DAVID ELLEFSON Says MEGADETH Should Have Chosen Heavier Song As First Single From 'Super Collider'

September 6, 2018

MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson spoke to Ireland's Overdrive about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2016 album "Dystopia". He said: "We've been working on new material for almost this whole year. The one thing that we learned from 'Dystopia' is that we need to allocate time that's right for us when laying down a new album. 'Th1rt3en' [2011] was right in the middle of the 'Big Four' tour and that was a solid album which we had 10 weeks to do, but then we had 'Super Collider' [2013], which, a lot like 'Risk', in the sense of we went straight into the studio off the back of 'Th1rt3en' with no break, and I think personally it was too soon, but there was nothing we could do, as management had tour dates booked, so we kind of backed ourselves into a corner, and while that worked for us on 'Th1rt3en', it really caught us off guard on 'Super Collider'.

"Looking back, the first single off 'Super Collider' [the title track] was too light and I really think we should have come out of the gate with a heavier song choice," he continued. "Once fans hear a lighter track, they become prejudiced towards the whole record and the mindset is almost set in stone from that moment onwards, kind of like a first-impressions-last-forever-type scenario.

"There were some great songs on that album but what we learnt about 'Dystopia' was that we had to take some time off to really give it 100 percent and do things the way we want to do them, so no tours booked, no other commitments, just a total undisturbed focus on the task at hand," Ellefson added. "Taking this approach really proved to be very successful for us and we will be working to this format going forward."

MEGADETH's upcoming effort will mark the group's first release to feature drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who officially joined the band more than two years ago.

"Dystopia" was MEGADETH's first album with guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was previously best known for his work with ANGRA.

In 2018, MEGADETH is celebrating its 35th anniversary all year long, with special releases, exclusive merchandise items, and one-of-a-kind events and opportunities for fans worldwide.

Find more on Megadeth
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).