Are you in a thrash metal band and interested in making it big? If so, Dave Mustaine of the Los Angeles act Megadeth has some advice you may want to consider.
The guitarist recently took part in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live, and at one point during the conversation, Mustaine talks about what he believes makes a good song good.
Among the comments he shares, Mustaine talks about some wisdom that the talented producer/songwriter Quincy Jones parted on to Megadeth’s producer/engineer while the band was making Rust In Peace back in the day.
This advice really made an impression on Mustaine, for when the guitarist ends up sharing his advice for how to have a successful thrash metal band, he provides his own spin on Jones’s words. Regarding what makes a good song good and his advice on how to be successful in thrash, Mustaine says (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“For me, what I’d like to leave for future generations is to know that melody is so critical to songs. Quincy Jones is a very famous producer here in America. We were making the ‘Rust In Peace’ record at the time and had gone to this party, and Quincy was there. And he had said to our engineer/producer that the key to successful songs was beat, melody and 10 simple words.”
The Megadeth frontman then goes on to add:
“So I guess the most important thing I would like to leave to future generations is to echo what Quincy had said, but to make it my own, I would say in order to be successful in thrash, you need to have a heavy beat, melody and I’d say probably 20 simple words because we sing so much faster.”
What do you think of this advice? If you are in a thrash metal band, are these ideas that you already implement into your music?
Upcoming Megadeth 2023 tour dates
- September 15th – Grantville, PA – Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
September 16th – Mashantucket, CT – Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resorts Casino
September 17th – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
September 21st – Windsor, ON – The Colosseum
September 23rd – Plymouth, IN – Plymouth Motor Speedway