David Ellefson Traveling to Nashville to Record New Megadeth Album
In April, Megadeth bassist David Ellefson revealed that Megadeth’s new album was completely written and ready to be recorded… but that studio sessions for the record had to be delayed ’cause of the coronavirus pandemic, asserting that since the band had written all the material together, they didn’t wanna record remotely:
“I think there’s a real feeling on this record that we want this to be a band record. We don’t want this to be something where we just come in and sort of plug into the computer and record our parts and go home. And the recording process is what it is, but I think for the writing and this pre-production phase that we’ve been in, we have really put the time in as a band, and I think it’s gonna really show on the album.”
This esprit de corps seemed admirable enough, but then Dave Mustaine released a photo of himself recording vocals for the album, and fans were all, “Wait, so are they currently recording the album?”
Well, it appears we now have an answer, and that answer is “yes.”
In a new interview with The Rock N Ragni Show, Ellefson reveals that he is “gonna be going to Nashville later this week to get started recording the Megadeth album.” Presumably, the band’s other members, guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren, will also be making the trip (Mustaine already lives in Nashville, so he doesn’t have to travel).
The timing makes sense: Tennessee will begin easing restrictions necessitated by the coronavirus this Friday, May 22, allowing restaurants and retail stores to exceed 50% capacity and large non-contact attractions (e.g., theaters, amusement parks, museums, etc.) to re-open. Gatherings of more than ten people are still forbidden, but even if you count all four band members and necessary in-studio technicians, it’s perfectly plausible that ‘Deth can limit the sessions to an appropriately-sized group.
(As for whether or not Tennessee should be lifting its restrictions already, well… I’m not gonna get into that right now.)
Elsewhere in the same interview, Ellefson also addressed whether or not the band’s big summer tour with Lamb of God will be taking place or not. Understandably, if annoyingly, the bassist’s assessment of the situation was fairly non-committal:
“We’ll find out in a couple of days. First, we waited as long as possibly could. Whatever’s gonna happen, we’re gonna make the announcements from the Megadeth social media — in the next day, actually.
“The truth of it is there’s more to it than just us. Of course, the four of us, we’re always ready to get out of the house and go thrash and rock with our fans. But the promoter, Live Nation, even they can’t unilaterally make the decision ’cause some of the states are shut down, there are cities that are shut down, and it’s pretty rough to have a tour right now.”
Spoiler alert: the summer dates ARE gonna be called off. Maybe the tour, which is also set to feature Trivium and In Flames, will be able to proceed with its fall leg, maybe, but I don’t think anyone should be too optimistic.
You can listen to the entire interview with Ellefson below.
[via]
