LIFE & DEATH

THE STRENGTH. THE COURAGE. THE CRUSHING NEW ALBUM. IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, MEGADETH MAIN MAN DAVE MUSTAINE WITH AN ASSIST FROM GUITARIST KIKO LOUREIRO TAKES YOU DEEP INSIDE THE SICK, THE DYING... AND THE DEAD!

- JON WIEDERHORN

LESS THAN 20 MINUTES INTO A LENGTHY CONVERSATION with Dave Mustaine, Megadeth’s mercurial frontman has revealed multiple sides of his complex personality. His greeting is warm and sincere, and it isn’t long before he’s cracking dry, self-deprecating jokes. There are some comments about religion, thoughts on space travel and an informative aside about a new street drug called Krokodil (Desomorphine).

“It’s supposed to be like some kind of super-heroin,” he says. “It’s made from a drug that’s been approved, but when you mix it with something else and inject it, it makes your skin rot until your bones stick out. Now, why on earth would anybody do that? It’s cheaper than heroin and the high lasts way longer. And the life expectancy of somebody who uses it is two years. Jesus, knowing that just makes me think about how precious life is.”

Though it mostly hides under the surface — like a crocodile — there’s something irking Mustaine a little more than the thought of kids injecting flesh-melting junk, and while he keeps his cool for a while, he gets a little cranky when asked about the title of Megadeth’s 16th album, The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead! He doesn’t object to the question