In a new interview with Ultimate Guitar, former Megadeth rocker Chris Poland shared his thoughts on his time with Megadeth.
When asked about Mustaine’s uptight personality and his reputation for being a strict band leader, the guitarist denied the rumors. “He never told anybody what to do, really. I mean, sometimes he would say, ‘Can you go in an upper register?’ after I’d maybe try to solo three or four times. And he’s like, ‘Can you go up there?,'” Poland explained. “But it was never like, ‘Okay, you’re gonna start here and then you’re gonna do this.’ It was never like that.”
Poland also spoke fondly of his experience working on the band’s tenth studio album, ‘The System Has Failed,’ and described the atmosphere as positive and fun. “And then with ‘The System Has Failed,’ it was fun. I’m pretty sure he was sober. It was a good experience. Except, I don’t want to get into what happened, but he was remixing all the records, and we all know the story.” He added, “But anyway, I had a lot of fun. It was really great working with Ralph Patlan. He’s just a consummate pro, man.”
Other than his bandmates, other rocker that have worked with Mustaine also clarified that the frontman isn’t as uptight as he is said to be. “So, Dave Mustaine has a reputation of being kind of prickly or whatever. He has been the most accommodating, most friendly dude,” All That Remains singer Phil Labonte explained in an interview.
He added: “Literally, there were people on the tour that were, like, ‘Hey, look, make sure you go say hi to Dave,’ the first couple of days. And they’re, like, ‘Make sure you go say hi to Dave, ’cause he wants to hang out.’ He wants to know everyone.”
Testament’s Steve Di Giorgio also said in a social media post: “Dave was easy to work with and a hella awesome host. And it was a great learning experience to use a pick more than I ever had before. I kept that little yellow plectrum in a case as a remembrance that being versatile goes a long way for opening doors to opportunities.”
In other news, Megadeth is currently working on a new album. However, the process seems to be frustrating — at least that’s what Mustaine says.
Released in September 2022, Megadeth’s latest album, ‘The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!,’ landed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of sales. The album also claimed the top spot on multiple charts, including Top Album Sales, Top Current Albums Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, and Top Hard Rock Albums.
