In a new interview with Paste, Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine discusses the band’s new and 15th full-length album, Dystopia, as well as his changes in perspective and the effect it’s had on his music as he’s grown older.

Asked if his own mortality is something that’s started to influence what and how he creates, Mustaine responds: “Not to be redundant with my source of quotes, but I think Winston Churchill is the one attributed to the quote that says something about when you’re young you’re more inclined to be liberal and when you’re older you’re more inclined to be conservative, and I think there’s a lot of that that makes sense.

“Life is like a candle, and when you get down to the very end of it, you want the fire to burn slower. I mean, you look at mortality and the people who are just a mere 20 years or even less older than me dropping like flies. Of course medication has advanced to help extend our lives, but it really makes you think about what is gonna be left behind for you.

“Think about it. Scott Weiland died, and he was in the press for like two days and then gone. All the great songs that he wrote and all the wonderful shows that those guys put on, and the same thing with Lemmy, although the heavy metal community did a great job of memorializing him, this giant, who I’ll never forget, but he’s out of the headlines. Bowie went a little bit slower than any of them, obviously, but then someone like Glenn Frey just came and went. He was just as quickly in the news as he was out of it, and nobody even really made mention at all of Natalie Cole dying.

“You think your life is this grand thing, but it’s just that dash between the year we’re born and the year we die. Everything you do, every word we say, and every deed we accomplish is summed up in that dash.”

Read more at PasteMagazine.com.

Megadeth’s North American tour kicked off on February 20th in Dallas at the South Side Ballroom. On February 26th, Megadeth performed at the Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas, NV. During their set they performed "Dystopia", the title track from their new album, for the first time ever. Fan-filmed video can be viewed below:

The North American leg of the Dystopia World Tour takes Megadeth across the US, visiting 12 states and throughout Canada. Remaining dates are listed below.

March
9 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
10 - Moose Jaw, SK - Mosaic Place
13 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
15 - Niagara Falls, NY - The Rapids Theatre
16 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
17 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
19 - Bethlehem, PA - Sands Bethlehem Event Center
20 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
21 - Boston, MA - House Of Blues
23 - Bangor, ME - Cross Insurance Center
24 - Quebec, QC - Centre Videotron
26 - Sioux Falls, SD - Badlands Pawn