Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren recently shared his thoughts on joining the iconic metal band and praised frontman Dave Mustaine’s contributions to thrash metal, in an interview with TV Braba.
Verbeuren reflected on his initial reaction when he was first asked to join Megadeth. He explained the significance of Dave Mustaine’s role in defining the thrash metal genre.
“I didn’t believe it. [Laughs] My first reaction, of course, was disbelief,” Verbeuren said. “But initially I was just filling in, so the initial plan was that I was gonna do about a month of shows, and then… I’ve told this story a few times, but in typical Dave Mustaine fashion, after a week or so of shows, Dave comes to me on the tour bus and he goes, ‘So when are you telling the guys in Soilwork that you’re my drummer now?'”
The drummer described how Mustaine’s direct approach led to his permanent position in the band.
“That was his way of saying to me, like, ‘I want you to play in the band.’ So, of course, it was a very exciting time, and kind of bittersweet at the same time, because I’d been with Soilwork for 12 years and they were good friends of mine, but everybody was, of course, like, ‘Of course you have to do this,'” he continued. “And yeah, so it was a very special experience.”
Verbeuren also reflected on the surreal nature of his decade-long tenure with the band. He has been a fan since his teenage years.
“And to this day, it’s been now — actually, this month it’s gonna be 10 years since I played my first show in Megadeth, and it’s still surreal to this day to be part of such an iconic band,” he said. “You have to know that I went to see Megadeth live in 1990, so I was, like, 15 years old at the time. It was one of the first shows I ever saw. I only saw two other shows before that.”
The drummer concluded with high praise for Mustaine’s impact on metal music.
“In metal music, you can’t really go much higher than that legacy. And to me, Dave is the guy who invented thrash metal,” Verbeuren said. “He wrote a lot of the iconic early stuff that kind of defined what that genre sounded like, and you can recognize his riffs among a million riffs. He has such a unique style of playing to this day on the guitar that, to me, Dave is the ultimate rock god. Absolutely.”
Verbeuren’s reflections come at a significant time for both him and the band. They continue to build on their legendary status in the metal world.
Blabbermouth reported that this month marks exactly 10 years since Verbeuren played his first show with Megadeth. This makes his recent comments particularly meaningful as he celebrates this milestone. The drummer has described joining one of the Big Four thrash bands as something “beyond a dream” he never dared imagine. This is especially significant considering he first saw the band perform when he was just 15 years old.
The band has been riding high on the success of their latest release. Roppongi Rocks noted that Megadeth’s 17th studio album, the self-titled “Megadeth” recorded by Mustaine, Verbeuren, James LoMenzo, and Teemu Mäntysaari, is currently topping charts worldwide. Verbeuren has expressed particular pride in the drum sound and collaborative songwriting process. He called it “truly a Megadeth-sounding album” that captures the band’s essence without unnecessary experimentation.
The mental preparation required for joining such an iconic band was not lost on Verbeuren. Drummer’s Review revealed that the drummer has discussed the “intense” mental pressure of joining Megadeth in 2016. He credited his grounded preparation and pure enjoyment from his “bedroom drumming” days for helping him navigate the transition. He has advised patience to aspiring musicians, noting that he joined the band at age 40 after years with Soilwork and extensive session work.
“Dave is a total badass with raw skate-punk energy,” Verbeuren said in the interview. This further emphasizes his admiration for the Megadeth frontman’s enduring influence on the metal genre.
