Dave Mustaine on FEMA Camps and Coffins

I found this article while browsing www.roadrunnerrecords.com... It is an interview from AskMen.com with the front man Dave Mustaine of heavy metal band Megadeth. If you don't know who Megadeth are, I suggest you type them in wikipedia for all the info you need. They have a new album coming out tomorrow. I found the album cover quite revealing, but more so what he had to say as far as the theme of the album.

BTW, I thought about posting this in BTS, but after browsing the Music forum over there I thought it would be better suited here on ATS. Mods feel free to move. Also, this isn't meant as some kind of shameless promotion for the album coming out tomorrow. I am an avid metal fan and simply stumbled across the article on blabbermouth.net the other day and felt it relevant to post.

Where does the title come from? There was a bill that was signed into law by our ex-president, George Bush, and basically it gave him the power to create these detention centers that could be used for mass casualties and stuff like that, and in the long run they were like concentration camps to hold people in. This is to the degree where even they take people who were legal citizens if they don’t agree with what our ex-president felt were groups that should be on a list of terrorists. For example, one of the groups that was put on this terror list was, Janet Napolitano had suggested this, was a pro-life group -- I don’t want to get in that whole hang up about abortion or no abortion or whatever -- but, you gotta be real careful nowadays about who you call a terror group. Looking back at the heritage of our country, a lot of people who were freedom fighters would have been called terrorists, but I think there’s a total difference between someone who would stand up with a sword and want to fight you face-to-face versus somebody who’s hiding behind the cowardice of a bomb. There are no heroics in fighting behind women and children; you’re supposed to fight in front of them; you’re supposed to protect them. The rules of engagement have totally changed is basically what I’m saying.

Can you interpret the cover of Endgame for us? Yeah, in the middle of the nation we have this one locale where they’ve got a bunch of inexplicable black coffins that FEMA has holed up on somebody’s property (I think it’s in Indianapolis or Iowa or something in the Midwest). Nobody’s really taking ownership for it -- you know, there’s no signs out there saying “coffin sale today” -- so, it’s kind of suspicious-looking. [The cover] is just a kind of lumping of all different kinds of ideas together. What I feel when I see it, is us as sheep being prisoners to the new world order getting led off down this corridor of death with these FEMA-assisted suicide canisters, these “come on, free housing.” It’s like that Twilight Zone episode where the book said “How to Serve Man,” and they couldn’t figure out what the rest of the book was. Then this girl comes screaming: “Don’t get in the spaceship, don’t get in the spaceship,” and everybody on Earth is getting into the spaceship, and she goes: “The book, How to Serve Man, it’s a cookbook.” (laughs)

Anyways, that's it. Even though they are not at the height of their popularity like they were in the late 80's/early 90's, they are still a relevant part of pop culture and do get mainstream exposure. They still have a core audience that buys records and I'm quite sure that this album will be in the Billboard Top 20 next week...I consider that some major exposure for an issue of this nature, provided people want to look more into the subject matter. The last album, United Abominations, debuted at number 8.

Obviously Mr. Mustaine has some of his facts backwards, like the location of the coffins, but still, the info is getting out there.

In 1976 Lynard Skynard released their Street Survivors Album which the cover depicted the band standing on a street being consumed by flames.

It hit the shelves at the same time most of the band was being...da da...consumed in flames from their private jet airplane crashing.

A few of them died, a few of them were basically crippled for life, a few of them lived.

Now that my friend is dedication to art!

Megadeath, Smegadeath!

Anger sells, fear sells, rage and angst sells, it's how you get the disaffected youth to be disaffected...

For whom the bell tolls...

Time marches on!

S+F, being a somewhat Metalhead, or your typical Metal listener, its good to see Dave getting into this kind of thing and bringing it out for the Metal community to see. Many dismiss these artists as being stupid or non-educated when infact there anything but.
There are some great Philosophers within the Metal scene, the last time I can remember something like this happening was when Gojira released the "From Mars to Sirius" album or the Marilyn Manson Antichrist album which wasn't too long ago either.
With Matt Bellamy in Muse also researching facts on 9/11 it seems Musicians are finally starting to become aware of the world around them and have been doing their own research, now its time to unleash what they know onto the listeners and let them decided for themselves.

I still love Megadeth~ People don't give Dave Mustaine enough props
for the lyrics he was writing way back - very dark/political. i'm glad he
left Metallica who never sang a song that meant anything. Mustaine's
lyrics were anti NWO when nobody even know it existed, very prophetic as it turns out.
I saw that Megadeth was doing some dates wtih Slayer, flashback to
20 years ago when I saw them together. What amazing bands still.

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


Megadeth, smegadeth? Have you ever read Mustaines lyrics? Go check
out peace sells, who"s buying? No other metal band at that time was
doing anyting political - it was all about fantasypooh knights riding, blades swinging I am the hero crap. It was punk and hardcore bands that were filling the political void, not metal. Megadeth is still real and excellent musicians to boot even though I'll admit I never cared much for Mustaine's vocal style which reminded me too much of Iron maiden.

< HUGE megadeth fan here I used to play alot of guitar, metal, nad my learnings weere from how dave mustine played yes i was playing on hte heavy side speed metal with that 'crunch' to it. I still do time to time today, as my lifes ambition was form a band, which never happened. But music will always be in my blood.
Interesting to see dave makes albums over the new world order. HIs last 2 or 3 albums were rpecisly about this as well. Going back in time, to 1986, megadeth's albuym peace sells but whos buying, started it all. Google it in on yuotibe, and LISTEN to the lyrics its all baout how things and we really are.

the most contoversial line in that song is... 'whadaya mean, i can be the president..of the united states of america...tell me something, its still WE the poeple right"

'You take a mortal man...and put him in control....watch him become a god..'

Megadeth is quite the enjoyable listen, old chap.

That guy really sounds like I've read some of his posts on here. Sancho, are you really the Megadeth guy?



[edit on 14-9-2009 by KSPigpen]

reply to post by ziggy1706


I like ...Whadaya mean I don't pay my bills? Whydaya think I 'm BROKE!


Dave Mustain is really political most Megadeath songs are about government hypocrisy, corruption and totalitarianism

I love MegaDeath I could make a case based on their discography that they predicted the current state of things very well

I've always had it in my head that Dave is a prophet

I like everything up to and including "Rust in Peace" which was awesome and whilst I think Mustaine is a bit of a weiner in real life, lyrically he's a pretty smart guy.

Lynard Skynard - that was kind of offensive, not in the sense of you making the "joke" that you did, that was just offensive to yourself, but dude - LYNYRD SKYNYRD!

WOW!
For some reason this reminds me of Tupac Shakur's last album,

Killuminati = Kill-illuminati.

and then a week later he gets "killed"
and 5 years later is 9/11/01
and he was planning on starting a new political movement.

Megadeth, I fear for you. Be careful!

gotta love Dave. he has always been this way though. what I dont like about him is that he is a bible thumper. I read an interview the other day where he talked about getting mad when his old drummer (Nick Menza) said Jesus was an alien. lol. I think he'd have an issue with some people on here then! but yeah, I wouldn't be at all suprised if he comes on ATS.

oh and I'll bet bet Endgame>>Death Magnetic

lol invisible woman tha whole song is a masterpiece! Im not knokcing him or anyting but bak then, in those days dave had a HUGE drug problem..right around peace sells, he was on coke and heroin, i belive..so the heavyness to his music, is his altered emotions expressing himself, because of the drugs. Since he has cleaned up, god bless him for that, theirs a noticble difference in his music. Right around 1990, when runst in peace came out, dave was cliniclly dead at a hopsitl one night, the needle still in his arm. Miraculously, they bought him back. Dave always belived it was god that gave him tthat 2nd chance...whcih is an awesome thought in and of itself HE really didnt clean up, until about 1994..when train of consequences came out..thiers no hardness to the music, well, not the aggressive speed adn crunch, rather, form that point on, he became more orchestrated and focused on his music. I can read tabliture, so reading his music on tab, HUGE difference between thena nd now

I can proudly say that I saw Megadeath at a small punk club one night when they just decided to show up and play.
Yeah, they had some good lyrics. Slayer too.
And don't forget Motorhead. "Eat the Rich"

Might come down to that, lol

Originally posted by ziggy1706
lol invisible woman

tha whole song is a masterpiece! Im not knokcing him or anyting but bak then, in those days dave had a HUGE drug problem..right around peace sells, he was on coke and heroin, i belive..so the heavyness to his music, is his altered emotions expressing himself, because of the drugs. Since he has cleaned up, god bless him for that, theirs a noticble difference in his music. Right around 1990, when runst in peace came out, dave was cliniclly dead at a hopsitl one night, the needle still in his arm. Miraculously, they bought him back. Dave always belived it was god that gave him tthat 2nd chance...whcih is an awesome thought in and of itself

HE really didnt clean up, until about 1994..when train of consequences came out..thiers no hardness to the music, well, not the aggressive speed adn crunch, rather, form that point on, he became more orchestrated and focused on his music. I can read tabliture, so reading his music on tab, HUGE difference between thena nd now

agreed. but I think he also changed their sound after RIP because he was folling what Metallicrap did. he can still write some good stuff here and there. I was really hoping his wife leaving him would make him mad again! wtv the case, I'll be getting the new album this week, and if all else fails there's still Testament. and the new Slayer in nov.

oh, and why isn't Vic Rattlehead on the cover somewhere?

why is everyone knocking Metallica... Do they have lyrics pro illuminati. I should research this... hmm... Mater of Puppets was the biggest album. Very revealing title

I like Megadeth.

I don't give a rats butt what Mustaine says though. He is just a whiner who hasn't gotten over being kicked out of Metallica. Anytime he can grab some spotlight he will do it and say anything to keep it.

If you are a fan you might want to get the oldie but goodie Rude Awakening DVD.

Originally posted by Totalstranger
oh, and why isn't Vic Rattlehead on the cover somewhere?

I may be mistaken but maybe the guys walking away are rattle heads?..I dont think I ever seen the back of Vic's head though..

I'm not into the Megadeth artwork that much it's well-done, but a bit cheesy. Pretty sure that Vic Rattlehead hasn't been used because of a dispute with the artist Ed Repka.

Whatever the Mustaine issues, I think they really lost the plot AFTER R.I.P. (which was a total benchmark), but lyrically they're very interesting still.

I think Metallica are getting knocked because they seem unable to produce good work anymore...

Master Of Puppets, I actually think was more relevant to Hetfield's addiction problems, especially the line "Chop your breakfast on a mirror" - lyrically "...and Justice for all" is a decent ATS themed album.