Megadeth.co.uk has posted an interview with Brent Elliot White, the artist who created the cover art for Megadeth’s new album Dystopia.

An excerpt below:

What inspired the style and setting for Dystopia’s cover art?

White: “I wasn’t handed the cover. I was asked to throw my hat in the ring so to speak. As such I was given some visual reference and themes to work from to come up with a concept. Megadeth is huge, so they weren’t gonna just hand over lyrics if it wasn’t full go.

“Dave (Mustaine) had some solid ideas. I don’t think it was named quite yet or maybe I didn’t get the title right away, I can’t remember. Style, setting and overall theme were clear however: We discussed post apocalyptic films and imagery. 12 Monkeys and the Mad Max films for example.

“Dystopia is applicably named. I just took the themes and ran with it.”

Can you take us through the initial process of developing the concept?

White: “After reading through the initial inspiration and overall theme I just saw Vic by himself surrounded by this world. I wanted to play with the traditional depiction of Vic. The goggles, the ear chains, the bolted mouth…I see it as see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Don’t know if that’s literally what his look represents.

“In Dystopia I gave him these VR goggles that he sees the world through. That’s connected to a headset that blocks the audio white noise of the world and maybe gives him some walking music to enjoy. His mouth is traditionally sealed with hooks but I wanted the skull to look more like a mask. He’s kind of a cyborg, similar to the Liberty Bot head that he holds.

“The cover overall is an homage to a handful of things: 12 Monkeys – deserted and destroyed city, Mad Max – the bridge is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (They showed a destroyed version of it one of the films… Beyond Thunderdome maybe?), Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (Vic’s pose and the sword), a bit of the Walking Dead ( his captured drones were meant to be like Michonne’s enslaved zombie buddies) and past Megadeth covers of course.”

Mustaine recently sat down for an interview with Fox News Magazine about his band's new album Dystopia, which was released in January.

During the video chat, which can be seen below, Mustaine gets candid about critics, fans and more saying, "Dogs with no teeth bark the loudest."

On April 8th, Universal Music / Tradecraft / T-Boy Records will issue Megadeth’s new album Dystopia as a limited edition vinyl picture disc featuring the album’s vivid dark and chilling artwork which takes the bands long-time mascot Vic Rattlehead to a whole new level and drops him into a bleak, futuristic dystopian universe.

The Dystopia picture disc can be ordered individually at all participating retail and online outlets or at UMv as part of a specially priced pack with other picture disc titles including Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?, So Far, So Good…So What!, Rust In Peace, Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia.

Dystopia debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, #1 album on the Hard Music and Top Rock charts. and #2 on the Top Album Sales chart. Globally, Dystopia also achieved top 10 debuts in Canada (#2), Japan (#2 international chart), Finland (#3), Mexico (#4), Czech Republic (#5), Australia (#6), New Zealand (#6), Switzerland (#7), Poland (#8) and Germany (#10), which along with Belgium, Ireland and Spain contributed to achieve Megadeth’s highest ever chart positions in their thirty year history in a total of 10 countries around the world. Other countries with significant sales or chart debuts included UK, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, and France. A truly worldwide success, Dystopia outsold the band’s previous album Super Collider (2013) in only 4 weeks.

Dystopia weaves together Dave Mustaine’s intricate and unique songwriting style, trademark leads and lightning riffs with harmonious precision, paying homage to Megadeth’s influential roots while continuing to break new and heavy ground.

Tracklisting:

“The Threat Is Real”
“Dystopia”
“Fatal Illusion”
“Death From Within”
“Bullet To The Brain”
“Post American World”
“Poisonous Shadows”
“Conquer or Die!”
“Lying In State”
“The Emperor”
“Foreign Policy”

Megadeth will resume touring in support of Dystopia on April 28th in San Juan, Puerto Rico  All upcoming tour dates with full information available at megadeth.com/tour.