The nearly 20 years in-the-making reincarnation of Clash Of The Titans is officially underway as MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX hit the road on the Jagermeister Music Tour across the US this Fall.

Having kicked off September 24th, running through October 21st, and marking the closest thing the States has come to the Big Four sharing one stage, Spin Magazine caught up with Dave Mustaine, Kerry King and Scott Ian to discuss their reunion of sorts on US soil, and what has changed since the first time they got together to tour.

The following is an excerpt from the interview:

Q: Nineteen years is a long time. Can you guys still party backstage like you used to?

Kerry King: "I drank a lot then and I probably drink more now. You just get better at it."

Scott Ian: "Well, I didn't drink then -- hardly at all. And now I kind of drink. So I drink now more than I did 19 years ago."

Dave Mustaine: "I hardly drink at all. The party, for me, is just playing with these guys. We've all grown up from the first time we did the Clash tour. When we did Big Four tour in Europe with Metallica, it was really cool to see the bond, like, 'Look at all we've survived. Look at all we've created. Look at how we've changed the world.' And it really started to sink in how the four of us have really changed history -- not only with playing, but with the whole lifestyle that goes along with it, too."

Q: Have you guys been getting nostalgic?

Mustaine: "No. This music is really popular right now, and we're the best at what we do. There's a very small group of us that play like this, so when we all get together, it's basically getting the cream of the crop. And for us to say that it's like nostalgia, then that would be kind of corny, like we're Styx or REO Speedwagon. We're still relevant. We still have young people that are attracted to our music. It's not like we have old fuckers coming here!"

Ian: "Our 25-year-old music is better than anything else. And we play it better than we've ever played it before. It still opens doors and still breaks down doors, and, other than a few bands in the last 25 years that have also achieved amazing successes and made great records, who is better than us? I'm not trying to be a dick when I say that. It's what I truly believe. And there are generations of kids that never got to see it -- not the first time around. We're playing songs that are just timeless."

Mustaine: "With the same solos in them!"

Ian: "Yeah, they're just timeless."

Q: Do you think that being with one another steps your game up? Do you have to perform at a higher level?

Mustaine: "It makes me want to play better because I'm with two bands that I really dig and that are really great bands. I get excited."

Ian: "That's the best way I could put it, too."

Mustaine: "I'll blab about this for ten minutes trying to get across my point, but I just get really excited about it."

Ian: "Yeah, it definitely makes me want to elevate my game. It's just more exciting to know I'm getting onstage tonight in Dallas tonight with Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer than it was at our warm-up show in Oklahoma City last night with a bunch of local bands. We still had a great show, but there's an excitement level that starts today that, of course, I didn't have last night. I'm definitely more pumped."

Q: So who puts on the best show?

Mustaine: "The best live show that I've ever seen is Slayer. Their energy is just over the top. We try to play our best. But, as far as the energy and stuff, I've never seen anybody do what Kerry and Slayer can do."

King: "We're all totally different animals. I call Megadeth nerd metal -- not detrimentally, but they're guitar geeks. They blow away the guitar geeks. They're very good at what they do. And then you have guitar geeks come look at us, and they're like, 'Yeah, it's kind of heavy.' But the intricacies of the leads and stuff? C'mon, that's Megadeth's specialty. We're just angry and throwing and spitting aggression. All four band (including Metallica) started from one place and evolved into a four-headed monster. There's four very different things happening."

Mustaine: "Same body; four different heads. That's a great way to put it."

Read the full interview at this location.