WHO: Rockstar Mayhem Festival Featuring Megadeth, Disturbed, Godsmack, In Flames and Machine Head.
WHAT: Heavy metal.
WHEN: 2:15 p.m. Wednesday.
WHERE: PNC Bank Arts Center, Exit 116, Holmdel; 732-203-2500 or artscenter.com.
HOW MUCH: $25 to $85.
ALSO PERFORMING: With Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax at the Big 4 at Yankee Stadium concert, Sept. 14, Bronx.; $94.50 to $229.50; 877-469-9849 or ticketmaster.com.
FOR MORE INFO: megadeth.com, myspace.com/megadeth and rockstarmayhemfest.com.
For thrash legend Megadeth, this summer is a time to reflect on its past while looking toward the future. The band has been working on its 13th studio album, "TH1RT3EN," due this fall, and this month released a 25th anniversary edition of its seminal 1986 album, "Peace Sells … But Who's Buying?"
"It's a cool set of bookends right now," bassist Dave Ellefson said by phone from the band's San Diego recording studio.
"Peace Sells" is considered one of the most technically complex and aggressive records in heavy metal history and represented a giant leap forward for Megadeth from its straightforward debut, which was released a year earlier.
"The longer you're together as a band, the better you write," Ellefson said. "Everything goes up to a whole other level."
Megadeth played many of the songs on "Peace Sells," including the classic title track and metal masterpieces such as "Wake Up Dead," "The Conjuring" and "Devil's Island," on tour before entering the studio.
"Having played the songs live, they already had that energy," Ellefson said. "Our chops were shining."
Ellefson said Megadeth was literally a hungry band at the time, which contributed to the album's dangerous and dark vibe.
"We scraped and crawled and squatted and did everything we could to survive in those days," Ellefson said. "We had nothing to fall back on."
The "Peace Sells" lineup also included guitarist-vocalist Dave Mustaine, guitarist Chris Poland and the late Gar Samuelson on drums. Megadeth today features Mustaine, guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover.
In addition to performing at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival in Holmdel, Megadeth will play a special Big 4 Show with fellow thrash pioneers Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax at Yankee Stadium.
Ellefson said he is thrilled to be part of the show, which celebrates the bands generally acknowledged as having created the genre.
"Every one of us has staked our own claim and contributed something very unique to heavy metal music," Ellefson said. "At the same time, the common thread is that we all formed in the early 1980s, and we were the first generation that took the sound of heavy metal at the time and added the aggression of punk."
WHAT: Heavy metal.
WHEN: 2:15 p.m. Wednesday.
WHERE: PNC Bank Arts Center, Exit 116, Holmdel; 732-203-2500 or artscenter.com.
HOW MUCH: $25 to $85.
ALSO PERFORMING: With Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax at the Big 4 at Yankee Stadium concert, Sept. 14, Bronx.; $94.50 to $229.50; 877-469-9849 or ticketmaster.com.
FOR MORE INFO: megadeth.com, myspace.com/megadeth and rockstarmayhemfest.com.
For thrash legend Megadeth, this summer is a time to reflect on its past while looking toward the future. The band has been working on its 13th studio album, "TH1RT3EN," due this fall, and this month released a 25th anniversary edition of its seminal 1986 album, "Peace Sells … But Who's Buying?"
"It's a cool set of bookends right now," bassist Dave Ellefson said by phone from the band's San Diego recording studio.
"Peace Sells" is considered one of the most technically complex and aggressive records in heavy metal history and represented a giant leap forward for Megadeth from its straightforward debut, which was released a year earlier.
"The longer you're together as a band, the better you write," Ellefson said. "Everything goes up to a whole other level."
Megadeth played many of the songs on "Peace Sells," including the classic title track and metal masterpieces such as "Wake Up Dead," "The Conjuring" and "Devil's Island," on tour before entering the studio.
"Having played the songs live, they already had that energy," Ellefson said. "Our chops were shining."
Ellefson said Megadeth was literally a hungry band at the time, which contributed to the album's dangerous and dark vibe.
Rags to riches
"We scraped and crawled and squatted and did everything we could to survive in those days," Ellefson said. "We had nothing to fall back on."
In addition to performing at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival in Holmdel, Megadeth will play a special Big 4 Show with fellow thrash pioneers Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax at Yankee Stadium.
Ellefson said he is thrilled to be part of the show, which celebrates the bands generally acknowledged as having created the genre.
"Every one of us has staked our own claim and contributed something very unique to heavy metal music," Ellefson said. "At the same time, the common thread is that we all formed in the early 1980s, and we were the first generation that took the sound of heavy metal at the time and added the aggression of punk."
