MEGADETH Bassist On New CD: I Would Say It Kind Of Fits In Around The ‘Countdown’ Album

Brandon Marshall of Sonic Excess recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Sonic Excesss: How is the recording process for the new MEGADETH album coming along?

David Ellefson: It’s been good! It has been a fun process in large part because we are recording the album in between tours, which is very different from the way we did it years ago. We would take as much time as we needed, record an album, set it up for the release, release it and a tour would follow. We have had so many offers coming our way from touring and great opportunities. We came home from Europe, did the first “Big Four” show here in the United States, and then we went right into the studio. It’s funny, because the next show we are going to do is another “Big Four” show next week in Europe. We are hoping to put the final bits on the album before we get out of town. The album will be mixed next month.

Sonic Excess: Will MEGADETH‘s 13th studio album follow the same blueprint of “Sudden Death”? (“Sudden Death” is a MEGADETH song released in the 2010 music video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock)

David Ellefson: Some of it for sure, absolutely. There are definitely some tracks that are really fast and some with various stuff. We made a conscious decision with our producer Johnny K that there is no reason to go and get to ostentatious with big lush arrangements and try to do all this orchestration. We really want this record to sound like four guys in your living room jamming and melting your face off.

Sonic Excess: If you had to compare the upcoming CD to any previous MEGADETH release, what would that be?

David Ellefson: Until it’s mixed, it’s hard to make a comparison. Anything can change in the mix. The mix is such a vital part of the final creative stamp. Even to the next degree, mastering can add an extra explanation point at the end of the sentence. I would say it kind of fits in around the “Countdown To Extinction” album. What’s ironic to me is that we just came off the 20th-anniversary-of-“Rust In Peace” tour, going into an album that would sound like an extension to that.

Sonic Excess: “Countdown To Extinction” is still a very relevant album, even today, with songs like “Foreclosure Of A Dream” and “Symphony Of Destruction”, seeing what’s going on in the world news right now.

David Ellefson: It’s funny isn’t it; everything takes a 20-year cycle. Well, it’s not really funny at all. I remember when we came off the “Rust In Peace” tour, going into “Countdown To Extinction”, there was a lot going on politically. We were coming out of the Cold War, and Dave [Mustaine] was on the floor of the Democratic National Convention being a roving reporter for TV and the lyrical topics. Even the shit that started to develop in the band, we were really stepping up and starting to mature as musicians. With this album, it’s the first one with me being back into the fold after 10 years. Again, there is a level of maturity that clicked together really seamlessly. The process has flowed very naturally. Once Johnny K came up to produce and we set a schedule, he really took control of the session as far as workflow and organizing the ideas.

Read the entire interview at Sonic Excess.