MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover is featured in a new interview with Sergio Pereira at South African music website, MusicReview.co.za. An excerpt is available below:

Q: It’s been stated that TH1RT3EN consists of new compositions and older material, which Dave Mustaine had written earlier in his career. My question is this: how do you guys know, or decide, when it’s time to revisit the older material?

Shawn Drover: "What happened with this [was] we were talking about ideas for the new record and stuff, and Dave brought up the idea of 'What do you think about us doing 'Millennium Of The Blind' and 'New World Order'?'; they were recorded as demos years ago and were released on the Youthanasia remaster, I believe, just as a couple of bonus songs that were laying around in the vault somewhere. I really had to back for it, because I think the songs kick ass and were never really recorded properly. I thought if we go in there and re-record the songs and make them sound killer and all that stuff, a lot of fans will dig it, because – obviously they’re fans of our songs – but they’re really good songs as well. And I thought it was a unique idea for us to do something like that, [as] it’s not something we’ve really done a whole lot, to be honest. At the end of the day, those songs kick ass; that’s the long and short of it. We’d never try re-record a couple of songs that suck, you know what I mean? I thought it would be cool thing for the fans and they’re just great songs as well."

Q: From a drummer’s perspective, is there anything that you did differently to push yourself on this new release, or did you try keep it simple, and, like you said, just creating a heavy metal record?

Shawn Drover: "Yeah, I didn’t do any playing that was exactly outside of the box, because that doesn’t fit into the musical structure of Megadeth – to go off and do some kind of weird, jazz thing…you know what I mean? I always play for the song, whatever the song calls for. If it calls for a lot of double-bass drumming, that’s fine. If it calls for something that’s real, straight-ahead towards the floor, that’s fine, too. I always try to service the song. I don’t really play for myself, as much as I try play for the band. I’m just saying that it’s a team effort; nobody goes off and does their own thing. Whether it’s just a song or not, we all play a part in ultimately servicing the song; I think that’s one of the reasons why a lot of these songs stand the test of time, instead of being so self-indulgent where all you’re trying to do is please yourself; I think ultimately who we’re trying to please is as many people as possible."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Megadeth will release TH1RT3EN on October 26th in Japan and on November 1st in North America. The tracklisting is as follows:

'Sudden Death'

'Public Enemy No. 1'

'Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)'

'We The People'

'Guns, Drugs & Money'

'Never Dead'

'New World Order'

'Fast Lane'

'Black Swan'

'Wrecker'

'Millennium Of The Blind'

'Deadly Nightshade'

'13'

In live news, Megadeth's South American/Latin American tour kicks off on November 9th in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dates include:

November

9 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Estadio Cubierto Malvinas
10 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Estadio Cubierto Malvinas
12 - Santiago, Chile - Maquinaria Festival, Club Hipico
14 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - SWU Music & Arts Festival
16 - Mexico City, Mexico - Jose Cuervo Salon
17 - Mexico City, Mexico - Jose Cuervo Salon
19 - Guadalajara, Mexico - H&H; Metal Fest, Calle 2
20 - Monterrey, Mexico - Banamex Auditorium
23 - Bogota, Colombia - Coliseo El Campin
25 - La Paz, Bolivia - Estadio Rafael Mendoza Castellon
27 - Asuncion, Paraguay - Live Ace Arena

December

1 - Heredia, Costa Rica - Rosabal Cordero Stadium