Interviews

Featured Interviews

Megadeth Founder Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine’s in a very elite league, as the front man for Megadeth and a real-deal guitar icon, he’s is a true force to be reckoned with in the world of the electric guitar. As a guitarist, his technical prowess, pick speed, and musical ability make him one of, if not “the” finest metal guitar player in the genre. While he’s controversial and certainly seems to have a few chips on his shoulders, he was cordial and seemingly interested in taking a few questions about his band, his music and some of his inspiration.

Hardrock Haven: As Megadeth’s front-man, is the fact that you always keep the band stocked with incredible guitarists designed to give you the opportunity to “step out” a bit with your vocals or does it push you to be a better guitar player?

Dave Mustaine: Well if it’s afforded me the opportunity to step out as a vocalist I haven’t done it yet cause I’m not a very confident with myself as a singer. I wasn’t a singer when I started I just liked, playing the …

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Guitarist John 5
How many guitarists do you know who are instantly recognizable not through their tone or use of effects, but through sheer material? The ones you instantly know it’s them, even when they lay off their usual rig and pedals for a moment, or try a different style? The ones where you go, “Oh, it’s Hendrix – his phrasing, his understanding of musical form, his dynamics, his temperament”, or “Oh, that’s definitely Jimmy Page”? There are surprisingly few of those players around, but John 5 has always been one of them.

His new album The Art of Malice to be released next month is certainly very John 5 – the same dazzling technique, the same explosive energy, the same attitude, only this time it’s all happening on a bigger scale – more alive, more spontaneous, more inventive. His songwriting has expanded too – a huge leap forward compared to the air-tight vacuum of the previous record Requiem. On this album John is starting to tell more diverse, more vivid and dramatic stories, opening up not only the guitar’s soundboard, but his view of what can be done if you mix thrash, industrial, bluegrass and whatever the hell …

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