Megadeth cofounder David Ellefson doesn’t play in his band anymore because forty years after its inception, Mr. Redhead got a rude awakening that his brother-in-metal is still capable to have fun. Regardless of someone’s impotence, true timeless metal classics such as “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying” (1986), “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) and “Youthanasia” (1994) are meant to be celebrated, and they are! At the moment, David Ellefson, together with original guitarist Jeff Young from “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988), are on UK and Irish tour “Anarchy in the UK”, soon after which they embark on European tour “The Blood of Heroes”, performing the genre – defining songs in front of the loyal and excited metal community. On November 17th, 2024, you gonna see them together with Dieth in Zaścianek, Kraków.

HMP: Yesterday, you played your first show of the tour in London. How was it?

David Ellefson: Fantastic, it was super great. It was a great way to kick off and, you know, we haven't played London, me and Jeff, I don't know since... Donington, and that's kind of not even really London, you know what I mean? So, it's been a while since we've been here, but yeah, it was a great way to kick off last night.

Jeff Young: It was a good night, and first shows of the tour can be challenging for a multitude of reasons. Everyone's kind of getting their sea legs and, you know, we got a lot of new equipment and stuff, but luckily it went off without a hitch, and we had a great night, and looking forward to onward and upward from here.

For sure challenging, but also exciting, because you are celebrating the timeless classic albums, like “Peace Sells... but Who’s Buying?” (1986).

Jeff Young: Also “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) and “Youthanasia” (1994). Highlighting some songs from “Youthanasia” for the anniversary.

Right, and you called the tour British and European, but it should be actually British, Irish and European, because Dublin is not in the UK.

Jeff Young: Yeah, true. We learned that yesterday.

Yeah. Okay, and so you perform the shows with vocalist and guitarist Chas Lyon and with the drummer Fred Ashing. Do they share your enthusiasm?

Jeff Young: Oh, yeah, they both. Well, Chas was in a Megadeth tribute band when we matched up. It all started at the Ultimate Jam at the Whiskey A Go Go on the Sunset Strip. They had a big four thrash night, and we met Chas that night. We met Fred that night. He didn't play with us. He did some Sepultura, but we knew he was the guy for the gig. He's an amazing drummer, and he captures the style of not only Nick Menza, who was a great influence on him, but Chris Poland often says: “I can't believe how well he cops Gar's style and feel”, which is a very unique and elusive style to latch on to, because Gar was amazing. Very underrated drummer.

Out of these three albums, are there some songs that you were especially looking forward to play, but you didn't have that opportunity in Megadeth times?

David Ellefson: Well, these songs were written at a time, obviously, when the band was in its beginning growing. So these were mostly songs that were started in 500 to 1,000 seat venues. So they had a certain connection to the fans in that size of a venue. As the band got bigger, really, by the time Jeff came in and “So Far So Good... So What!” (1988) was released, we were moving up into theaters, civic centers, some smaller coliseums and festivals. A lot of these songs were so fast and so relentless that they didn't translate as well. And then after that, certainly into the 90s, you know, like “Youthanasia” (1994) is a good example, in sake of the sound of the band, we sort of retooled the songwriting. So it would work and was competitive, you know, for where we were and what was going on around us. But, yeah, these songs really work well in these venues that we're playing on Kings of Thrash. The fans are excited. It's like revisiting the glory day of the 80s, you know, and it's an era that's gone past. Obviously, people of our age were there. Like last night, for instance, several people told us they were at the Donington show in 1988.

Jeff Young: Brought the programs from the thing. Oh, you were at the show? Yeah, they were. And it's great to see the parents bringing their kids. It's a real multigenerational crowd that's coming out.

Some people weren't even born when you recorded the albums.

David Ellefson and Jeff Young: True that. Yeah, exactly.

And to be precise, you performed all the songs from “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986) before releasing the album. But with the album “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) was a different situation because Megadeth changed guitarists. How was it, Jeff, you played all the songs the same like Chris Poland used to play them?

Jeff Young: Yeah, when I got the Megadeth gig, I actually went down to Capitol Records and I got the master two inch tapes of “Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!” (1985) and “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying” (1986). And I had all the rhythm tracks and all Chris Poland's solos, and I put them on a cassette. So I had this full speed track of the album at the master album on one cassette. And then I'd take that out and pop in the half speed and I had to go back and forth. And I had a little Marantz cassette tape player. And back in the day, the best way we could learn solos, was with Marantz player because it had a little adjustment where you could slow the speed down to even one octave lower. So it's going very slow and you can pick out each note one at a time. So that's how I did that. And for some unknown, fortuitous reason, I held on to those cassettes all these years. So when this Kings of Thrash opportunity came up for us, I was able to just go back and even some of the solos that I didn't play and maybe some of the songs we didn't do as much on our tour. I was able to really hone in and put the magnifying glass on them and get them as perfect as possible.

“So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) has been recorded already with you as the Megadeth lead guitarist. It's well documented fact that when you first heard the album “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988), you felt disappointed, because you love “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986) while the next album was “so so” (1988).

David Ellefson: (laugh)

Jeff Young: Me? Maybe because of the tone of the guitar. We were talking about that earlier today. I had a really fat, thick sound that stood up like in a one guitar setting because a lot of the projects I was doing right around that time were one guitar - oriented. So it was a big sound, and they thinned it out, and it's a little trebly and thin for me. Michael Wagener was my pal and I brought him in to do the record. We'd worked on some demos and whatnot together. Dave Mustaine was all for that because he knew Michael Mixmaster Puppets. But on our album, I walked in on the solo “Set the World Afire” and he had all that kind of George Lynch 80s kind of delay on it, the echo. That solo was supposed to come off more like Al Demiola meets Alan Holdsworth. And if you listen to it without the delay, that's how it sounds. But when you put all the delay, it's harder to ascertain and hear the notes and the percussiveness of the picking. So I was almost crying in the studio and I begged him: “we have to remix that”. He was like: “oh, too late. On, let’s go to the next”. So there was just a couple of songs I wasn't happy with how much echo and delay he used. Michael Wagener, even later, talked about it. He said: “man, I did put too much”. But that was kind of the fad at that time.

Michael Wagener actually should make the second, additional mix after Paul Lani, but he refused to do it.

Jeff Young: We wish he would.

David Ellefson: Even though “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) was our second record released on Capitol, it was really our first album recorded for Capitol. The budget was decent. You know, we used Paul Lani because he was recommended by our A&R guy, Tom Whalley. He had brought Paul in to remix “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986) to give it a bigger sound, to make it, I will say it again, more competitive for major label records of that day. And part of that was to add a little more gloss, a little more sheen, reverbs and things like that that make things sound bigger. Later we recut the Nancy Sinatra cover “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” to let it be used in the Penelope Spheeris' film “Dudes” (1987). That was our first time cutting tracks from scratch with Paul. We really liked the work, so we kept him to produce and record. Paul is a very advanced thinker when it comes to making records. You know, he was mostly working in pop and other things, so for him to do a heavy metal record was a little out of school for him. But, you know, Mutt Lang was a very popular producer that day, especially with the Def Leppard “Hysteria” album (1987). So Paul Lani was experimenting with a lot of different recording techniques, recording drums without cymbals, cymbals without drums, you know, very different approach. However the bass sounded pretty typical. There was a lot of extensive work on the guitars on that record. And then, of course, you know, Jeff coming in to really save the day on that record, you know, and brought a whole new sound to the record, which leveled up with what Chris Poland has brought to the table. Dave being the very gunslinger rock and roll guitar player and then having Chris and now Jeff, you know, it kept that very interesting sound between the two guitars. Paul Lani originally had mixed the record in Bearsville Studios. What was coming back was not what we wanted to hear. It's an interesting thing that when producers make records, usually, oftentimes, there's another person who mixes the record. It's an outside ear, such as Paul remixed “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986). Then Michael Wagener was brought in as Jeff's friend. I will tell you this. Hearing now remixed, remastered versions of “So Far, So Good, So What!” (1988), I really came to appreciate what Paul Lani did on that record because we only had so much time, we only had so much money. The songs were mostly written right before we went in the studio. But it was very quick and we had a tour coming up with Ronnie James Dio. There were schedules, right? There were things prepared, so the rrecord had to get done and be finished. So quite honestly, Michael Wagener probably kept us on schedule and kept us on time and kept us on budget. So as much as we didn't have the convenience to go back and recall and be objective about things, it was kind of like: “hey, here it is, you hired me to do it, I'm the second guy”. We're out of time and run out of money. And this is it. This is what you get, you know. We were actually rehearsing for a tour while he was mixing the record. We'd go over to the studio.

Jeff Young: Holly, golly.

David Ellefson: Yeah. And we would go over and we would listen to mixes late at night. So, you know, this is what it was. The train was on the track, man. It was moving. I think Michael Wagener trusted his instincts to make us a record that had a nice big major label sound to it. Now I appreciate it, especially on iTunes, where I listen to all my music. Both the Michael Wagener’s mix and Dave Mustaine’s remixes are both up there now. Dave Mustaine’s remix is quite honestly, at least regarding the bass sound, better on all of them because they had less of the big washy sound. You can hear the bass much better. It's probably one of my bigger complaints about some of those records in the 80s that there was added more reverb, which made snare drums and guitar delays sound really good and vocals as well, even so it always compromised the sort of punch of the bass, you know. As a bass player, Dave's mixes are probably preferred, but as a sort of global mix of the sound of the records, you know, we've hired the best guys in the business: Max Norman, Mike Link, Michael Wagener, Dan Huff.

Jeff Young: Michael brought an amazing concept to the song “502”. When I walked in that day to check that mix, he said: “I made two mixes - the conservative mix and the adventurous mix”. First, he played the adventurous mix, which is the one you hear on the record where in the middle section in the bridge, the band goes into the car stereo. It's almost like a “Detroit Rock City” (Kiss, 1976, edit. note) kind of thing. When the car crash, you hear the police sirens and everything. And then the band comes out for the big explosive solo at the end. The second I heard that, I was like: “dude, that's the mix”. And everyone else in the band obviously agreed. So, you know, it's a balancing thing. Especially back then when I came in, they had two weeks left to finish the album. That included my solos. And we had to be out on tour.

David Ellefson: You know, Paul Lani did a similar thing when he came in to remix “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986). He's the one that did the mutes in “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986) during the chorus. Because during Randy Burns mixes, the guitars hang over, the bass is still playing. It was him, Paul Lani removing music, giving more space that created this iconic chorus of that song. It just goes to show mixers, because they haven't heard the songs, they're not so close to the record. They're hearing it for the first time. And they are also, like Jeff said, objective. They have an objective mix, but these are also very creative people. Mixing is a very creative process. So all these guys, especially on those two records, “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986) and “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) really brought some great perspective to those songs. “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986), “502” (1988) - those songs were reshaped. Even “In My Darkest Hour” (1988): the intro being muted on the Michael Wagener mix, it just starts on the remix that Dave did. He has the intro guitar piece that was there. So sometimes mixers are good at trimming the fat. Let's thin out the stuff that doesn't need to be there to make the song. Max Norman was mixing or getting ready to pre-mix “Symphony of Destruction” (1992). He turned it from a five - minute song with two guitar solos and a bass solo, and turned it down to a three -minute pop song. So it's these kind of things in the studio. We always used to say: “it isn't final until it's on vinyl”. In other words, until that thing is pressed and sitting in the record store, it's a work in progress.

When you worked on “Youthanasia” (1994), you were already a very huge band, and you didn't have that opportunity to test songs live before entering the studio because you had a lot of albums and you had a lot of fans that expected from you to play particular songs. So when you entered the studio with “Youthanasia” (1994), you didn't have the opportunity to play songs before live. And during the recording session, you followed a rule that you could only play each song twice, because you desired to achieve an organic sound.

David Ellefson: Right. With “Youthanasia” (1994), we went in with no material. We wrote everything from scratch. Songs developed on site. It was one of the records where we decided upfront that we were going to split everything, if not equally, at least everybody knew they were going to participate. And that took away that whole thing about people trying to get their own songs on a record because, look, that's where the money is, right? The money is there. So that really changed the feeling of it. Everybody showed up and brought their best. That was actually Nick Menza's idea. It's like: “I don't want to sit here and play drums to everybody's songs and not get paid and not get credited”. It's not right because his creativity and his input was just as valuable. So the agreement on that record was to slow everything down. Max Norman had a good point. He says the heart beats at 120 beats per minute. So that's the tempo. That's why so many hit songs are at 120 beats per minute, BPM we call it, because it resonates with the music. Otherwise if everything is the “Holy Wars... The Punishment Due” (1990), it creates this frantic feeling. When things are slow, you can relax. But at 120, you're keeping totally synchronized.

Jeff Young: And that's also, coincidentally, the most danceable tempo. When I was writing Susanna's song, I Googled what's the most danceable tempo, and it's the tempo of the heartbeat.

David Ellefson: So the songs on “Youthanasia” (1994) sort of got reined into a similar tempo for that very reason. It was an experiment. Times were changing. Seattle music was here: Pearl Jam, Nirvana, that whole thing was in full swing. And thrash metal bands: us, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Testament, all these guys - we had to find a way to also make records that, I'm sorry for using this word all the time, that are competitive, that stand up and our fans like them. Yet at that phase of our career, it was still about laying more track for the train to keep going. You're still inventing, and you're still creating the road of your career. So that was one of them. It's interesting. In America, “Youthanasia” (1994) was not our most successful record. I mean, it was successful, but internationally, it was hands down the biggest selling record that we had. Largely because in America, it was governed and throttled back by MTV. We turned in “A Tout Le Monde” video (1994), and they didn't want to play it. They said it was about suicide, so they canned it. Imagine today, if you wrote a song about suicide, you'd be a mental health awareness hero. But back in 1994, it was like cancelable. You know what I mean? So they canceled Megadeth. But that really only applied in America. Everywhere else around the world, it was a super popular record. So that's why we thought: “play it over here on this tour”. It connects. The last night was proof. “Youthanasia” (1994) was of the only one record that went gold in the UK. And last night, we played some tracks of it. Everybody just loved it.

You talked how your albums have been recorded originally, but your albums got countless re-editions, and each of them: “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986), “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) was several times remixed. Even last year, in 2023, Capitol Records released a new edition of “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986) and “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) with a remixed sound. Do you like the remixed versions more than the original one?

David Ellefson: Look, I like the original mixes. The thing with the original mixes is they also have the original masters. The reason records get remastered these days is because today, people have other kind of sound systems, even vinyl sound systems, with all these Macintosh power amps and these huge speakers. People have invested big time into vinyl again. Recently I went to a friend's house, and he showed me that: he put on an old record, it might have been a Megadeth record, that was not remastered like the original “Youthanasia” (1994), for instance, and it sounded fine. Then he put on a remastered version of a record, and it was so powerful. It matched the technology that is available now to listen to music. So I understood, through his ears, why things get remastered. I noticed on some Led Zeppelin remasters: you can hear things that you never heard in those original mixes and masterings. And even though they didn't remix those records, the remastering alone brought out dynamics that just weren't available in 1972. So that technology helps. But look, I grew up with and got used to the original mixes and the original masters, so I tend to always go back to those.

You call yourself Kings of Thrash. Does it have anything to do with Manowar “Kings of Metal” (1988)?

David Ellefson: No, 100% not. Even though that's awesome and Manowar is killer, It has nothing to do with that.

Okay, as Kings of Thrash, what do you reply to critics who say that Megadeth actually didn't play thrash at the beginning, because it was more US power metal, and the album “Youthanasia” (1994) is not thrash at all?

David Ellefson: US power metal? I've never even heard that before. I would say “Youthanasia” (1994) is not much of a Thrash record. Look, Kings of Thrash isn't me and Jeff just being fucking arrogant dickheads going “we're the Kings of Thrash”. The Kings of Thrash is the music we play, right? And we don't just play Megadeth music. We've even put a Metallica song in the set one time. Def Leppard, Motorhead. Riot. These are the kings. We're honoring the kings, not only of thrash, but the influences of thrash, which would be really essentially the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Now look, are Jeff and I in that bucket? Yeah, we did together “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988). Our Megadeth history certainly puts us in that bucket as well. But it was really more as an honorarium to the music that we're playing. That is the Kings of Thrash.

Jeff Young: Just like the band Kings of Leon. I'm sure when they came with that name, they're not thinking that they're the best leons on the planet. It's just a cool name.

Right after you set up the band, you released the DVD “Best of the West – Live at the Whiskey A Go Go” right away in 2023.

Jeff Young: On which we recorded our fourth gig.

While Megadeth waited like 20 years for the official DVD “Rude Awakening” (2002).

David Ellefson: We work faster (laugh). You know, a couple of things. First of all, it was exciting. This was a brand-new concept. You know, now I see a lot of people doing it. There are a lot of other people out, you know, Gene Simmons is out playing KISS songs, Udo Dirkschneider

Jeff Young: Dee Snider, Stephen Percy with Ratt.

David Ellefson: I'd like to think we were, if not the leaders, certainly on the front edge of this idea of doing it. Just simply for the fact that the fans want to hear these songs. That's really the bottom line, right? And we found a niche in what we do. That's different than what Megadeth today does just based on the set list pretty much.

Jeff Young: And it's kind of coincidental because, I don't know how it is in Europe, but in America, the tribute band thing is huge. There are tribute bands making more than, you know, new upcoming bands, and sometimes even more than the band they're paying homage to. The neat thing about what we did is that you actually get two original musicians in the band, as opposed to the tribute band scene where everything is usually made up of four or five people who are fans of that band. So now it's cool seeing other artists embracing that idea, like KK's Priest. There're so many bands that are taking one or two members, going out and playing the songs that the audience really wants to hear, delivering that nostalgia and the reminiscence. Like David said, we're focusing more on the songs that Megadeth doesn't play, the deep cuts, some of the faster stuff.

David Ellefson: As our singer Chaz Leon says, it's a good time to be a Megadeth fan because you still get to see the greatest hit setlist where that Dave Mustaine plays, and then you come over to see what Jeff and I are doing: the deep cuts. So you can get all of it now. It's like a full package.

It's kind of sad that, especially the younger generation, we don't have any original live DVDs neither from “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986) times, “Rest in Peace” (1990) times, nor from “Countdown to Extinction” (1992) times. We don't have this live original DVDs as they were never recorded.

Jeff Young: Technology.

David Ellefson: Well, we made “Best of the West” (2023) because of all of the excitement, and because the band was really playing great. This thing really just came together. The first show we did at the Whiskey was the ultimate jam night. They invited me and Jeff to come out and play, we got up there, Chaz Leon happened to be our singer, and Fred Aching played in another band. Jeff saw Fred, we pulled Fred in. So this thing just kind of fell in our laps, to be honest with you. So, when the opportunity came up at the Whiskey for us to be able to film and record a sold-out show, a sold-out thrash metal show at the Whiskey, I don't know that they've even ever had one of those before, right? Sold-out thrash metal show.

Jeff Young: With mosh pit and stage diving, which they don't allow at the Whiskey. There's a sign right next to the stage on a pillar that says if you stage dive or mosh pit, you're out of here. But that one night all the rules were suspended and everyone went back to 1988.

David Ellefson: It was truly magical. Our thought was: “pay the money, capture the moment”, and then Jeff went in and he mixed the record and put together a nice flow of it. Sometimes a live album doesn’t have exactly the same set list like during the actual show. We learn from Kiss “Alive!” (1975) that they started their show with “Rock Bottom” (1975), but on the record they kick it off with “Deuce” (1974) because it makes it a better listening experience. So, Jeff put together a running order of the songs that reflected the show because we played those songs at the show, but he put together a running order of that record in order to make it a better listening experience.

Jeff Young: Like a story. And we had to do it that way because, again, this was our fourth gig, and it was at the Whiskey. We had our own sound man for front of house, but then we had another monitor man who's the Whiskey staff and people who aren't actually on our daily team, so they're not in sync with how we want things to sound. The only songs that didn't make it on the record were the one with feedback issues in the monitors and things like that. Some tracks weren’t releasable because of sound issues that happened during the show. But we included all songs that had a clean performance from beginning to end. We also tried to arrange it like a story. Like in a movie, there's an arc. You want to have a build in an arc and then bring it down and then bring it back up for the ending climax.

During your Australia as well as during your America shows, you had a special guest on the scene, the previous Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland. Do you have also special guests now during this current tour?

David Ellefson: Well, we wanted to get Phil Lynott, but he wasn't available. That was a joke, by the way. Chris lives in LA and it was an easy conversation for him to have him come out and participate just because of those songs from “Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!” (1985). With Megadeth, we never played “Killing Is My Business” (1985) from top to bottom. We never played “So Far, So Good... So What!” (1988) from top to bottom neither. In the recent tour, we were celebrating those two records in their entirety. And there was like a shot heard around the world in the metal community because it had never been done before. So to bring Chris up to participate on that was simple. It was a nice honorarium to his participation in that era of the band on that record. You know, same with Australia. The promoter down there has been super gracious to us, brought us down there two years in a row. Most people don't go to Australia at all because it's expensive to go, and we got brought back two years in a row. Promotor asked if we could play the “Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?” (1986) album and bring Chris Poland, who turned out to be available and agreeable to do it. However, Kings of Thrash is a four-piece band. It's the four of us. So to bring Chris as a guest, it was a special moment for those songs.

Jeff Young: Part of the charm and what the fans love to see and for me personally, part of the arc of the show is to show people’s contribution. And during one show, I'm playing my own solos, Dave Mustaine’s solos, Chris Poland’s solos and Marty Friedman’s solos. When it's the four of us, it gives me the space and the breath to show everything I can do, as opposed to only doing just a narrower window. Last night we got a lot of compliments after the show in London from people who had never seen me before. They were really taken aback how closely to the record I played, and how we honor the tunes in the performance. As I already said, first shows could be a little dodgy. We're looking forward to a great tour here because it was a great start. As far we've done four tours of different lengths, some two weeks, some a bit longer. I think this was the best opening night we've had, so that's a great indication that this is going to be a great tour. Plus, we love being over here in Europe and seeing all the different countries, some we've been to before during various projects and some we've never been to. It's super exciting. And a lot of the fans in certain regions haven't got to ever hear these songs live in their life. It's kind of a historic moment. I'm getting chills talking about it to you. We're able to bring these songs that some of these people have never heard live. A live show is a circle and we're only drawing half of that circle. The audience draws the other half. That's what was amazing last night. What we love about Europe, it seems people in Europe are more hungry and enthusiastic and willing to participate than in North America. I would say people in America are a bit more standoffish and spoiled because they get so much entertainment coming through and they can get anything they want. USA is a country of convenience. So we're going out of our way and it's not always convenient for us to get to where we are going on this tour. It's a lot of travel. We got 12 shows in a row. But what a pleasure and an honor it is to bring this performance and to be the ambassadors of that music to these exciting countries for the very first time.

At the end of our conversation, I have to ask you also about the Polish thing, because besides Kings of Thrash, there is also a band called Dieth performing each evening with a Polish drummer and the only one Dieth album has been recorded in Poland. David Ellefson is playing bass in both bands.

Jeff Young: I think David is going to be very tired after every show.

David Ellefson: Guilherme Miranda (Dieth guitarist and vocalist, edit. note) was introduced to me through a mutual friend. I don’t really know his whole story. I knew he played guitars in Entombed. He sent me a track. I was super active in that period. It was probably one of my most creative seasons in my life. I was the guy who called up all my friends and said: “let's make a cover album, let's keep our chops up and let's get going”. I did several records, including Dieth “To Hell And Back” (2023). I came over here to Europe, recorded in January of 2022. Then I came over here again in April and I told Guilherme Mirana: “I'm here to shoot a video”. He put it all together. He's a man of integrity, a man who makes things happen. I love working with people like that. I love go getters and people who are out, who move life forward. Running bands is not easy, man. It’s expensive. It’s hard to keep people together. Especially when the band operates on three different continents. But there is a lot of fun. You start this when you're like 10, 11, 12 years old, whatever your age is, when you pick up a guitar. You make it because you enjoy it. You’re kind of emulating your heroes and one day you are lucky enough to become those heroes to other people. For me, I thought it was kind of fun to go out of genre and play something different than what I normally did. Dieth is a cool band, a fun band. The guys are great, so we thought: “let's just put them on the bill”. Music works really well in those parts of Europe that we're playing in.

Sam O’Black