LifeMinute recently had the opportunity to visit the home of Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine, along with his wife Pamela and their daughter Electra. During the visit, they explored the unique fusion of music, culture, and fine winemaking behind their brand, House Of Mustaine. The tour also offered a glimpse into their stunning home, along with updates on the latest Megadeth news. Dave Mustaine criticized the nu-metal movement of the 2000s, arguing that its lack of guitar solos stemmed from musicians’ inability to play them and expressing relief that the genre faded over time.
Asked what music does for people, Mustaine said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “It depends. If you believe all of the colloquies about music, there’s all kinds of sayings and stuff. The one that comes to mind first with your question is music soothes the savage beast. And I don’t know who coined that phrase, but it’s pretty accurate, depending on the type of music. Now, if you play modern metal with the guys that can’t sing and they do the screaming bit, that’s really understandable to me, ’cause they can’t sing and they’re making the best of what they can do.”
Mustaine continued: “There was a period in 2000 where we had these bands called — I think it was ‘nu metal‘, and they didn’t do any solos. Well, why didn’t they do any solos? They couldn’t do solos. And thank God that genre went away. People started to learn how to do solos. I would say, if you’re in a ‘nu metal’ band, you probably would be challenged even playing ‘Johnny B. Goode‘ [1958 rock and roll classic by Chuck Berry]. So I’m glad that went away.”
When asked if there are any newer bands he particularly enjoys, Mustaine said: “Well, I like some of the older music because new stuff — I mean, all the good chords are taken. And if you think back when I started 40 years ago, the music playing field didn’t have millions of kids sitting at home doing guitar riffs into their computer and then posting it online. There’s good and bad with everything, and when people do things for their own art, that’s great. But when you start seeing these manufactured records that bandmembers didn’t play on, that’s fraud. So, I like bands that really play what they do.”
“One of my favorite guitar players is one of the simplest guys in the world — it’s the guy from Pink Floyd, David Gilmour,” Mustaine added. “He could do more with one note than some of the guys playing nowadays can do with 12. And it’s just a matter of feeling — feeling. The guitar, you’re touching it, so it’s an extension of your spirit, your soul, and how you make it sound. If it’s like [makes farting noise], that kind of stuff, well, you probably haven’t bonded with the instrument yet. Playing a violin — violin has gotta be one of the most dreadful sounds ever when you’re learning it, because the sound of it and rosin the bow and all that stuff is almost as bad as having someone practice on a wind instrument, like a sax or a clarinet.”
In February, Mustaine has shared an update on the band’s progress in the studio as they work on their seventeenth album. Once again, Megadeth is collaborating with producer, mixer, and engineer Chris Rakestraw, who previously contributed to their last two records: 2022’s The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! and 2016’s Dystopia.
In Megadeth‘s official fan newsletter, Mustaine wrote: “We are almost 90 days into the making of the 17th Megadeth album, currently titled, ‘Album 17‘. That was a difficult choice, doh!
The upcoming Megadeth album will be the first to feature guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, who joined the band a year and a half ago as Kiko Loureiro‘s replacement.
Mäntysaari initially stepped in for Loureiro in September 2023, after Loureiro announced earlier that month that he would be sitting out the next leg of Megadeth‘s “Crush The World” tour to stay home with his children in Finland. It was later confirmed that the now 38-year-old Finnish guitarist would continue playing with Megadeth for the foreseeable future, while Loureiro appears to have no plans to return.
“So, I started working on new Megadeth album with producer Chris Rakestraw from Dystopia and our most recent album, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! Teemu came out to join me right after New Year’s Eve, and James and Dirk will be here in February.”
