In an EXCLUSIVE interview with BW&BK; today (July 16th), MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine has revealed that he has been in talks with ANNIHILATOR guitar legend Jeff Waters about him possibly joining the ranks of the newly rejuvenated thrash legends.

"I’ve been talking to one of your countrymen about playing with me and it looks pretty good," Mustaine revealed about his recent communication with Waters. "We’ve been talking quite a lot and my only fear is that he’s so good and he’s a leader of his own thing and this is an institution

here, it’s a worldwide thing and, you know. I’ve already had some struggles with bringing in a hired gun that was a leader of another situation with Alan (Pitrelli). Alan’s a good guy, good player. I don’t think that he really could take going from being a leader in SAVATAGE and TSO

(TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) to being, you know, second, or actually fourth, in Megadeth. I don’t think he could handle it. That’s my only fear about working with Jeff is that he’s a leader of his own thing. But, we’re talkin’ and we’re talkin’ and I’m passionate about what I want to do and it may very well happen. We’ve obviously started a friendship and I’ve known of him for years. It may just be that this is a combination that will put him on the map and give me some stability because I have a lot of friends that are Canadian and every one of them is just fucking righteous."

This isn't the first time that a Mustaine-Waters collaboration has been spoken about. Waters was rumored to replace Jeff Young (So Far, So Good...So What! era) in the late '80s.

In a conversation with BW&BK; in 1997, Waters had the following to say about the connection: "Marty Friedman's spot hadn't been filled by him yet," Waters remembers. "In 1989, we were supporting TESTAMENT for three months on the Practice What You Preach tour in the US. I had been a big fan of The New Order and the next minute we're touring with them. A few weeks into the tour, Chuck Billy (Testament singer) liked our show and me as a guitar player and recommended me to Mustaine. Mustaine said he liked Alice In Hell and really liked that 'Crystal Ann' piece and he said 'do you want to learn the B-side to 'Peace Sells...' and come down and audition.' It was Marty Friedman, Dimebag Darrell (PANTERA axe) and myself who got the offers. It worked out perfectly for them 'cause I don't think I would've worked out. I would've been fired pretty quickly 'cause back then drugs and drunken binges were the norm. I was drunk back then all the time, so I think the combination of me going down into a big successful band would've killed me."

Mustaine doesn't recall the contact:

"Honestly, that never was the case because I never spoke with the man. I would like to have said that we talked, I may have make a phone call or someone may have made a phone call on my behalf, but I don’t remember ever speaking to him. It’s not like that period was a blur because I was very coherent at that time and IF it would have come down to me listening.... because I had the Alice In Hell record and I thought ‘this guy is great’. I know that if I would have sat down with him and just said ‘here, this is my vision’ and presented my case, if anybody was willing to be at the top I know they would have come along for the ride. I think right now that is one of the things that I’m most hesitant about because I don’t know what I’m going to do, I don’t know with this whole thing with Ellefson right now, if it’s going to be the end of Megadeth, if it’s the end of me period, or what. I’ve pretty much put everything on the blocks for right now."

Watch for more quotes from the chat at BraveWords.com and full feature in the next issue of BW&BK; #83, due out in September.

Megadeth’s new album, The System Has Failed, is set for a September 14th release through Sanctuary Records. An unfinished mock-up of the album’s artwork can be seen at this location.