MEGADETH's DIRK VERBEUREN: 'Mechanix' Drum Playthrough Video

November 21, 2018

MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren's drum playthrough video of the song "Mechanix", which originally appeared on the band's 1985 album " Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!", can be seen below.

Last November, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine was asked by the RQP 104.3 FM radio how the band goes about the process of choosing a new drummer. He responded: "It's very difficult. The drumming is the hardest part in the band, because you need to be really physically fit every night — every night, no matter what. You can't be sick. And I think that drumming is a thankless position. A lot of times, the drummers go without being recognized for how hard their job is. Consequently, you get drummers that have bad attitudes after a while. It's hard to be around them, because a lot of drummers don't get the recognition they deserve, and they get bitter. For us, we've been really lucky with the last two drummers we had — with Chris [Adler] and with Dirk [Verbeuren]. And even the guy before Chris, Shawn [Drover], was an easy-going kind of guy. But it's not always like that. And Chris helped us find Dirk. Dirk is a lot like [late MEGADETH drummer] Gar Samuelson, which is really refreshing, because that's how this whole thing started. I was playing jazz-metal-type riffs, because I didn't wanna sound like my last band [METALLICA]. I wrote that shit, I can write whatever I want, so I knew what not to do, so I did something different, and that's how MEGADETH was born. I wanted to do something a little bit different, and I needed a different kind of drummer to do that."

The 43-year-old Belgian-born-and-now-Los-Angeles-based Verbeuren had been playing with SOILWORK for more than a decade before being recommended for the MEGADETH gig by Adler, who called Dirk "probably [one of the] top three drummers in the world."

Verbeuren told All About The Rock about learning MEGADETH's material for a live performance: "The current live set is based on 'Dystopia' and the early albums, from Gar Samuelson to Nick Menza. These guys really had their own style. Nick was actually one of my influences as a young drummer.

"I had ten days to study eighteen songs," he explained. "I tried to capture the intention behind the drum parts in order to respect the band's vision. Gar and Nick have a more old-school swing whereas Chris Adler's approach is more contemporary. I stay true to the originals while injecting some of my own groove and flair. Chris was very helpful in guiding me as to what the band would expect from me, which is super cool of him. It made the rehearsal and first shows a lot easier."

In interview with the KATT Rock 100.5 FM radio station, Mustaine described Dirk as "is one of the most pleasant, easy-to-get-along-with guys I've ever met in my life. I'll walk up to him and he'll smile and lean forward and pat me on the back. He goes [adopts thin accent], 'How's it going, buddy?' I could say, 'Oh, man…'… anything. 'Oh, okay, buddy.' [He] smiles and pats me, 'cause he's just a happy guy. I've never, ever, ever seen him not smile."

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).