In a new interview with Classic Rock Revisted’s Jeb Wright, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine talks about the band’s new album, Super Collider, Gigantour, and more. An excerpt follows:
Q: I love ‘Cold Sweat’ so before we talk about the entire album tell me how you came to record this THIN LIZZY tune?
A: “There have been some smart-alecks out there that say that we did it because we wanted to do a Thin Lizzy tune better than METALLICA, but we’re not playing that game anymore. I did the song because we had wanted to do that song for a long time. It had been rambling around since Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia. There are a lot of great Thin Lizzy songs but ‘Cold Sweat’ just called my name because I’m a street kid just like PHIL LYNOTT was. We have a lot in common and, of course, we have several things that are different, but when I listen to those lyrics, I really identify with them. In my estimation, some of the best Thin Lizzy music ever written was the title track to Thunder And Lightning and ‘Cold Sweat’.”
Remaining dates for Gigantour 2013, featuring MEGADETH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, HELLYEAH, DEVICE, NEWSTED, and DEATH DIVISION include:
July
29 – Abbotsford, BC – Abbotsford Entertainment Center
30 – Everett, WA – Comcast Arena
August
1 – West Valley City, UT (SLC) – Maverik Center
2 – Denver, CO – 1st Bank Center
4 – Fargo, ND – Scheels Arena
6 – Manhattan, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
7 – Manhattan, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
9 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center
10 – Montreal, QC – Heavy Metal 2013
11 – Toronto, ON – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
The Turkish metal scene was always like a big question mark in my head, an unanswered question which placed my mind in a thick fog; I knew that metal music is alive in Turkey, I knew there are many good instrument players there from seeing them on the internet, also I heard about them from friends of mine who had visited Turkey. But those visions and words couldn’t answer me, I always asked myself why there is no super-active band from Turkey in the world metal scene who tour Europe, America and Asia every year and…. My trip to Istanbul was a good chance to walk in the path which could hopefully lead me out of that foggy world.
To begin writing one of my experiences about the Turkish metal scene, I need to first give a little background information. Many Turkish people I encountered do not speak English well and also I do not speak Turkish. But luckily my friend who was also the manager of my hotel there, Ceyhun Eşberk, was a great help. He speaks English well and is also a metalhead who knows many Turkish bands. It was a Friday evening when I was in the hotel reception and I asked Ceyhun to suggest me a good Turkish metal band. He offered me MEKANIK with no delay and showed me a video of the band on Youtube too. That night I went to my room and searched for more information about the band and their music. After a while, I found myself really interested to know more about those guys, and also I thought this would be a good start for my journey in discovering more about the Turkish metal scene. So, I arranged an interview with MEKANIK.
MEKANIK is a thrash metal band from Istanbul, Turkey; formed by four talented metallers. I had the chance to meet them at Dorock Bahçe (bar) and I was surprised by their very kind and friendly reaction to my suggestion for an interview. However, the band couldn’t understand my English, but luckily Ferkan Agmal was there to help us to understand each other as he translated our conversation. It was a busy and noisy place though as you will hear in the audio interview, which I recorded during my conversation with the band, but it was still very useful to find some clues about what is happening in Turkey and especially the Turkish metal scene.
I started my questions with the main one; “What is going on with the Turkish metal scene?” The band explained:
“There are so many bands in Turkey, but they are underground in general. The main reason is that they are playing cover songs rather than making their own songs. The other reasons are that there are not so many places to play – there is only Dorock, the metal bar that is standing in Istanbul. There is no support to the metal scene from the big productions (companies), so the metal bands are not able to get bigger and make their own albums. MEKANIK is an outstanding one and this is one of their main achievements. Because a lot of bands are not able to see the support, they are not able to think bigger. MEKANIK believe that if they see the support, the metal scene will get bigger in Turkey.”
The band logo grabbed my attention during my research about MEKANIK, as it reminded me of the style of METALLICA or MEGADETH ‘s logos. So I asked them about that and also their influences.
“There are so many people saying that the logo looks like MEGADETH or METALLICA. But when you look at it, it doesn’t actually look like either of them. If you ask us, it’s most likely looking to NUCLEAR ASSAULT. We just want to make it look powerful and strong; an outstanding logo.
Our main influences are American 80’s thrash metal – the main reason of the band is living the beautiful 80’s again.”
I went forward to find out what are the dreams of Turkish metallers and as I was curious about their future plans, I asked them about their upcoming news and their wishes.
“Playing cover songs is only a step for the band. The main goal is making our own music and albums. We are starting recording our second album this month. Eventually we will play only our own songs.
Every day we are dreaming of playing a European tour, but right now there is no plan like that. It is our dream to go and play in Europe after we publish our second album.”
You can listen the edited version of my interview with MEKANIK on the audio player below:
Two hours after the interview I entered the bar where MEKANIK were on a tiny stage and playing a few covers and also their own music. I must confess that I was really impressed by their performance. The band’s vocalist and guitar player, Cem Ceyhan is born to sing thrash; powerful, tough and pure thrash. Ahmet Akyüz, the lead guitarist impressed by his control of the guitar; he was playing exactly like a world class guitar player. The drummer Erhan Ballıeker is full of energy indeed, he told me that his favourite drummer is Dave Lombardo and I think Erhan could be on the same level as him in the near future. Also I should mention Caner Öner, the band’s bass player who had great style of playing bass guitar and had an active stage presence.
Welcome To The Machine is a documentary analysis of the functionality in music business. This automatically makes the film a 100% documentary with comedy and drama, as well as 100% semi-investigative. In 12 chapters the filmmakers are trying to answer the question what the everyday work life of a music star looks like.
What do you have to consider when starting a band? What is a manager actually doing? How do music media, band contests and other promotion strategies work? But most of all: Is there a formula for success? The film gives a clear answer to that, although that is to say that there are as many formulas for success as there are artists/bands. This is clearly shown in all the interviews, which have been taken with national and international stars during the production of Welcome To The Machine.
Interviews with artists: AMORPHIS, BUCKCHERRY, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, DANKO JONES, DISTURBED, HALESTORM, HELLOWEEN, LACUNA COIL, LORDI, MEGADETH, NAZARETH, PAPA ROACH, PARADISE LOST, URIAH HEEP.
Soultone cymbals has uploaded drum-cam footage of former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza playing the band’s classic song “Wake Up Dead”. Check out the clip below.
Menza joined MEGADETH for the 1990 recording “Rust In Peace” and for the next ten years became associated with the band’s “classic” and most profitable era.
By 1998, while MEGADETH was still touring in support of “Cryptic Writings”, Menza was having knee problems and sought medical advice. He was informed he had a tumor, which was later found to be benign, and had it removed. As a result, MEGADETH hired a temporary replacement, Jimmy DeGrasso, rather than cancel any dates. When the time came to record a follow-up album, Menza was not asked back and DeGrasso became the band’s official drummer. Menza has said in several interviews that, while in the hospital recovering from knee surgery, he received a phone call from MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine that simply said “Your services are not needed anymore.”
Following the reissue of the entire MEGADETH catalog, Menza was invited to reunite with the band in 2004. Days after a reunion was announced, Menza was fired after rehearsals and replaced with Shawn Drover. Mustaine said that this was because Nick “just wasn’t prepared.”
Drover was hired six days before a MEGADETH tour. Shawn‘s brother Glen had become MEGADETH‘s lead guitarist about six weeks earlier, and when the drummer spot opened, things were kept familial — especially because Mustaine dug the Drovers‘ previous band, Canadian thrash/power outfit EIDOLON.
Rock & Metal Chronicles is the first volume in a series of books detailing some of the most popular and revered albums in the entire annals of rock and metal. Featuring extensive reviews of albums by such hard rock and metal titans as AC/DC, JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH, MOTÖRHEAD and ROB ZOMBIE, rock writer Neil Daniels offers a handy 390-page reference guide for the rock fan.
Neil Daniels is the author of over a dozen books on rock and metal, including acclaimed biographies of Judas Priest, METALLICA, AC/DC and IRON MAIDEN. He has written extensively about rock for such publications as Powerplay, Rock Sound, Fireworks and Record Collector. He has also written sleeve notes for a number of albums by such artists as Al Atkins, Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, Gentle Giant, Lake and Wet Willie.
MEGADETH was joined by a number of musicians, including Slash (GUNS N’ ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER), Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE), Jason Newsted (NEWSTED, METALLICA, VOIVOD), David Draiman (DISTURBED, DEVICE) and Vinnie Paul Abbott (HELLYEAH, PANTERA) on stage at this past Friday night’s (July 12) 97.1 The Eagle Presents BFD 2013 concert at Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas, Texas to perform a cover version of the THIN LIZZY classic “Cold Sweat”. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.
The 97.1 The Eagle Presents BFD 2013 concert included all the bands that are taking part in this year’s edition of Gigantour, the critically acclaimed package festival founded in 2005 by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine: headliners MEGADETH, along with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DEVICE, the new band fronted by DISTURBED singer David Draiman; HELLYEAH, featuring Vinnie Paul Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN), Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett (MUDVAYNE), Tom Maxwell (NOTHINGFACE) and Bob “Zilla” Kakaha (DAMAGEPLAN); NEWSTED, the new band led by former METALLICA, VOIVOD and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM bassist Jason Newsted; and DEATH DIVISION, the heavy, technically aggressive and melodic band founded by bassist Jerry Montano (HELLYEAH, DANZIG, NOTHINGFACE), drummer Tim Yeung (MORBID ANGEL, DIVINE HERESY, HATE ETERNAL, NILE), vocalist/guitarist Sean De La Tour and lead guitarist Rick Di Marco.
Gigantour billing:
MEGADETH
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
DEVICE
HELLYEAH
NEWSTED
DEATH DIVISION
Chief Shock Video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
MEKANIK is a thrash metal band from Istanbul, Turkey; formed by four talented metallers. I had the chance to meet them at Dorock Bahçe (bar) and I was surprised by their very kind and friendly reaction to my suggestion for an interview. However, the band couldn’t understand my English, but luckily Ferkan Agmal was there to help us to understand each other as he translated our conversation. It was a busy and noisy place though as you will hear in the audio interview, which I recorded during my conversation with the band, but it was still very useful to find some clues about what is happening in Turkey and especially the Turkish metal scene.
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 