‘Soldier On!’, a brand new song from Megadeth, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band’s sixteenth studio album, “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!”, which will arrive on September 2 via UMe.
Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine says about ‘Soldier On!’: “Coming to the realization that you need to walk away from a relationship that’s very toxic, and how hard it can be to start down that road. But you know you need to, and just taking that first step is the hardest part. Whatever your leaving does to them, you have to block that part out, stay the course and do what’s right for you. It will be hard in the beginning, but you have got to live for yourself to be worth a damn to anyone else. You’ve got to soldier on.”
Featuring twelve new tracks, “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” will be made available on CD, vinyl, and cassette, as well as digitally through all online partners. There will also be a limited deluxe edition 2LP, 12-track album pressed on 180g black vinyl housed in a numbered gatefold jacket with a 12×24 lyrics/credits insert, a lenticular vinyl lithograph and a bonus seven-inch featuring “We’ll Be Back” and the unreleased B-side “The Conjuring (Live)”. The limited deluxe edition can only be purchased via Megadeth‘s official online store, through Sound Of Vinyl and uDiscover.
“The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” consolidates a furious return to form that began with the Grammy-winning “Dystopia”, while pushing forward musically and marking Mustaine‘s recent triumph over throat cancer. Reuniting visionary Megadeth leader and sonic architect Dave Mustaine with co-producer Chris Rakestraw (Danzig, Parkway Drive),who together helmed 2016’s “Dystopia”, the album was recorded at Mustaine‘s home studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio temporarily stepped in to record the album. With the kick-off of Megadeth‘s recent tour, Megadeth alumni James LoMenzo rejoined the Megadeth family as permanent bass player.
“For the first time in a long time, everything that we needed on this record is right in its place,” Dave Mustaine enthused. “I can’t wait for the public to get hold of this!”
Featuring some of Mustaine‘s strongest songwriting while also incorporating writing from the rest of the band, “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” brings together everything that’s exhilarating and distinctive about Megadeth. From the blistering throwback fury of ‘Night Stalkers’ (featuring icon Ice-T) and first single ‘We’ll Be Back’, to the more mid-tempo and melodic ‘Soldier On!’ and the very personal title track, with its enthralling twists and turns. “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” also features a cover of Dead Kennedy’s‘ ‘Police Truck’ and Sammy Hagar‘s ‘This Planet’s On Fire’, the latter of which includes vocals from Hagar himself.
“The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” melds the ultra-frenetic riffing, fiercely intricate solos, and adventurous spirit the quartet are known for, all laced with signature virtuosity and precision and Mustaine‘s singular sardonic snarl. This album combines all the crushing musical motifs that have made Megadeth both repeat metal disruptors and revered genre flagbearers.
Regarding Hagar‘s contribution to “This Planet’s On Fire”, Mustaine told SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”: “It’s a super-heavy song. And the good thing about this [is] we didn’t just do the song; [Sammy] played on it too. So we’ve got a little bit of some guitar; we’ve got a lot of bit of singing. I think it’s super badass.”
As for Megadeth‘s decision to cover ‘Police Truck’, Mustaine said: “It’s no secret I’m a big Dead Kennedys fan, and I had wanted to do ‘Holiday In Cambodia’, but my friends in Lääz Rockit had done that, and I felt that [I would] just let them have their glory off of that rendition of that song, and if the time comes, I’m sure there’s another song that’ll stick out to me. And there was — it was the song ‘Police Truck’. So we recorded that one.”
“The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” track listing:
- The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!
- Life In Hell
- Night Stalkers (feat. Ice T) (video)
- Dogs Of Chernobyl
- Sacrifice
- Junkie
- Psychopathy
- Killing Time
- Soldier On!
- Célebutante
- Mission To Mars
- We’ll Be Back (video)
- Police Truck (Dead Kennedys cover)
- This Planet’s On Fire (Burn In Hell) (Sammy Hagar cover) (feat. Sammy Hagar)
Visualizer video for ‘Soldier On!’
Megadeth’s fifteenth studio album “Dystopia” has been released on frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine‘s Tradecraft label via Universal on January 22, 2016. The album was produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw and features cover artwork by Brent Elliot White.
“Dystopia” was the first album to feature Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with Angra.
Our review of “Dystopia” can be found here.
Weblinks: Facebook / Website / Twitter