After announcing the title of Megadeth's forthcoming 16th studio album – The Sick, the Dying, And the Dead – and sharing a snippet of its title track last week, Dave Mustaine has offered up a fresh and markedly more rapid sonic morsel.
In a new promo video for his account on Cameo – a platform which allows fans to pay for personalized video messages from celebrities – Mustaine is seen placing a 30th Anniversary ‘Rust in Peace’ Edition Flying V from his recently announced signature Gibson collection onto a rack full of equally mouth-watering Gibson models, before heading over to his Pro Tools rig and playing the five-second clip.
In typical Megadeth fashion, the segment – which appears to be an intro – features fiery riff work wrought with rapid-fire hammer-ons and pull-offs and plenty of open-string palm-muting. Check it out below.
In another new video – also for Cameo – Mustaine reveals that the hotly anticipated album is “almost done”.
“I'm just listening to the last little bits right now,” he says. “Kiko [Loureiro]'s stuff is all done. We should be turning this in any day now. We've been turning in individual songs, and right now it's down to just approving the last couple of songs. So, keep your fingers crossed and hold your breath. It won't be long till there's a new Megadeth record.”
Despite the album's near-completion, Mustaine has not yet revealed who has played bass on it following David Ellefson's departure.
Back in June, the frontman revealed that Ellefson's parts were being re-recorded by a mysterious “stellar bass player”. This came after Ellefson was dismissed following allegations of online grooming in May.
In an episode of The Dave Mustaine Show on Gimme Radio prior to the new bassist laying down their parts, Mustaine said that he hopes the new relationship “will be an ongoing thing after the recording”.
Concerning David Ellefson's dismissal, the band explained in a statement released at the time: “While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward.”
Shortly after, Ellefson revealed he is working with lawyers to prepare a defamation lawsuit against the person who allegedly leaked the videos, saying that “[the] person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”.
