Megadeth are in the studio to record album no.16

By Scott Munro
( Metal Hammer )
last updated

Megadeth confirm their studio return to record the follow-up to 2016’s Dystopia

Megadeth

Megadeth have confirmed their return to the studio to begin laying down tracks for their new album.

The band previously shared footage of the rehearsal sessions (opens in new tab) for the follow-up to 2016’s Dystopia (opens in new tab), while Dave Mustaine reported back in March that they had roughly eight songs ready (opens in new tab) for the record.

Now work has begun in the studio to turn those ideas into the finished product.

The band revealed the news on social media, showing four shots from the studio with the caption: “It begins #megadeth16.”

Speaking about the new record with Music Radar, Mustaine said: “We’re going to do 12 or 13 tracks this time. My contract says I’m only supposed to do eight songs a record and I just can’t do that – it feels like cheating. 

“When I grew up listening to vinyl, it was a lot easier to buy a record and be happy with 45 minutes of music. When the digital world came, the paradigm changed – a musical offering needs a lot more. 

“People aren’t satisfied and hit fast-forward a lot. So right now, we know we’re off to a good start. This new material is only going to get better and better.”

Last month, Megadeth bassist David Ellefson reported that the new record was unlikely to appear this year (opens in new tab) and pointed to early 2020 for a possible release date.

Megadeth released their compilation album Warheads On Foreheads at the end of March and also revealed they’d mark their 35th anniversary with a new graphic novel.

See more

Megadeth: Warheads On Foreheads (opens in new tab)

Megadeth: Warheads On Foreheads (opens in new tab)
Megadeth look back on 35 years of thrash with this 35-track anthology, featuring tracks including Mechanix, Wake Up Dead, Hangar 18 and The Threat Is Real.

View Deal (opens in new tab)
Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.