Dave Mustaine has confirmed that indeed it was TESTAMENT bassist Steve DiGiorgio who re-recorded the bass tracks for the new MEGADETH album, “The Sick, The Dying, And The Dead”.
Mustaine revealed the news in a talk with SiriusXM’s ‘Liquid Metal’, saying: “It was a good choice. I didn’t think about anybody else at the time. I was thinking about ‘who’s the hottest guy out there that can play these new songs?’ [Mustaine’s son] Justis told me one of the fastest songs we’ve ever written is on this record. I don’t care what anybody says — bass may be less strings than guitar, but it’s difficult to play, if you’re like me. I have a real hard time playing the bass. I wrote the riff for ‘Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?’ for Pete’s sake, but you know… having to jam some of those parts that fast, it just kills your fingers.”
The announcement comes as not much of a surprise to many fans who speculated the bassist’s involvement for months after his type of Ibanez bass appeared in a cameo video that Mustaine recorded for a fan.
DiGiorgio is widely renowned as an incredible musician having played with bands like TESTAMENT, DEATH and SADUS, among others.
Two months ago, Mustaine confirmed that returning bassist James LoMenzo is set to play bass for MEGADETH when the band commences the second U.S. leg of “The Metal Tour Of The Year”. Joining them will be co-headliners LAMB OF GOD along with special guests TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES.
LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the band’s studio albums, 2007’s “United Abominations” and 2009’s “Endgame” before being fired in 2010.
“The Sick, The Dying And The Dead” arrives on July 8. The follow-up to 2016’s “Dystopia” features a cover of DEAD KENNEDYS’ “Police Truck” and Sammy Hagar’s “This Planet’s On Fire”, which actually features Sammy Hagar.