MEGADETH To Begin Recording New Album Before Hitting The Road With LAMB OF GOD

MEGADETH is preparing to enter the studio to begin tracking its sixteenth album.

The band revealed its recording plans over the weekend while thanking its fans and crew for a successful European tour with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH which ended on Saturday (February 22) in Sofia, Bulgaria.

MEGADETH wrote: "We wanted to thank the bands we played with, our amazing hardworking crew who help us put on the best show possible night after night, the venues, security, & our die hard fans who traveled far and wide to see us play. It means the world to us! An extra special thank you to Cullen and Ellie at adidas for setting us up with these amazing jackets! Kept us warm in these beautiful frozen European cities.

"We are heading home for a brief break, record album 16 and then preparing for our summer tour with LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES. Get your tickets now, you don't want to miss what we have planned for you!"

Last December, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine spoke to Rolling Stone about the musical direction of the band's new material. He said "The Dogs Of Chernobyl" has a feel similar to 2016's "Dystopia" album, while he said "Faster Than Anything Else" and "Rattlehead, Part Two" — both of which only have working titles at this point — speak for themselves.

According to Mustaine, David Ellefson has contributed a ballad at the frontman's urging that will feature the bassist's lead vocals for the first time. "I said to him, 'What was the biggest song that KISS ever had?'" Mustaine said. "He goes, 'Beth'. I said, 'Yeah, we should write a song like 'Beth', where it's a ballad and it’s just you singing it. I think you should write a song about what it's like being in MEGADETH with me, because I read all your lyrics, and I know that your lyrics are aimed at me. You're upset. So why don't you write about it?'"

He added: "I'm going to try to work on it now for this record, and if it doesn't get on this record, I'm going to try to work on it on the next record. Because it was actually really cool to see Ellefson writing something and hear him singing."

The early sessions for MEGADETH's 16th studio album took place in Franklin, Tennessee with co-producer Chris Rakestraw, who previously worked on "Dystopia".

Mustaine spent most of 2019 receiving treatment for throat cancer with which he was diagnosed last May.

MEGADETH's next LP will be the first to feature drummer Dirk Verbeuren (ex-SOILWORK),who joined the band almost four years ago.

Guitarist Kiko Loureiro made his recording debut with MEGADETH on "Dystopia", whose title track was honored in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 2017 Grammy Awards.

MEGADETH and LAMB OF GOD's 55-date tour will be split into two legs, the first of which kicks off June 12 at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia, and wraps August 1 at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, California. The second run launches October 2 at iTHINK Financial Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Florida, and runs through November 13 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.

Mustaine and Ellefson are the two remaining original members of MEGADETH, which was formed in 1983, following Mustaine's dismissal from METALLICA.