuating war. (The song’s refrain is “Peace sells/but who’s buying?”) “Holy Wars” started out as a referendum on Northern Ireland, but features several Middle Eastern guitar breaks and echoes jihad theory.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t war Mustaine wanted to talk about. Instead, he interrupted “Peace Sells” for an anti-Obama screed, blasting the president without using his name for selling the country to the Chinese and giving away civil rights. Mustaine’s solution was to “write my own (expletive) name in there” on the ballot come election day.

(It is curious that in the week following Obama’s announcement of an Afghani surge after running a campaign on ending the war, Mustaine would ignore these parallels for clichéd attacks.)

After peaking on the charts in the late ‘90s, Mustaine broke up the band in 2002. Two years later, he resurrected the name as the only continuing member, but has yet to regain drawing power as a live act. While the Beaumont was plenty crowded, tickets were still being sold at the door after the band had taken the stage.

If the stumble from stadiums to clubs frustrated Mustaine, it didn’t show. He took time before “44 Minutes” to express heartfelt thanks to everyone for letting them play, and long after the rest of the band had departed, Mustaine lingered onstage after “Holy Wars” to shake hands and congratulate fans.

Setlist: Dialectic Chaos, This Day We Fight, Wake Up Dead, Skin of My Teeth, Head Crusher, A Tout Le Monde, She-Wolf, Tornado of Souls, 1,320’, In My Darkest Hour, Sweating Bullets, Hangar 18, 44 Minutes, Trust, Symphony of Destruction, Peace Sells. Encore: Holy Wars.

Megadeth – Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! [Remastered] (2002, Loud Records)
Original Release: 1985, Combat Records

1. “Last Rites/Loved to Deth” … 4:40
2. “Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!” … 3:06
3. “The Skull Beneath the Skin” … 3:47
4. “Rattlehead” … 3:43
5. “Chosen Ones” … 2:55
6. “Looking Down the Cross” … 5:04
7. “Mechanix” … 4:22
8. “These Boots” … 4:42
BONUS TRACKS
9. “Last Rites/Loved to Deth” (demo) … 4:18
10. “Mechanix” (demo) …. 4:01
11. “The Skull Beneath the Skin” (demo) … 3:11

Band:
Dave Mustaine – Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Piano
Chris Poland – Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar
David Ellefson – Bass, Backing Vocals
Gar Samuelson – Drums, Timpani

Producer: Dave Mustaine & Karat Faye

Ah, now my Megadeth collection is complete! I had been wanting this one since the reissue… It only took me 7 years to finally pick it up! This is Megadeth’s debut and the album was known for having an incredibly bad production (Dave says he blew half the album budget on drugs & food). To right a wrong, for this reissue Mustaine himself remixed and remastered every song. We also get a few bonus track demos from 1984 along with a reshuffled track listing.

The album is a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I’m not the biggest fan of Megadeth’s early years but this probably my favorite of their three ’80s releases. Just seems more consistent and interesting overall even if there’s nothing here that can stand up to “Wake Up Dead”, “Peace Sells” or “In My Darkest Hour”.

What really surprised me was the beginning of the opening track. A PIANO ?!?!? Wow, I was not expecting that. It’s a pretty brave way to start off a debut in the macho world of ’80s thrash/speed metal.

“These Boots” is the band’s cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” with altered lyrics. After 1995, it was left off any future pressings of the album due to complaints by the author of the original song over the lyrics (who I should point out had been accepting the royalties for 10 years by this point). The song was included for the reissue because the altered lyrics are now beeped out. Kinda stupid and annoying. And by that, I’m talking about the song’s original writer and all the beeps in this new censored version.

The original version of this album features one of the ugliest covers known to man. Combat had lost the original artwork and they substituted the thrown-together plastic skull ‘n’ hooks photo that looks extremely low-budget and cheesy. Luckily, this was another wrong Dave sought to make right and the reissue cover is basically an updated version of the lost artwork.

Strangely, Loud Records was a hip hop label. As far as I know, this was their only rock/metal release. I guess they were considering branching out before they went out of business in 2002.

Highlights: “Last Rites/Loved to Deth”, “Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!”, “The Skull Beneath the Skin”,  “Rattlehead”, “Looking Down the Cross”

www.megadeth.com
www.myspace.com/megadeth

Mark my words…one day Dave Mustaine and the remaining members of Metallica will reunite for an album and it will be one of the greatest metal albums ever.

It will be like make-up sex.

Metallica – Kill ‘Em All (1988, Elektra Records)
Original Release: 1983, Megaforce Records

1. “Hit the Lights” … 4:17
2. “The Four Horsemen” … 7:08
3. “Motorbreath” … 3:03
4. “Jump in the Fire” … 4:50
5. “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth” … 4:27
6. “Whiplash” … 4:06
7. “Phantom Lord” … 4:52
8. “No Remorse” … 6:24
9. “Seek & Destroy” … 6:50
10. “Metal Militia” … 5:05

Band:
James Hetfield — Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Kirk Hammett — Lead Guitar
Cliff Burton — Bass, Backing Vocals
Lars Ulrich — Drums, Percussion

Producer: Paul Curcio & Johnny Zazula

My first impression when I heard this album was that I found it pretty funny how young James sounds. He’s practically a baby! No one can dispute this is a heavy metal classic and it’s a very important album for the world of metal just for the fact that it is Metallica’s debut album. That said, they did far better releases throughout the rest of the ’80s as their songwriting became more complex and mature.

There’s an innocent charm and a great sense of purity to Kill ‘Em All though. Metallica was just another metal band at this point, not greedy whiny billionaires meticulously over-analyzing  and calculating every album they wrote. Anyway, this album is speed and thrash metal for the sake of speed and thrash metal!

Of course, I can’t say egos weren’t they yet because they were and that is part of what led to Dave Mustaine being kicked out before even getting to record this album with the band. His raging alcohol problem was the major reason for the band giving him the abrupt boot, but Dave himself and others have speculated that given Dave’s natural-born leadership qualities, it just didn’t mesh with the equally headstrong Lars & James. Apparently, Ulrich and Hetfield were willing to co-captain the Good Ship Metallica, but didn’t want a third guy his hands on the steering wheel too. Enter Kirk “Go With the Flow” Hammett as the new lead guitarist just in time to record.

Mustaine’s hand prints are still all over this album with him getting four song credits and original bassist Ron McGovney (who was let go by the band for being too passive) gets one credit. “The Four Horsemen” was based on a Mustaine song called “The Mechanix” with a little altering from Hetfield and Hammett. Dave released a more faithful version simply called “Mechanix” for Megadeth’s debut. Dave says he asked James and Lars to not use ANY of his music for the album, but they deny that claim. Such drama, it’ll never end!

The album was originally released on CD in ‘83 by Megaforce, but the band’s longtime label Elektra did a reissue in ‘88, which is the version I own. I don’t even have the jewel case or insert for it. I was supposed to be borrowing this album from a friend and in exchange I let him borrow the Black Album. Well, he ended scratching up that album pretty bad and told me I could keep this one as compensation. That was 9 years ago and I still have never replaced that Black Album!

Okay, finally getting back to the music, there are some really great songs on this album but for me some of the weaker songs just kind of blend together. Very good release, but Metallica has done better (and a LOT worse) so it’s not near the top of my grab list when I want to hear some Metallica.

Highlights: “Hit the Lights”, “Motorbreath”, “Jump in the Fire”, “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth”, “Whiplash”, Seek & Destroy”

www.metallica.com
www.myspace.com/metallica

The intro to the new book  “Full Metal Jackie Certified: The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs Of The ’80s And The True Stories Behind Their Lyrics” describes the joy of vinyl — in a time before the Internet — with perfect sentiment.

“Listening to a metal album used to be an event. Without the digital availability of information on the Internet, hearing an album for the first time was the single source of make-believe, a direct connection to the imagination. Fans would slit the shrink wrap and carefully slide the vinyl LP from the cardboard cover. The paper sleeve would rest in cross-legged laps while the listener absorbed the lyrics, word for word, studying them and staring at the photographs and artwork to make the songs come alive in their mind’s eye.”

Of course, this could be describing any album. And the experience is just not the same with a new CD.

There is also a foreward by Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine. Who could be a better person to describe those metal times than Dave Mustaine? Maybe Lars Ulrich. But, post-Napster, it comes out better from Dave Mustaine.

One other thing: that’s a fantastic photo by Mark Weiss of Rob Halford and KK Downing on the cover (cropped, of course, just right) of Full Metal Jackie Certified.

Todo mundo sabe (tá, todo mundo não, só os metaleiros por dentro das fofocas) da antiga “rixa” entre Megadeth e Slayer. E todo mundo já tá careca de saber que Dave Mustaine e Kerry King se amam, mas esse ano o amor pegou fogo quando eles saíram juntos em turnê no Canadá (a Canadian Carnage) e irá entrar em combustão ano que vem quando iniciarem a American Carnage, que conta com o Testament de brinde.

Todo mundo especulou sobre uma turnê dos “Big Four” do Thrash Metal (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer e Anthrax), o que não rolou, mas essa turnê vai ser foda de qualquer jeito (pena que não pretendem nem passar pela fronteira do México).

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has posted the following message in the “Forums” section of the band’s official web site:

“I hope that everyone that is in a band and has been watching how things have transpired are taking notes. This record [MEGADETH's 'Endgame'] has been out for weeks and weeks, and no radio play from the radio person at Roadrunner [Records, MEGADETH's record label], nothing. Zero.

“But that should be expected; this is the same guy I HAD TO ASK to get me interviews. Talk about a Gomer moment!

“Now, I am going to be forced to rely on my own radio station to play MEGADETH, but that’s OK, I seem to be doing the label’s job every day, in every city, and I am used to it after these last two records.

“I am waiting to talk to the owner of Roadrunner, and all I ask is that you pray that this guy has even a modicum of respect for me and how hard I have been working for him. And he gets the lion’s share of the revenue, while I get news that with the best record I have recorded in decades has now dropped off of the charts.

More here: MEGADETH’s MUSTAINE On ROADRUNNER: I Seem To Be Doing The Label’s Job Every Day, In Every City - Nov. 19, 2009

I’m heading out on a short vacation; so no major blogs for the next few days… next concert is The Swell Season next Monday.  For the time being, there’s a new tour hitting the road next winter… Megadeth, Slayer and special guests Testament!  Holy cow!!! I’ve seen all three of these bands before, but it’s been a while – and I’ve never seen them at the same time.   I’ll be at the Portland show, if ticket sales serve me well…

JANUARY 2010
18  WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA
19  Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
21  Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA
22  Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA
23  Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
25  Magness Arena, Denver, CO
26  Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM
27  El Paso Coliseum, El Paso, TX
29  Verizon Wireless, Houston, TX
31  Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN

FEBRUARY
1  Gwinnett Arena, Duluth, GA
2  Broadbent Arena, Louisville, KY
4  Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN
5  UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
6  Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI
9  Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT
11  Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ
12  Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY
13  Susquehanna Center, Camden, NJ
14  Tsongas Arena, Lowell, MA
16  Pavillon de La Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC
18  John Labatt Centre, London, ON
19  Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
20  Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
22  Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB
23  Metro Centre, Halifax, NS

~Dan – np: Dizzy Gillespie – Professor Bebop

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has posted the following message in the “Forums” section of the band’s official web site:

“It has been harder thank drinking a twelve-pack of Meisterbrau and not going pee than to keep this tour info [referring to the upcoming 'American Carnage' tour featuring MEGADETH, SLAYER and TESTAMENT] inside. And now you know and I can relax!

“It is true, as I said in my posts and columns, and as you can see . . . all of the clues were there. All that is left is sending positive vibes Tom’s [Araya, SLAYER bassist/vocalist] way to assist in his rehabilitating his back, and then, as I like to say, this one ain’t over till the fat lady dies!

“Let us remember also that we are out with a very exciting package for just this short, very short run, and we are specifically coming to these less traveled cities to bring MEGADETH metal everywhere we can, and we wanted to see you and you to see us before the end of the year. We have Bay Area heroes MACHINE HEAD out with us, and this tour is really intense. As you can hear at Megadeth Radio, MACHINE HEAD has some fantastic metal songs and some of the heaviest stuff we play on Megs Radio.

More here: DAVE MUSTAINE: I Have Some Massive News About A Music Project For Me And MEGADETH - Nov. 17, 2009

BigHead: O site TheLiveLine.com está sorteando uma caixa Marshall assinada por nada mais nada menos do que Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), como qualquer pessoa de qualquer país pode participar… que mal teria ser escrever para ver no que dá?? é só clicar aqui, preencher o formulário e torcer pelo improvável.. Hahahahaha.

Lembrando que a produtora Raio Lazer confirmou o show do Megadeth para março do ano que vem, estou esperando sair no site oficial… mas como esse ano de 2009 a produtora trouxe o Iron Maiden na raça, então confio plenamente nas palavras dela. Assim que tiver  a data de Recife e as demais datas confirmadas pelo Brasil postarei aqui.

Long Live.. \,,/

SLAYER

MEGADETH

——-
——-

En este episodio salen temas de grupos que han sacado álbumes este año. Ya que llegamos al fin de año quiero repasar álbumes, o artistas que en muchos casos no he puesto en otros episodios. Como los siguientes:

Heaven & Hell
Slayer
Chimaira
The Haunted
Kreator
Static-X
Mudvayne
Fear Factory
Dope
Sister Sin
Lacuna Coil
Marilyn Manson
Rob Zombie
God Forbid

También se habla sobre lo siguiente:
The Devil You Know, World Painted Blood, Megadeth, Tom Araya, Rob Arnold, The Elite, The Infection, Versus, Thrash, Cult Of Static, Tony Campos, Prong, Wayne Static, Dave Mustaine, The New Game, Arkaea, Mechanize, Zakk Wylde, Ozzy Osbourne, No Regrets, Motorhead, Switchblade Serinade, I Like It, Lamb Of God, Shadow Life, The High End Of The Low, Kobetasonik, Kerry King, Fox News, Halloween, George Bush, Doc Coyle, Earthblood

El podcast se puede descargar en formato que prefiere desde aquí:

O escucha online aquí:

Released on the 9th September, Endgame is Megadeth’s 12 studio album. It’s the first album since the 2008 departure of guitarist Glen Drover, he was replaced by Chris Broderick. Somehow this release missed my radar until two weeks ago, which explains the late review.

There really isn’t that much to say about this latest offering from Megadeth.They haven’t tried to break into any new ground with this album, not that this is a bad thing. It’s just another good Megadeth album.  The guitar solos are amazing as usual, but this is almost a given.

It would have been easier to write this review if Dave Mustaine had screwed up in someway. Then I would have been able to rip into it and talk about their good old days. But no, selfishly they’ve just released a good album. One that if you’re a Megadeth fan, you will love.

By Brian M. Howle

Every heavy metal musician strives for one thing from the first time they hear that first intoxicating, addictive chord, measure, or lyric – to be in a band that breaks through the unmerciful world of music oblivion and then zooms to world-wide adulation and insane quadruple-Platinum sales. So just imagine that you’ve paid a lot of dues, honed your skills and hooked up with such a group – and then just as they teeter on the threshold of superstardom and a seminal debut album – you get fired and sent home on a Greyhound bus – cross country. Alone. What would you do?

Well, if you were Dave Mustaine, you’d just go out and form your own legendary, iconic heavy-metal thrash band, and you’d name it Megadeth. Which is an amazing coinky dink, because Megadeth – with opening acts Machine Head, Suicide Silence and Arcanium – comes to House Of Blues in North Myrtle Beach, SC on Saturday, November 28, 2009.

Here’s a little info on the band and their latest release, for which they are touring in support of for this visit:

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1983. Founded by Dave Mustaine following his departure from Metallica, the band has since released twelve studio albums, six live albums, two EPs, twenty six singles, thirty-two music videos, and three compilations.

As a pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Megadeth rose to international fame in the 1980s, but experienced numerous line-up changes, due partly to the band’s notorious substance abuse problems. From 1983 to 2002, Mustaine and bassist Dave Ellefson were the only continuous members of the band. After finding sobriety and securing a stable line-up, Megadeth went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums, including the platinum-selling landmark Rust in Peace in 1990 and the Grammy nominated, multi-platinum Countdown to Extinction in 1992. Megadeth disbanded in 2002 after Mustaine suffered a severe nerve injury to his left arm. However, following extensive physical therapy, Mustaine reformed the band in 2004 and released The System Has Failed, followed by United Abominations in 2007; the albums debuted on the Billboard Top 200 chart at #18 and #8, respectively.

Megadeth is known for a distinctive guitar style, often involving complex, intricate musical passages, and trade off guitar solos. Mustaine is also known for his original “snarling” vocal style, as well as his recurring lyrical themes, often involving politics, war, addiction, and personal relationships.

Megadeth has had some commercial success worldwide and has sold more than 20 million albums, with six consecutive albums being certified platinum in the USA. The band has also received great critical acclaim with seven consecutive Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance. In the band’s 24 active years, Megadeth has had 20 official members, with Dave Mustaine remaining as the driving force, main songwriter, and sole original member following the end of his musical partnership with David Ellefson in 2002, due to personal disagreements. In the mid-late 1980s, Megadeth were one of the “Big Four of Thrash,” along with Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, who were responsible for creating, developing and popularizing the thrash metal sub-genre.

As Megadeth’s primary lyricist, Mustaine is known for his often controversial, political, and more recently, personal lyrics. War and nuclear war are common topics, including the military-industrial complex (“Architecture of Aggression”, “Hangar 18”, “Return to Hangar” “Take No Prisoners”), and the aftermath of war (“Dawn Patrol” “Ashes In Your Mouth”). The name Megadeth is a deliberate misspelling of the word megadeath, a term coined in 1953 by RAND military strategist Herman Kahn to describe one million deaths, popularized in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War. Politics are also a common theme to many Megadeth songs, such as Mustaine’s scathing assessment of Tipper Gore, the PMRC, and music censorship in the song “Hook In Mouth”. Mustaine takes an environmentalist stance in “Countdown to Extinction” and “Dawn Patrol”, and shuns dictators in songs like “Warhorse”, and “Symphony of Destruction”. The UN is criticized for its ineffectiveness in “United Abominations”. Mustaine’s general cynicism regarding politics shines through on tracks like “Peace Sells”, “The World Needs A Hero” and “Blackmail the Universe”.

Controversial and misunderstood lyrics have also caused problems for the band, as the music video for “In My Darkest Hour” was banned from MTV in 1988 when the music channel deemed the song to be pro-suicide. The music video for “À Tout le Monde” was later banned by MTV, again wrongly interpreted as being pro- suicide, when in fact it was written from the perspective of a dying man, saying his last words to his loved ones

Addiction is also a common theme, as in “Use the Man”, “Burnt Ice”, and “Addicted to Chaos”, about a former substance abuse counselor who died of a drug overdose. Recently, some lyrics have taken on religious themes, such as “Never Walk Alone… A Call to Arms”, which supposedly is about Mustaine’s relationship with God, and “Shadow of Deth”, with spoken lyrics taken directly from Psalm 23 of the King James Bible.

Dave Mustaine is notorious for making inflammatory statements in the press, usually regarding feuds and problems with former bandmates and other bands, including Slayer and Metallica. Perhaps most well known is his long standing feud with Metallica members James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, stemming from his ejection from the band, and the method in which it was conducted, as well as disagreements on songwriting credits.

In April 1988, at a concert in Antrim, Northern Ireland, Mustaine “unknowingly” dedicated the final song to the IRA. Before the final song, “Anarchy in the UK”, Mustaine said, “This one’s for The Cause!”. A fight amongst the audience ensued, as Protestants took offense and, according to Mustaine, the band had to travel in a “bulletproof bus” for the remainder of the tour of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Mustaine later alleged that he had been misled as to the meaning of the expression “the cause” by T-Shirt bootleggers outside the venue where they were performing. This incident served as inspiration for one of Megadeth’s most well-known songs, “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”.

Also sparking minor controversy was Mustaine’s announcement that Megadeth will not play certain songs live anymore, due to Mustaine’s new identification as a Christian. In recent years Dave Mustaine has become a Born again Christian. In May 2005 Mustaine also allegedly threatened to cancel shows in Greece and Israel with extreme metal bands Rotting Christ and Dissection, due to the bands’ perceived anti-Christian beliefs, which in turn caused the two bands to cancel their appearances.

With over 25 million albums sold worldwide, ten top 40 albums (including 5 top 10 albums), 18 top 40 Mainstream Rock singles, and seven Grammy nominations, Megadeth remains one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time. Of the “Big Four” thrash metal bands (Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer), Megadeth is second only to Metallica in sales and commercial success.

As an early pioneer of thrash metal, Megadeth helped pave the way for the burgeoning extreme metal movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and is often cited as an influence by later metal acts, including Pantera, Arch Enemy, Lamb of God, and In Flames.

Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? is considered a landmark in the history of thrash metal, with Allmusic calling the album “One of the most influential metal albums of its decade, and certainly one of the few truly definitive thrash albums,” as well as “one of the best beginning-to-end metal albums ever”. In May 2006 VH1 ranked “Peace Sells” #11 on the 40 Greatest Metal Songs of all time countdown. In addition to this, Rust In Peace was named the 3rd greatest thrash metal album of all time by Metal Hammer magazine. Peace Sells…But Who’s buying? was placed 11th. In 2004, Guitar World magazine ranked Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman together at #19 on the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time.

The current lineup for Megadeth is: Dave Mustaine – lead vocals, guitar (1983–present); Chris Broderick – guitar, backing vocals (2008–present); James Lomenzo – bass guitar, backing vocals (2006–present); and, Shawn Drover – drums, percussion (2004–present)

Endgame is the twelfth studio album by Megadeth. Released on September 9, 2009, it is the first album featuring guitarist Chris Broderick following Glen Drover’s departure in 2008.

The first preview of any song off Endgame was a six-minute video featuring the band’s English producer Andy Sneap describing the process of mixing the new Megadeth track “Head Crusher” at his studio in Derbyshire, England. In the video, Sneap says, “It’s certainly old-school Megadeth — that’s what I like.” Endgame was recorded at the band’s own personal studio, aptly named Vic’s Garage, in San Marcos, California USA.

Endgame received highly positive reviews and was thought of continuing the success from the band’s 2007 album United Abominations. Chad Bowar, About.com reviewer, stated, “Megadeth is still at the top of their game. Endgame has some old-school moments, but also modern ones. 2007’s United Abominations garnered a lot of critical praise and was on many year-end best of lists that year… Endgame is even better.” Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic stated, “…and company’s second release for Roadrunner, Endgame, whose title apparently refers to “coming full circle” rather than any sort of goodbye, and finds the latest iteration of Megadeth — debuting new guitarist Chris Broderick (ex-Nevermore, Jag Panzer) — working primarily within their technical thrash comfort zone (think Peace Sells through Rust in Peace), with only a few latter-day elements and rare experimental diversions.”

Endgame debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200, selling 45,000 copies in the United States and 8,200 copies in Canada in its first week of release. The album also placed as #1 on the Hard Rock Albums chart and #2 on the Rock Albums chart. Musician Slash gave a favorable review to Endgame via twitter. Hey, what better endorsement do you want, huh?

So prepare to slosh that leetle gray matter mass around your noggin’ as Megadeth – with supporting acts Machine Head, Suicide Silence and Arcanium (no pushing, now, plenty of angry angst for all the kids!) – refine head banging at House Of Blues in N. Myrtle Beach, SC on Saturday, November 28, 2009. Doors open 6:00pm. For ticket info call 843-272-3000 or Ticketmaster 843-679-9333; or visit www.houseofblues.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
###
This article also appears at www.myrtlebeachalternatives.com under “Nightlife & Entertainment” in the Nov. 5, 2009 issue. was originally published at: http://bhowle.wordpress.com.