MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has issued the following update:

"I love you all so much. I see how much you want to help me, and how you are all helping squash the METALLICA bashing, and the poll at MH. I see how you are going out to the streets and checking in the stores and calling up the stations, and I appreciate it.

The hard work begins now, and that starts with me. We have to prepare for a Phase 2 from the label (which should go without saying), but we are getting ready to choose a new single and Roadrunner's President told my manager Mark Adelman (best Megs manager to date), that they 'decided that they were going to go with a phase 2 for the new record.' I told our beloved webmaster this and in his childlike honesty he said, 'um, shouldn't there be like a phase 3, 4, and 5 too?' I said, 'One would think so,' so, I have to chalk this up to the hard work that you are all doing for us out on the streets.

We are going to make some really killer posters available to you guys to download and print up to distribute in your towns and take to your favourite places (including but not limited to) clubs, stores, venues, events, arcades, tracks, courts, fields, and gyms. In return, we decided that we are going to make some show passes only available for those who really can rise to the occasion on helping us get in the trenches and again (including but not limited to) flier, poster, call and request, survey, research, and promote the band.

I do have to say that I cannot win regarding talking or not talking about my past band. No matter how I try to deal with my previous band, I get grief; if I don't talk about it, I get slagged; if I do talk about it I get slagged. The sad thing is that I am so careful with what I say anymore, that I am not being myself very much anymore in interviews.

So, here are the answers you are waiting for and I after this, I am going to start saying no comment in the interviews because I just cannot stop this feud. It sucks that something that the bands don't even care about, is being kept alive by the fans, and the ones who complain about it are the ones who are keeping this terrible thing alive.

Here goes: I did say that I thought that we have a better record, but I also said that this is the only time that I have felt like that, and that they have had many great records. I was really disappointed to see my quote taken out of context, and not just out in the net, but even here.

Here is the dirt on the Big Four Tour: the only ones that have asked us if we want to do this are you. If we were asked, it would need to be by their management/agent, and they haven't, although we would 100% strongly consider it, and now, I am not going to answer this question again.

Dave Mustaine sez, 'Buy the Canadian record with the Hellcrusher sticker. It is going to be a collectors item!!!'"