Megadeth arrived in Peru and will begin its South American tour in Lima: “We are very happy to be here again”

Megadeth is back in the ring. After a successful season of shows in the United States and Canada, the legendary metal band arrived in Peru to begin the South American leg of its “Crush The World Tour” this Saturday, April 6, in Lima. Since Lima is the city chosen to begin the journey that has led them to have 3 ‘sold outs’ in countries like Argentina, those led by Dave Mustaine They met with the local press to answer questions about this stage of the band and what is coming for them soon.

The group arrived in the country with changes in its lineup after the departure last year of guitarist Kiko Loureiro. The Brazilian left to make way for his independent projects and the care of his family and left in his place the Finnish Teemu Mantysaari, who said he was excited to meet the South American public and play for the first time in this part of the world.

Although Mantysaari, 37, comes from Wintersun, another band that has been making a career in the world of metal, when Mustaine was asked about the bands of the genre that have excited him recently, true to his direct style, he said It’s been a while since then. “It’s been a while since I’ve been excited about a band. It’s been a long time since we had a new Iron Maiden, a new Guns N’Roses, it’s been a long time since we last heard a great band,” said the musician, who did admit that he liked the band’s song “Misery.” Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes.

The musician from La Mesa, California, also said that, despite the years, they still enjoy the creative process of making an album, but explained that the work behind “The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!” , his most recent material published in 2022, was the result of a complicated process marked not only by the pandemic but by the cancer diagnosis he received in 2019, and that they still do not know what will come in the future.

“Writing songs takes time, recording is faster. And it depends on how inspired we are to make a new album,” she said in relation to whether they were already working on new material. “Now that we are on tour we are already talking about what we will do when we have free time, whether we will distance ourselves for a while or whether we will make a new album, but our time to rest is important, to be with our families and take care of our health,” declared Mustaine.

For his part, bassist James LoMenzo referred to the changes that the industry has experienced due to the streaming boom and how that has changed the impact that physical records and formats have on music. “New artists don’t have the same opportunities to grow that we had, and the public doesn’t have the opportunity to grow with their artists either. It’s a different game, it’s no longer about making money (releasing records),” explained the musician.

For his part, drummer Dirk Verbeuren was more optimistic and highlighted how the genre has been evolving. “I think metal has been evolving, there are many bands, many diverse genres. I personally think Dave invented thrash metal. But there is still a lot of fire, interesting concepts on the way and that attracts new fans. At our concerts there are many teenagers and children. You will see it on Saturday,” he stated.

Finally, Teemu Mantysaari was excited about the setlist of this tour, which includes songs that the band hasn’t played in a long time and completely new songs for the band live. “This process has been very fun for me, I have had many zooms with Dave to see the songs. It has been a lot of fun and tomorrow will be my debut with the band in South America so I am excited,” declared the Finn. “I don’t know why it took us so long to return to Peru. “There are several things that go into doing a tour, but we are very happy to be here again,” Verbeuren added.

The Megadeth show in Lima, organized by the Kandavu company, will be this Saturday, April 6 at Arena 1 in San Miguel. The price of tickets is 389 (Platinum), 285 (Preferential) and 175 soles (general). Tickets can be purchased at Joinnus.