Last month, it was revealed that Dave Mustaine was writing a book based around the recording and release of Megadeth’s 1990 album Rust In Peace.
Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece will be published by Hachette Books on October 15 and is said to be about “perseverance” and “scraping off the rust that builds over time on everything: ourselves, our relationships, pop culture, art, and music.”
And in a new audio clip from the book, producer Mike Clink looks back at the creation of the record that featured the lineup of Mustaine, David Ellefson, Marty Friedman and Nick Menza.
Clink says: “I couldn’t have predicted the success of Rust In Peace when the songs were six and seven minutes long with all those time changes and vocal melodies.
“Radio at that time was not playing records like that – they weren’t playing Megadeth records. I knew it was a great record but I had no clue what it would sell – not an inkling.
“They were amazing players. To watch Mustaine play all those rhythm parts with such accuracy, to hear Nick Menza play those songs with the time changes, Junior picking as fast as he could pick, and Marty, so effortlessly melodic… they boggled my mind.”
Megadeth add: "We were captivated by Mike Clink’s work as producer of the recent Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction LP in that day, but just as much because he had mixed UFO's Strangers In The Night.
"That album was legendary and that put Mike in a league of his own in our eyes. Although the Rust In Peace songs were already written by the time Mike got involved with us in early 1990, his ability to 'begin with the end in mind' and have the vision and know-how to record the intricacies of our songs made him the perfect choice as co-producer of the Rust In Peace album."
Mustaine collaborated with award-winning journalist Joel Selvin on the project, while the foreward was written by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash who says: “Rust In Peace put the band on the map – it made Megadeth a household name.
“I certainly understand why every important Rust In Peace anniversary is celebrated as a pivotal moment for both Megadeth and for heavy metal.”
Megadeth will hook up with Lamb Of God, Trivium and In Flames next summer for their rescheduled North American tour. The run of 42 dates will get under way in Detroit on July 9 and wrap up in Las Vegas on September 10.
