Megadeth

[Goddamn_Electric]

There are four places religion has no business being.

1) My home
2) Politics
3) Schools
4) Music (that is not religion specific)

Easy solution is to refuse to answer questions pertaining to religion if it doesn't involve the music.  If they didn't want to talk about it they'd clearly just dodge the questions.

[Bodhi]

There are four places religion has no business being.

1) My home
2) Politics
3) Schools
4) Music (that is not religion specific)

Easy solution is to refuse to answer questions pertaining to religion if it doesn't involve the music.  If they didn't want to talk about it they'd clearly just dodge the questions.

Last time I checked this is America, they should be allowed to talk about whatever they want, they shouldn't have to dodge questions.  They should be able to speak about anything they want anywhere they want, just like you or I should.  You're asking them to dodge questions and silence themselves, I don't agree with that.  If someone is religious let them talk about it, if you think its a bunch of nonsense then you are free to say that as well. 

Also Megadeth is religion specific music, go back and read the lyrics over the last 25 years, it is everywhere on every album.  This is nothing new, thats why I am shocked some people are surprised about it.

[FunkyMonkey]

 

MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Not Ready To 'Endorse' RICK SANTORUM - Feb. 15, 2012

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has issued the following statement to clarify media reports that he has endorsed Republican Rick Santorum for president:

"Contrary to how some people have interpreted my words, I have not endorsed any presidential candidate. What I did say was that I hope to see a Republican in the White House. I've seen good qualities in all the candidates but by no means have made my choice yet. I respect the fact that Santorum took time off from his campaign to be with his sick daughter, but I never used the word 'endorse.'"

http://legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=169854

[Goddamn_Electric]

There are four places religion has no business being.

1) My home
2) Politics
3) Schools
4) Music (that is not religion specific)

Easy solution is to refuse to answer questions pertaining to religion if it doesn't involve the music.  If they didn't want to talk about it they'd clearly just dodge the questions.

Last time I checked this is America, they should be allowed to talk about whatever they want, they shouldn't have to dodge questions.  They should be able to speak about anything they want anywhere they want, just like you or I should.  You're asking them to dodge questions and silence themselves, I don't agree with that.  If someone is religious let them talk about it, if you think its a bunch of nonsense then you are free to say that as well. 

Also Megadeth is religion specific music, go back and read the lyrics over the last 25 years, it is everywhere on every album.  This is nothing new, thats why I am shocked some people are surprised about it.

Interesting.  Never knew Megadeth was considered a Christian metal band.  I think I'll head down to the Christian book/music store and see if the latest album is on the shelf, and ask the clerk how he likes Good Mourning/Black Friday.

[Bodhi]

There are four places religion has no business being.

1) My home
2) Politics
3) Schools
4) Music (that is not religion specific)

Easy solution is to refuse to answer questions pertaining to religion if it doesn't involve the music.  If they didn't want to talk about it they'd clearly just dodge the questions.

Last time I checked this is America, they should be allowed to talk about whatever they want, they shouldn't have to dodge questions.  They should be able to speak about anything they want anywhere they want, just like you or I should.  You're asking them to dodge questions and silence themselves, I don't agree with that.  If someone is religious let them talk about it, if you think its a bunch of nonsense then you are free to say that as well. 

Also Megadeth is religion specific music, go back and read the lyrics over the last 25 years, it is everywhere on every album.  This is nothing new, thats why I am shocked some people are surprised about it.

Interesting.  Never knew Megadeth was considered a Christian metal band.  I think I'll head down to the Christian book/music store and see if the latest album is on the shelf, and ask the clerk how he likes Good Mourning/Black Friday.

When did I say they were a Christian metal band?  I said they have religious overtones, both in favor of and against in all of their music.

[Goddamn_Electric]

Quoting from an iPhone is a pain in the ass - but you clearly said it in the first line of your last paragraph when you said

"Megadeth is religion specific music"

[Bodhi]

Quoting from an iPhone is a pain in the ass - but you clearly said it in the first line of your last paragraph when you said

"Megadeth is religion specific music"

right, as in it has religious themes in it and it does, Mustaine will tell you that himself, he doesn't hide from it.  Never said they were a Christian band, but a lot of his music does have Christian themes in it, Dave said it himself.  His obsession with all things involving the New World Order are a great example of that.  The New World Order is a huge topic amongst the Christian community.

Religious specific is probably not the phrase I should have used, as ALL of his music does not have Christian themes.

It does always come as a surprise to me that people are so shocked by Dave's religious thing, it was hardly a secret.  Recently Dave said something along the lines of all you have to do is listen to the first line of "Peace Sells" and you will see where he was coming from even back then.

[Goddamn_Electric]

Quoting from an iPhone is a pain in the ass - but you clearly said it in the first line of your last paragraph when you said

"Megadeth is religion specific music"

right, as in it has religious themes in it and it does, Mustaine will tell you that himself, he doesn't hide from it.  Never said they were a Christian band, but a lot of his music does have Christian themes in it, Dave said it himself.  His obsession with all things involving the New World Order are a great example of that.  The New World Order is a huge topic amongst the Christian community.

Religious specific is probably not the phrase I should have used, as ALL of his music does not have Christian themes.

It does always come as a surprise to me that people are so shocked by Dave's religious thing, it was hardly a secret.  Recently Dave said something along the lines of all you have to do is listen to the first line of "Peace Sells" and you will see where he was coming from even back then.

I dont have a problem with "god" being mentioned in song, or songs with themes such as Holy Wars - what I take issue with, is how all of a sudden in the last 10 years or so - it's become "God this, God that" in almost every interview I see.  I highly doubt every single interviewer is bringing up the topic.  For instance, if I were interviewing and asked "This new record seems to have some real thrashy elements, similar to the earlier albums...how did you decide to go back to that direction?"  I'm sure the answer would be some "God  this, God that" bull shit.  God didn't inspire you to write heavy, fast guitar parts.  Black Sabbath and Venom did.

[FunkyMonkey]

From an interview with David Ellefson:

February 15th, 2012

When asked the secret to the staying power of Megadeth, Ellefson once again comes back to the fans.  Many musicians give lip service to their fan base, but when talking to Ellefson, it?s clear he dearly respects, admires and adores the fans. ?We grew up with both punk rock and metal in our record collections. We had the Sex Pistols and KISS, and that had never happened before, because punk and metal were two different cultures. Thrash metal was the converging of both cultures. Our fans are the reason the Big Four concerts happened in huge stadiums. There?s so many of us that are part of this culture, so that?s why we can fill arenas. To me, it all comes back to the fans and us?we?re all one and the same. It?s not like some kinds of music where there?s the rock star, and there?s the fans.  We?re really all one and the same.?

Prompted as to what his greatest personal accomplishment is, Ellefson pauses?but only for a brief moment.  ?You know, I think to be able to be the same guy I was put on the planet to be.  It?s just listening to my gut, and following my dreams.  Every one of us has a reason we?re here.  At 11, I had this desire to play the bass.  At 16,  I had the instinct, ?I?ve got to get to California.?  The whole West Coast was just blowing up with hard rock and metal.  At 18, I followed those dreams and went there and met Dave Mustaine and start Medadeth, and here we are, all these years later.  Hindsight is always 20/20, but looking back, there?s this nice thread that was woven through my life, and when I look back it?s because I really listened to my gut instinct. As I call it, it?s the G.O.D.?the Good Orderly Direction.

http://screamermagazine.com/interviews/public-enemies-1-2-3-4/

[Goddamn_Electric]

From an interview with David Ellefson:

February 15th, 2012


Prompted as to what his greatest personal accomplishment is, Ellefson pauses?but only for a brief moment.  ?You know, I think to be able to be the same guy I was put on the planet to be.  It?s just listening to my gut, and following my dreams.  Every one of us has a reason we?re here.  At 11, I had this desire to play the bass.  At 16,  I had the instinct, ?I?ve got to get to California.?  The whole West Coast was just blowing up with hard rock and metal.  At 18, I followed those dreams and went there and met Dave Mustaine and start Medadeth, and here we are, all these years later.  Hindsight is always 20/20, but looking back, there?s this nice thread that was woven through my life, and when I look back it?s because I really listened to my gut instinct. As I call it, it?s the G.O.D.?the Good Orderly Direction.

http://screamermagazine.com/interviews/public-enemies-1-2-3-4/

My point exactly.  That was a complete thought without throwing the bible thumping in there. 

[FunkyMonkey]

Megadeth's Dave Ellefson: "Why I'm Trying to Become a Pastor"

Feb. 20 2012

In the past and nowadays, heavy metal gets a bad rap in religious circles. So for you being connected with heavy metal for years, has there ever been anything where you found a connection between heavy metal and God? How would you describe that to somebody?

You know it's funny, even in older songs, there was always kind of an almost religious overtone to [to the songs]. To the degree that sometimes when you are questioning something you write about it. That's the thing about music. It doesn't have to be boxed into anything and lyrically you can draw upon anything. I used to think the Bible was this goody two-shoes book where people did all these wonderful things. But now that I've read it a few times, I realize that these people are some of the worst in history. [Laughs] ...[The book features] some of the most heinous events against the Lord. And you read how he just continuously forgave. He was probably hitting himself in the forehead like, "Oh my God, what was I thinking with these humans? The dinosaurs were easier than this." For me, it is a great story and a narrative of how God gives us second chances. That to me is a cool thing. A lot of times when you write music and lyrics...Megadeth has written political things, social things, and personal things. When you dig deep into your soul and pull your own life into the lyrics, that kinda goes into the story of all human beings. The rise, the fall, the resurrection, the rebirth, and hopefully a second chance.

I read an old interview with Dave Mustaine where he said he put hexes on people in the past, and it has taken decades for him to get that satanic energy off of him. Do you have an opinion of that? Do you guys discuss your religion or do Bible studies?

Sure, absolutely. Dave has been real open about that, about early songs on records that he wrote that talked about those situations or referenced that. I mean, we don't even play those songs anymore because of that. I think they're great songs, but Dave is the one who has to sing them, and he doesn't' feel comfortable singing them. So I stand by my brother and...and, [help] him move on to new frontiers.

Continue here: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/2012/02/megadeths_dave_ellefson_why_im.php

[FunkyMonkey]

More "advise" from Dave Mustaine:

Dave Mustaine's Advice for Starving Women in Africa: "Put a Plug in It"

Feb. 23 2012

How's the tour going?
Fabulous. Best Gigantour yet...The talent, I believe, has just congealed into this really great package.

Last night, somebody came into our dressing room, and he says to us, "I've been coming here for years, and that's the quietest I've ever heard anybody mix a band, but you could hear every single note you guys played." And I felt like saying, "Well, duh, we're going on after Mot?rhead, who plays very, very, very loud." We're a finesse band. We don't need volume to make our point...

I just love my freedom out here right now. It's so neat. My wife's been out here with me the whole time. We've just been having fun watching TV -- watching cooking shows and crap. And watching those dudes that bust open storage lockers...Wish my whole family was out here, but one of them's in school, and the other one works now. [My son] Justis actually has two jobs and goes to college now. That's a great thing to hear as a dad when you've got a 20-year-old. Instead of, "Yeah, Dad, I just pierced my eye, and I have an STD, and I've got a record now at the police station."

Said the former hell-raiser.
Yeah, but as bad as I was, I'm able to share that with Justis...Instead of saying, "Don't do this," say, "This is what I did, and this is what happened, and here's an alternative to do for that."

There's so many houses without a dad that it's just terrible. I mean, you know how they used to say there should be a license to have a baby? Well, as far-fetched as that sounds, I really think that, if the parents aren't going to stick together, they shouldn't make that kind of commitment to life. I watch some of these shows from over in Africa, and you've got starving women with six kids. Well, how about, you know, put a plug in it? It's like, you shouldn't be having children if you can't feed them.

You're very open about your Christian faith. Often, that seems like a topic that's off-limits in everyday conversation.
Yeah, that's because most people don't really have a belief. They kind of are wading in the kiddie pool. I don't push it on anybody. I never have. I think that's one of the reasons that people don't mind talking to me about it.

Even if you don't believe in God and you don't believe in faith, you've got to understand, when Israel became a country again, that was a prophecy in the Bible that came true, and the Bible was written so many hundreds of years ago. Also, any of the stuff that it says in there about the end times -- that stuff's really happening right now. Look what's happening over in the Middle East. It's crazy.

You seem to have embraced the idea of Megadeth being a political band. What are your thoughts on the upcoming Presidential election?
I wouldn't vote for Obama. I didn't vote for him last time, thank God, so I have no responsibility for this disaster that's happening to our country. And watching the primaries with the Republicans, I think probably the classiest guy out of all of them is Rick Santorum.

Continue here: http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2012/02/dave_mustaine_gigantour_african_women_starving_santorum.php

[tim_m]

All those years of drugs have really gone to his head if he thinks Santorum is classy.

[FunkyMonkey]

David Ellefson of Megadeth: "We had punk attitude with metal chops"

Feb. 28 2012

Megadeth, we weren't a glossy, glitzy, rock and roll band. We were a really raw, basically a punk and metal band, which is what became thrash. We had punk attitude with metal chops.

Here's two guys that agreed that this is what we were going to go do and we started with nothing and turned it into something. On an artistic level, it's a cool story because we basically started with something that didn't even exist. It was a seed that grew into a plant. The plant became a tree and the tree became a forest.

Continue here: http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2012/02/interview_david_ellefson_megadeth.php

[FunkyMonkey]

Mar. 1 2012

Megadeth's Dave Ellefson Talks About Christianity and Lady Gaga

Mar. 1 2012

Megadeth started out in 1983 and helped usher in a revitalized metal scene. Why was that such a pivotal time for the genre?
Our whole generation of thrash metal, we were the first kids who grew up with both heavy metal and punk rock records in our record collections. We listened to Black Sabbath and The Sex Pistols and The Ramones. Never before had that happened. The two camps had been totally divided. Punks didn't hang with metal guys and metal guys didn't hang with punks. Then, all of a sudden, the two came together. That convergence happened because of our influences. We helped create thrash metal. To me, that was just a moment in time that was bound to happen.

What do you think about the current state of the metal genre? It seems like a lot of bands care more about the stage show and their costumes and hair than the music.
This is entertainment so there is always going to be fashion. I don't have a problem with that kind of stuff myself. People make fun of Lady Gaga, but I think she is awesome. It's show business and I don't mind that. But with metal, first it has to rock and then it has to roll.

There are people, both back then and today, who don't think the words Christian and metal can go together.
There are a lot of artists who are very open about their faith. This has happened over the last 10 years. Nearly everyone comes from some sort of faith background, even if you don't have any faith at all. If someone wants to ask me about my personal life, I don't mind talking to them, but I am there to play a Megadeth show. I am not out on a crusade.

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2012/03/megadeths_dave_ellefson_talks.php

[FunkyMonkey]

It doesn't just happen to GNR:

Mar. 5 2012

Around song three, Rust In Peace's "Hangar 18," Mustaine was pelted with what looked like half of a cup of beer, leading to the band exiting the stage for a few minutes, with Mustaine returning to remind the crowd that beer ruins guitars. A minute or two went by and the band returned to the stage.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2012/03/friday_night_megadeth_at_veriz.php

At the end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7mgSnG6iNo

[FunkyMonkey]

More "insight" from Dave Mustaine:

Alex Jones Interviews Dave Mustaine of Megadeth - Infowars Nightly News: Thursday (3-15-12)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV4Czg9dI-k

[FunkyMonkey]

More "insight" from Dave Mustaine:

Alex Jones Interviews Dave Mustaine of Megadeth - Infowars Nightly News: Thursday (3-15-12)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV4Czg9dI-k

Here is what he says in the video:

DAVE MUSTAINE Talks RICK SANTORUM, Gay Marriage, METALLICA And Playing With 'Satanic' Bands - Mar. 17, 2012

Earlier this month, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine sat down with noted right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for a face-to-face interview for Infowars.com. The entire one-hour chat has now been posted online and can be viewed below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On having to clarify media reports that he endorsed Republican Rick Santorum for president:

Mustaine: "Well, it's no secret I've been writing songs about not being happy about the way that the peasants are treated in the valley. And being one myself, the lyrics in 'Peace Sells' talk a lot about what my beliefs are: I go to work when I have to, I go to court when I have to, I pay my bills, I believe in God. You know, all the things our founding fathers would have been proud of, you know what I mean!? And I was talking and doing an interview with this guy [at the MusicRadar.com web site], and innocently enough, he asked me what I thought about the candidates, and I went through the Republican candidates and I said what I thought of each one at the time. Because it was during that horrible, embarrassing smear campaign that they were all waging towards each other ? I mean, seemingly like that. Everybody was just fighting instead of saying, 'He may have done this, but I believe this, and I'm gonna fight against Obama.' . . . And it's not even going after Obama, it's going after the ideals that America was founded on? We have a constitution. I saw a joke the other day. Someone said that, I think, Syria was writing a new constitution and that they could have ours 'cause we don't use it anymore. But to get back to the point, I was just talking about politics, like I did when I did Rock The Vote [Editor's note: In 1992, Mustaine went to the White House with the Rock The Vote campaign for the Democratic National Convention coverage.], and the second person who picked up the story said I endorsed Rick Santorum. And I put out a press release after that that said I never used the word 'endorsed.' I said that I liked the guy because he jumped off the campaign trail to go be with his sick daughter. Now that, to me, whether you're a football player or an astronaut, if you put your family first, you get kudos in my book."

On performing with METALLICA again more than 25 years after he was fired from the band:

Mustaine: "I think the point that this whole thing is? it's closure. It's very cathartic, what took place. When we started off, it was three guys that, we didn't know what we were gonna do. We just loved playing together, we loved fast and heavy music. If you would have told us we [were going to] change the world and that every guitar-playing kid from here to Timbuktu would be playng my style of guitar playing, I would have said you were out of your mind. But that's how it started. We were a three-piece ? James [Hetfield] sang, I played guitar, Lars [Ulrich] drummed and we had a bass player at the time that we changed for Cliff Burton, who we really wanted. There was a lot of personality in the band and we went our separate ways for quite a long time. There was the way that the public perceived us, the way that the perceived us, and how we really are. 'Cause we were friends. When we got back to playing with each other? It's kind of like we have this relationship that the public sees and that the press has and that we have. Like the Johari Window, which is four different perspectives ? how I see me, how you see me, how I think you see me, how you really see me. That's one of those weird perception things they teach you in psychology. And we have kind of a three-dimensional way that our relationship is. Our private relationship, we've been friends ever since the day we met. It's kind of like you see two people get together in a debate and they're vicious, and then after it's done, they shake hands. Like hockey players ? they'll have a beer after they knock each other's teeth out. So we've always had that friendship, but the press has used what each one of us would say in jest about each other as really fiery ammo on each other, and just kind of kept it going, and the public bought into it. And I think the way that you can ask, 'Is it real?' 'Is it over?' is the 'Big Four' stuff that we did, and the [celebrations for METALLICA's] 30th anniversary, which is totally different. When we did the 'Big Four' stuff, we played ? METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX on the same bill ? several countries around the world. And when we did the 30th anniversary [concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco in December 2011], it was just me and James and Lars on stage. And sure, yeah, there were other musicians there and stuff like that. But for me, from my heart, when I got fired [from METALLICA] that day [in 1983], there was so much I wanted to still do with those guys. If I would have got a warning, it would have been different. I would have said, 'Oh, sure, man. I wanna be in the band. I love this band; it?s my band, too. If my drinking is causing a problem, I'll be comfortable doing something else.' But it didn't really happen that way, and I think it was necessary, because we have two great bands now . . . It was the three of us [that helped crystallize METALLICA]. But I can't take any credit for James' songwriting ability or his guitar-playing ability. He blew my mind when he picked up the guitar the first time, 'cause he used to just sing, and I did all the guitar playing, and in fact, I talked between every song, too. And when he picked up the guitar for the first time, I remember watching him, and I was, like, 'Oh my God, this guy is really, really good.' It almost intimidated me. I was a gunslinger at the time, so I wasn't really that flappable. But I watched and I was just like, 'Wow! This guy is really good.' So that's part of the reason I had such a difficult time letting go and just thinking, 'It's just another band.' Just like most people that are in bands, they look at a band as being kind of like having a game of cards. But it was tribal, it was communal, it was really important to all of us. I remember when we first to San Francisco, we were doing blood pacts with the guys in EXODUS, cutting our hands and doing stuff like that. Yeah, it was crazy times. The Satanic Bible was everywhere and we were doing all kinds of stuff. Well, I'm not gonna say they were, because I don't know what they were doing, but I know what I was doing while I was part of the band, because there was just an energy that was around where you just felt you were bulletproof."

On not wanting to share the stage with "Satanic" bands and his views on gay marriage:

Mustaine: "When I got 'saved,' I told my agent, 'You know what?! I have to kind of take this slow, because my arms hurt and I don't know if I'm ever gonna play again [after my arm injury]. If I do play, there's certain things I kind of wanna veer away from.' I don't wanna play with any Satanic bands. I'll play with bands that have darkness in them, because we all have a little darkness in us or we wouldn?t be human. But guys that are confessed Satanists, I don't really have time for that. . . I can control my emotions, because I know it's not the sinners, it's the sin. It's like that whole thing about me being against gay marriage. [Editor's note: Last month, Mustaine did an interview with Josh Kerns of 'Seattle Sounds', which airs on on Seattle's KIRO 97.3 FM radio station, in which he said that he didn't support gay marriage or legislation to make marriage between a man and another man legal. You can hear audio of that interview at this location.] I have the same position that Hillary Clinton and Obama have towards the gays. Look it up. I'm a Christian, I'm a heterosexual man. It's like me worrying about cat owners. I don't like cats. I don't have anything against them, but I don't want one. I know that's a really crazy connection. . . [Editor's note: Mustaine brings up the gay marriage topic again later in the interview and makes the statement that follows.] I'm a born-again Christian, but I don't push that on anybody. I had to tell the guy in Seattle, 'I'm a Christian. Stop asking me these questions, dude. Gay stuff is not part of my life.'"

http://legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=171347

[LongGoneDay]

Megadeth to play Countdown to Extinction in it's entirety on upcoming tour.

Just picked up my tickets for Worcester.

http://www.bostonmusicspotlight.com/news-megadeth-maps-countdown-to-extinction-tour-providence-worcester-november-2012/

[Bodhi]

I'm going to the show in Jersey, really looking forward to it.  "Countdown" is the record that was out when I got into Megadeth in 1992 and remains my favorite record of theirs.  I can't wait to hear some of those tracks that they never play live.