Legendary North American Thrash Metal band Megadeth arrived at Arena 1 in Lima, after more than a decade, to begin their Latin American tour that will take them, in addition to Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and El Salvador, and from there continue through Europe. This tour called “Crash The World Tour” serves to promote their latest album called The Sick, The Dying…and The Dead! which was released in September 2022.
Bassist James LoMenzo along with drummer Dirk Verbeuren and new guitarist Teemu Mantysaari arrived in Peru on Thursday night. The vocalist, lead guitarist and founder of the band Dave Mustaine arrived on Friday morning and at noon the full band gave a press conference at Arena 1, the venue where the concert will be held on Saturday, April 6. The musicians met with the press to answer questions about this stage of the band and what was coming for them soon. At all times they were very friendly and expressed their joy at being in Peru. All Music Magazine was present along with the local media.
The press conference allowed the band members to make their views known on different topics. The first to answer questions was Teemu Mantysaari, the guitarist who joined last year to replace Kiko Loureiro. The Brazilian left to make way for his independent projects and the care of his family and Finn is in his place, who said he was excited to meet the South American public and play for the first time in this part of the world. One of the novelties that this 37-year-old guitarist has brought is that he has been open to playing any material from any era of Megadeth, this has opened the possibility of including new live songs in the setlist or songs that have not been played for a long time. “This process has been very fun for me; I have had many Zoom meetings with Dave to look at the songs. It has been a lot of fun and tomorrow will be my debut with the band in South America, so I am excited,” he declared.
In his turn, bassist James LoMenzo referred to the changes that the industry has experienced due to the streaming boom and how that has changed the impact that physical records and formats have on music. “What bothers me a lot is the amount of money that is not present after having released an album. Making an album requires time and money and currently that investment has no return. Streaming services also mislead the audience because they don’t promote new music. It’s a totally different game. Despite that, we are always looking for new ways to create music for that great machine called Megadeth, not for money but for the art of doing it”. Additionally, LoMenzo expressed his sadness for new bands that did not have the same opportunities that the pioneering bands of the genre had. At another time he talked about his career and experience having worked with talented guitarists like Vito Bratta, Zakk Wylde, and Dave Mustaine, now for the second time.
It was evident that many questions were going to be directed to the band’s leader Dave Mustaine and so it was, during the conference that lasted around 40 minutes, several topics were touched upon. One of the first topics was about the time he was a political correspondent for MTV. Mustaine responded that his goal was to get people to register to vote regardless of their political choice and that there aren’t many heavy metal bands involved in social issues. When asked about the bands of the genre that have excited him recently, true to his direct style, he said that it has been a while since. “I don’t usually listen to new bands, and I think it’s been a while since I’ve been excited about a band. It’s been a long time since we had a new Iron Maiden, a new Guns N’ Roses, it’s been a long time since we last heard a great band,” said the musician, who did admit that he liked the Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes band’s song “Misery. Regarding the concerts that changed his life, his answer was AC/DC, he also mentioned Rush, about Pink Floyd he said smiling that he probably would have enjoyed it more if he had been on acid.
The musician from La Mesa, California, also said that, despite the years, they still enjoy the creative process of making an album, but explained that the work behind “The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!”, their most recent material published in 2022, was the result of a complicated process marked not only by the pandemic but by changes of personnel and the cancer diagnosis he received in 2019, of which he said he was in remission.
“Writing songs takes time, recording is faster. And it depends on how inspired we are to make a new album,” he said in relation to whether they were already working on new material. “Now that we are on tour, we are already talking about what we will do when we have free time, whether we will distance ourselves for a while or whether we will make a new album, but our time to rest is important, to be with our families and take care of our health,” declared Mustaine.
On the topic of the future of heavy metal, drummer Dirk Verbeuren was more optimistic and highlighted how the genre has been evolving. “I think metal has been evolving, there are many bands, many diverse genres. I think Dave invented thrash metal. But there is still a lot of fire, and interesting concepts on the way, and that attracts new fans. At Peru concerts, there are many teenagers and children. You’ll see it on Saturday,” he said. “I don’t know why it took Megadeth so long to return to Peru. We must remember that a tour has many logistical difficulties, equipment, technical staff, and so on, but we are very happy to be here again,” added Verbeuren.
Band:
Dave Mustaine – Vocals, Lead Guitar
James LoMenzo – Bass
Dirk Verbeuren – Drums
Teemu Mantysaari – Lead Guitar
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I’m a photographer with extensive experience working for national and international media. I’m also a passionate photography educator with extensive experience working with students of different ages. I love Heavy Metal music and I began shooting concerts in 1992. Concert Photography is my passion. I’m based in Perú but willing to travel anywhere.
