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Two Of The Most Important Things In Life: Melody And Context

21 January 2016 | 4:11 pm | Mark Hebblewhite

"I've seen ten presidents come and go during my lifetime and I really wonder what's going to happen next, particularly what role America will play in world politics."

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Dave Mustaine has been described as something of a prickly interviewee but when The Music reaches him the legendary frontman and thrash metal shredder is relaxed and jovial. He even goes out of his way to thank Australia for their loyalty to his band over the years, and wax lyrical about his love of Moreton Bay bugs, which he tries to consume in as large amounts as possible on visits to our shores. The conversation turns more earnest however when Mustaine reveals his mindset behind the bleak lyrical approach to Dystopia. Where past Megadeth albums have dealt in the apocalyptic, Dystopia, particularly on tracks like Post American World, embraces the realities of an uncertain age.

"Some of these websites just demean our genre as a whole by constantly going after people who have a profile in the music world."

"Well right now we're seeing a real shift in the nature of what it means to be a 'world power'," he offers. "Things are changing dramatically at the moment. For example, I don't remember any time during my lifetime that the Middle East has been on fire in the way it is now. I've seen ten presidents come and go during my lifetime and I really wonder what's going to happen next, particularly what role America will play in world politics. It's fascinating but also scary." 

Musically, Mustaine delivers up a set of mainly mid-tempo riffs as opposed to the all-out thrashers of his early years. What hasn't changed though is his ear for compelling melodies.

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"I do love to thrash out but there are more important things. As a kid I was exposed to stuff like Motown and that really taught me the importance of melody in song writing. We had success with records like Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia that had that melody — basically the approach worked — and you can't help but go back to that winning formula when you sit down to write."

Of course it wouldn't be an interview with Dave Mustaine unless some form of controversy reared its head. Recently the ginger-haired one caused a bit of flap when he told a journalist that his long-time partner in crime Dave Ellefson shouldn't be considered a founding member of Megadeth despite the fact he played on the band's debut LP. But according to Mustaine it's just another example of the media sensationalism that has dogged his entire career. 

"There's a couple of different ways to look at how the media, particularly on the internet, operates," he says. "Some of these websites just demean our genre as a whole by constantly going after people who have a profile in the music world. Other sites of course are looking for actual stories but just get it wrong sometimes. If you look at that particular story in context it's not really a big deal. It's only if you don't consider the wider context that it becomes a big deal. I can tell you now that Dave Ellefson doesn't give a shit: why would he — he's the bass player in Megadeth and he's the best bass player we've ever had. Dave and I both know the deal — we made an agreement a long time ago that we can count on each other. If there's anything we ever need to say to each other we just do it because we don't want to be reading things secondhand in the press — that's just gutless."