Megadeth frontman / founder Dave Mustaine is featured in a new interview with Guitar World, where he discusses his new signature Gibson Les Paul, Megadeth's current line-up, and who he believes is the best guitarist in the band's history. Following is an excerpt.

Guitar World: Megadeth’s current lineup seems to have granted you some much-needed serenity.

Mustaine: "To understand how important that is to me, let’s remember how we got there. We had gotten a tour with Iron Maiden, but the whole thing ended because Bruce [Dickinson, Iron Maiden vocalist] got sick. In the blink of an eye, an entire year’s worth of work was canceled, which was financially devastating Shawn (Drover / drums) and Chris (Broderick / guitar). So, the management we had took it upon themselves to call Shawn and Chris and say, 'The tour is now canceled; you should probably go find another job.' But I didn’t know about this; all I knew was that my drummer and guitarist had quit. I understood the circumstances, and I might have done the same thing, but I would have fucking told me before I went and quit. Having me find out afterward tells you all you need to know about Shawn and Chris’ characters. But it’s okay; they’ve got Megadeth on their resume. We had some good times together there for a bit."

Guitar World: How important have Kiko, Dirk and James been to flipping the script?

Mustaine: "This is the best group of people I’ve ever worked with. When I first heard Kiko play, I was enthralled. Megadeth has had guys like Jeff (Young) and Marty (Friedman), but Kiko is the best we’ve ever had. I don’t say that because Kiko is in the band now; I say it because it’s the truth. Kiko is the best guitar player out of all of them. When Kiko came in, the wounds from my personality conflicts with Shawn and Chris were fresh, and I had this paradigm of how things were, which I knew I needed to change. But Kiko and I got along, and I eventually knew he was a good fit, personality-wise. So, I said to Kiko, 'Look, you’re gonna join Megadeth, and your life is gonna change.’ And we had Chris Adler helping us on drums, and I hoped he would stay, but he decided to stay with Lamb of God. So Chris recommended Dirk, and I fell in love as soon as he came in. 

I could tell that Dirk was the sweetest man, a phenomenal drummer and very humble. With that, I told Dirk the same thing I told Kiko when he joined: 'Your life is gonna change, so be ready for it.' “We still had David Ellefson on bass, but as we know, shit hit the fan. I had to dismiss David from the band, and that left us in the position of needing a bassist. The last thing I wanted was some asshole who would get a brain swell from being in Megadeth. I go back to Kiko, who went from being a guitar player in a band that plays in bars to being in a band that plays in arenas, theaters and stadiums, but he took it in stride. That’s when it dawned on me to invite James back into the band. James has played with Ozzy and has circulated in our industry at the highest levels. He has been great as a band elder, helping those guys when I’m not there. And if I’m being honest, he’s a significant upgrade as a bassist."

Read the complete interview here.