MEGADETH recently resumed work on its fourteenth studio album with producer Johnny K (full name: John Karkazis), who has previously worked with DISTURBED, SEVENDUST, MACHINE HEAD and STAIND. The CD is currently being recorded at MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California for an early 2013 release via an as-yet-undisclosed label following the band's recent split with Roadrunner Records.

In a tweet last night (Monday, December 31), Mustaine wrote: "Started song 5 tonight. I have NEVER heard Shawn [Drover, drums] play better. So impressed with him!!"

Mustaine previously told NME about the direction of MEGADETH's new material, "Some of it's a little darker, some of it's a little faster. Being in this position right now, not knowing where we're gonna go or what we're gonna do, it's kind of like the world's ours to do what we want. Are we gonna go back to the speed and thrash metal roots that made us who we are? Are we gonna experiment and rely on the melody that we've discovered in MEGADETH songs?"

Mustaine also spoke about how he likes to keep MEGADETH's music more melodic than that of most thrash bands. "We've tried to do that in MEGADETH, have a little melody so that it's not just the same old grinding music like everybody else has," he said. "We're just happy to get going and get to the studio."

Johnny K produced MEGADETH's last album, 2011's "TH1RT3EN", which was also recorded at Vic's Garage.

"TH1RT3EN" sold 42,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD marked the recorded return of bassist David Ellefson who was part of the band's classic lineup from 1983 to 2002. In a move that delighted the band's legion of diehards, Ellefson returned to performing live with MEGADETH in early 2010 and has remained a fixture on the stage ever since. This was the first time Ellefson has played on a MEGADETH record since 2002's "Rude Awakening".

(Thanks: NJthrasher)