MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine has issued the following update:

"Droogies!

It is the end of another busy and productive day here at Vic's Garage. James is walking out the door as I type and Shawn is in going over old riffs and comparing stuff to "KIMB" to make sure that we aren't copying ourselves.

It is official, we have nine (9) songs and sixteen (16) new ideas for additional songs. Please don’t get excited though, because I am only contracted to record twelve (12) songs for the eleven (11) domestic tracks and one (1) additional track for Japan.

I am very excited about the material and while we have a good record as it is now (better than most of the sh*t out now), I am striving for greatness, and even then, I am not going to stop if I can until I achieve another masterpiece. I am unsure with the competition out here now that it is still possible, especially after hearing the new releases by some of the big dogs, the bar has definitely been raised.

I will have at least a week of time to review all of the lyrics that I have written for this record, and I hope to be prepared for Andy's return from the UK for his Christmas vacation with his girlfriend Jackie, whom I affectionately call "June" since he met her in June. I told Andy to ask her a running joke we had for a while about what women look at when they "check out" a guy, and I told him that a woman will look at a man's shoes, and he made a big deal out of it. We had several jabs back and forth in the press about shoes and sh*t, but he asked her and she said . . . "We look at the shoes."

Jackie, "quod erat demonstrandum," or in English, "I thank you for proving my point."

James has made several suggestions which has resulted in his having contributed to this record and he has recorded some parts yesterday, as well as Shawn, so we are having a fairly balanced record with input from the guys. We are waiting to hear from Chris, but that may be too soon still, since he is still getting used to me as a person and partner on guitar. I look forward to wahtever he comes up with that we can use. I have already assigned some really difficult, yet beautiful parts for him to learn and to play for us when we are live (if we play the song live), that we are going to put on the front and the back of one song in particular that I really like.

I have to go for now, and I know that I have missed a few days of posting, but you can always get the official news here from me at Megadeth.com. If you read something at the various sites like the famous or infamous gossip sites, you stand a chance of not getting the real scoop, unlike getting it here from us, or a site we can vouch for and its consistency for accurate writing, interviews and reviews with almost 100% of their coverage of Megadeth, our friends at Brave Words And Bloody Knuckles. And while we are always their favorite band or musician(s), I have always recognized BW&BK; as a really good source of news on Megs.

Now having said that, there has not been ANY OFFICIAL announcement by me of any tours except for Priest Feast. Anything else is not accurate, not correct, and certainly NOT official.

Lastly, please leave me some more messages at the widget on our home page. Leave 'em about anything that you want to ask. I really liked answering the questions and we are getting ready to start posting some juicy tidbits here and at the MFC site about our opening the Megadeth Fan Club back up. We are going to have loads of new material, features, merchandise, and more. Stay tuned and check back regularly for updates about the record, my book, my radio show, and anything else Mustaine or all things mega!!!

Love you all!

If you really want to "hear" from me, be sure to call me on TheLiveLine at (866) 597-6342 and for our international Droogies click here. Leave me a message and I might get back to you."