MEGADETH debuted a brand new song, “Public Enemy No. 1”, during the band’s headlining performance last night (Monday, July 4) at Docks in Hamburg, Germany.
In introducing the track, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine said from the stage, “I wanted to do something for you tonight to show you how much we appreciate you instead of saying you’re a great audience. We’re gonna play a new song for you. This song is from our new record, [it’s] never been played anywhere, never been heard by anybody but us. This song is called ‘Public Enemy No. 1’.”
The band’s setlist for the Hamburg concert was as follows:
01. Skin O’ My Teeth
02. In My Darkest Hour
03. Hangar 18
04. Wake Up Dead
05. Poison Was the Cure
06. 1,320′
07. She-Wolf
08. Sweating Bullets
09. Trust
10. How the Story Ends
11. Angry Again
12. Tornado of Souls
13. Head Crusher
14. A Tout Le Monde
15. Public Enemy (new song)
16. Symphony Of Destruction
Encore:
17. Peace Sells
18. Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
MEGADETH has once again tapped artist John Lorenzi to create the artwork for the group’s forthcoming CD, tentatively due this fall via Roadrunner Records. The effort was recently recorded at Vic’s Garage with producer Johnny K (full name: John Karkazis), who has previously worked with DISTURBED, SEVENDUST, MACHINE HEAD and STAIND, among others.
Lorenzi was responsible for the artwork on the last two MEGADETH studio albums, 2007’s “United Abominations” and 2009’s “Endgame”, as well as the band’s 2007 box set, “Warchest”.
A summer 2010 interview with Lorenzi about his work on the “United Abominations” cover can be found at the RockPop Gallery.
Mustaine was asked in a recent interview with Pure Grain Audio how the new MEGADETH album is sonically different to its predecessor, 2009’s “Endgame”. “[It’s] different, a hundred percent different, unlike anything we’ve ever done before because the guitar sounds are different; it sounds really super-modern,” he said, before adding, “If I was going to say it sounds like a particular band, I would say it sounds like really old classic [BLACK] SABBATH and with a little bit of a modern edge of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE kind of thing. But then again, with the twists and turns of music that MEGADETH has been famous for over the years, you never know how it’ll turn out.”
Although British producer Andy Sneap — who helmed “Endgame” — was initially supposed to re-team with the band for the forthcoming album, has was forced to pull out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. He explained in a recent interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, “I’m doing another project that I also play guitar in called HELL and we’re doing some summer festivals this year so it kind of cut into the whole schedule that was planned with MEGADETH.”
When asked about what fans can expect from MEGADETH‘s next album, bassist David Ellefson told Martin Carlsson of Expressen TV, “Let’s put it this way: It’s funny that 20 years ago, we came off ‘Rust In Peace’ and we went in and made ‘Countdown To Extinction’. So, to me, that’s kind of what this album feels like. We did ‘Sudden Death’ [for a title in the ‘Guitar Hero’ franchise, ‘Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock’] and then this new song, ‘Never Dead’, which is a very violent riff. That was the first song we did, and we finished it top to bottom because we had to get it into this video game called ‘NeverDead’. So that’s a pretty good indication of what the new record is gonna be. But it’s a little wider than… That’s why I liken it to probably a little more to ‘Countdown To Extinction’, ’cause there’s a couple of songs that aren’t just full-on, in-your-face thrashing. However, most of it is. So you guys are gonna be excited. You’ll like it. You’ll dig it. You’ll have fun [listening to it].”
MEGADETH‘s platinum-certified 1986 masterpiece, “Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?”, has been digitally remastered for the first time and expanded for a special 25th-anniversary release in multiple configurations. It will be released July 12 by Capitol/EMI. All of the versions, including a 2CD lift-top box, digital album and a deluxe 5Disc+3LP box set, contain a previously unreleased 1987 concert from the band’s first world tour and new liner notes written by Mustaine and METALLICA‘s Lars Ulrich.
