This year marks the 35th anniversary of Megadeth, to which the band is set to release their ultimate greatest hits compilation, Warheads On Foreheads, on March 22nd. In a new interview with MusicRadar, Dave Mustaine talk about the collection, the band's forthcoming new studio album, and more. A couple of excerpts follows:

Q: While choosing the 35 tracks for Warheads On Forehead, which did you feel was the most underrated gem in your back catalogue?

A: “I’d say 'Wanderlust' is one of the best songs I’ve ever written. It’s such a stretch from what we were doing before, with its usage of different instrumentation. I was visualizing something different in my mind’s eye and had this end result, which I feel we nailed. I wished it would have been one of those songs serviced to those bad boys of country like Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr - someone who had that metal vibe in country rock...

“There’s a real story behind guitar players being gunslingers, using a lot of metaphors from one of my favourite movies, Tombstone. In my age bracket, as an American boy growing up, if you didn’t see those movies or shows you can’t have been watching TV. They were situational stories based on cowboy families, The High Chaparral, The Lone Ranger, all the Roy Rogers stuff. I’ve seen every Clint Eastwood movie. John Wayne was also one of my favourites, that’s where I got a lot of bravado as a kid.”

Q: Finally, how is Megadeth’s 16th record coming along?

“Whenever I’ve been home, I’ve been working on new music from 10 in the morning to seven at night. My co-producer Chris Rakestraw from the Dystopia team has been helping with pre-production on songs. I have about eight songs and there’s one which is just unanimously everyone’s favourite, which is great... I’m not saying there’s only one good song so far though, haha! Let’s just say whenever I have that first song everyone gets excited about, I know I’m on my way to another great record...

“We’re going to do 12 or 13 tracks this time. My contract says I’m only supposed to do eight songs a record and I just can’t do that - it feels like cheating. When I grew up listening to vinyl, it was a lot easier to buy a record and be happy with 45 minutes of music. When the digital world came, the paradigm changed - a musical offering needs a lot more. People aren’t satisfied and hit fast-forward a lot. So right now, we know we’re off to a good start; this new material is only going to get better and better..."

Read more at MusicRadar.

To further celebrate their 35th anniversary, Megadeth has partnered with premiere comics publisher, Heavy Metal, to create the ultimate fan experience with a 350-page anthology of comic stories inspired by all the songs on the album.

The collaboration, titled Death By Design, features stories written and illustrated by top talent from comics, film, television and music and will be available worldwide at retailers everywhere on June 5th.

The project, carefully curated by Dave Mustaine and Heavy Metal, is a powerful book that gives both insight and understanding into the universe of Megadeth and its harrowed mascot, Vic Rattlehead.

Megadeth, working in close collaboration with Heavy Metal, has collected an  unprecedented pool of talent for Megadeth: Death By Design - making it any comic book or Megadeth fan’s dream.  Brendan Small (creator of Metalocalypse) teams with Belen Ortega (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) for Hangar 18.  Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts And Where To find Them) writes an apocalyptic tale insanely drawn by Andy Belanger (Southern Cross) for Rattlehead. An A-list talent pool rounds out the roster featuring Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night), Brian Wood (DMZ), Justin Jordan & John Bivens (Spread), Leah Moore & John Reppion (Judge Dredd), Joe Keatingue (Popgun), Christine Larsen (Holy Diver), Frazier Irving (Annihilator) and more than 50 other talented creators.

Says Dave Mustaine: “I have always fantasized about Megadeth doing something this gloriously electrifying and gruesome. I hope everyone will enjoy the graphic novel as much as I enjoyed working with Heavy Metal to put it together for you.”

Jeff Krelitz, CEO of Heavy Metal said: “Since I was old enough to buy records, Megadeth has been one of my favorite bands, not only for the great storytelling in the music, but the world building imagery on the album covers. This opportunity to meld the two world together and tell stories inspired by their songs is a privilege that we are excited to present to the fans.”

The Megadeth: Death By Design 350-page graphic novel will be presented in a 12.25”x12.25” prestige “album” format and comes in 4 different collector’s editions:

* Leather bound slipcase edition with 4-clear vinyl set of Warheads On Foreheads and Death By Design graphic novel signed by Dave Mustaine. Pre-order this location.

* FYE Exclusive Leather bound slipcase edition with 4-clear vinyl set of Warheads On Foreheads and Death By Design graphic novel signed by Dave Mustaine. Will be available at FYE retail outlets.

* Leather bound slipcase edition with 4-clear vinyl set of Warheads On Foreheads and Death By Design graphic novel. Pre-order this location.

* Standard hardcover edition of Death By Design graphic novel. Pre-order this location.