http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/153640" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... lines=trueAfter having lots of problems with the band's lineup, label and lawsuits, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine announced plans to disband the group and go solo in February 2005. As the year progressed, however, he re-evaluated his decision, and on October 9 at a concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he declared that Megadeth would continue, reports MTV.com.
"My decision was a combination of a few things," Mustaine said as he prepared to enter the studio to record vocals for the band's upcoming album, United Abominations, which is scheduled for a Halloween release. "I was finally associating with guys that really love to play — [ex-Eidolon guitarist Glen Drover and drummer Shawn Drover] — and that make me feel really good to play. They respect me and are fans of the music that we play and of the music in our genre. Also, ticket sales were up and record sales were up — it was happening again."
Inspired by his decision, Mustaine wrote a batch of new songs, signed a new deal with Roadrunner Records and hired bassist James LoMenzo (ex-Black Label Society) to replace James Macdonough. Then the band flew to England to record drums for the album.
"We rented [Led Zeppelin drummer] John Bonham's drum kit and recorded at a studio in [Pink Floyd guitarist] David Gilmour's house, which was great." Mustaine said.
"The kit is the only one that's available in the world to rent," Drover added. "Dave surprised me with that, which was pretty incredible because I didn't even know it was possible to get Bonham's kit to rent for anybody. So I incorporated the bass drum and his floor tom and a snare on the kit that I use in the studio, and that was really inspiring. We played in the middle of nowhere and it was just a really cool vibe."
After the drums were finished, Megadeth returned to California to record the guitars and bass. Even before the vocals were added, it was clear that United Abominations was going to please fans of Megadeth's vintage material. "If I was to say what time this record would have came out, I would have said some time before [1990's] Rust in Peace or sometime after [1992's] Countdown to Extinction," Mustaine said. "The critics called The System a return to form, but this is even more so. The record company that I'm with now gets it and I'm with management who gets it. So I don't have to write songs because the wives of certain bandmembers are griping or their mortgage is not getting paid or management is telling me that I've got to get a record done to do the tour and I've got to do the tour because if not, I'm not going to be able to pay my bills."
United Abominations will mark the 'Deth recording debut of the Drover brothers. The album will contain 11 songs, including the title track, "Washington's Next" and "Gears of War"; an additional track will be included with the Japanese release. "It's a really diverse record," Shawn said. "There's some faster stuff that should appeal to the band's thrash fans and it's got a little more mainstream stuff as well. It's definitely not one-dimensional."
The record is being co-produced by Mustaine and Jeff Balding, who has worked on three other Megadeth discs. But while Balding has an arsenal of contemporary gizmos at his disposal, the album is being created with the kinds of equipment and techniques the band used in the late '80s — before the advent of ProTools and digital editing.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... tions.html
*Kerry King/Jeff Hanneman on Metallica hogging Rick Rubin.
"we'll see how that pans out. You can't reinvent somebody that doesn't want to be reinvented." Guitar World: Is that what you think he's attempting to do with them? King: "If they can't reinvent themselves, where are they gonna go? When you do the thrash thing for however long they did it and you go away from it for years, you can't just come back and pretend that you've been a thrash band all that time. Because it's fucking running right by you. And I think that's what they're finding out.""
