By Paulo Lazo
Metal icons come and go, but Dave Mustaine and Megadeth remain strong. Fourteen years after their last concert in Peruvian lands, the legendary American band will return to the capital to perform at Arena 1 on Saturday, April 6as part of the 'Crush the World Tour'.
La República spoke with the historic leader of the group, who assured that the perception of his fans will completely change after this monumental tour. Despite hard blows in recent times (such as the departure of Kiko Loureiro and the cancellation of their next concert in Uruguay), Mustaine assured that the band is in one of its best moments.
-What is the difference between playing in South America and other parts of the world?
-There are so many differences, and we have to take them into consideration every time we go to play. It also (influences) the setlist. Some cities, like Santiago de Chile, are super metal, but if we go to Waikiki, in Hawaii, it's much quieter. People's way of thinking is different.
-What do you hope to see on your return to Peruvian lands?
-I know that this concert will be an excellent opportunity to see the sea of Peru. We went once, we had pisco, and I only have great memories of my time in Lima. I want to apologize for taking so long, but it's not up to me. Peru's economy is one of the things that makes it difficult to bring bands from the United States, because it is expensive. You have to be a well-known band, or you have to play in a bar. I think a lot of people would like to go to Peru, but they can't make (the negotiation) work. We have been able to achieve it, and we can't wait to show Peru what we can do together.
-How do you see the future of the band after its recent changes?
-Megadeth is a living organism. The music will continue long after I'm dead, and that's great. I don't like that we've had so many changes in the band over the years, but it is what it is. When we started with Gar (Samuelson) and Chris (Poland), they were exceptional, but they had terrible behavior. They were things that, along with my bad behavior and what David Ellefson, we weren't good together. The relationship was very toxic. It's not like we were bad, but we did things wrong. With Chuck (Behler) it was a similar situation. He was a good guy, but we had differences in what we wanted to do, and the same with Jimmy DeGrasso and Al Pitrelli. I have never made the decision to get someone worse than the person I was with before.
-The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! is an album that deals with illness, addiction and the constant presence of death. What are some of the themes you would like to explore on future albums?
-Well, don't get me wrong, I'm interested in many topics, but not all of them are good topics for songs. Megadeth. (I would) if I wasn't in Megadeth, and I was in another group, like these artists who are in a band, and then go solo. I compose metal to calm myself down, it makes me feel good. I have been blessed, because the music I compose also makes other people feel good. I've seen the world change a lot, and it's much more different now than when I started playing music. It's easy to get the music, but something is missing. Now people will listen to a song for seven seconds, and then move on to the next song. Before they know it, they've listened to the entire album. You (as an artist) gave months of your life, maybe a couple of years, to create this offering of music to the universe, and someone just passes along the songs.
#Dave #Mustaine #compose #metal #calm
