Former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza has released his debut solo album titled Life After Deth, a fitting name to say the least. Nick’s long line of accomplishments includes the Megadeth albums Rust In Peace, Countdown To Extinction, Youthanasia, Hidden Treasures and Cryptic Writings. These landmark albums are what many would consider the focal point of the Megadeth legacy. Following his dismissal from the band in 1998, Nick all but disappeared from the industry spotlight. Having spent more than a decade gathering material for his first solo venture he has now returned with a game plan to ‘menzanize’ the world. Follow along and learn how all this came into being and see the new legacy that lies ahead, unfold for one of the finest drummers the rock industry has ever known.

OT: So you kinda came out of nowhere with this new album, kind of a surprise to a lot of us. What can you tell me about it? I understand you’ve been working on songs you’ve put together over a number of years?

Nick: Yeah, for around like ten years I’ve had some of those songs, I just kinda refinished them, revised many of them, and it just came to what it was. I keep telling people it’s just a snapshot in time of where I’m at. I basically made the record; I wanted to make for myself, played everything on it myself. One other friend of mine, Christian Nesmith, is playing some solos on some of the songs. He’s Michael Nesmith‘s son, from the Monkees.

OT: Right, actually I’ve met Christian a few times. I saw him with Pound Hound when he played with Doug Pinnick, and he’s also jammed with a friend of mine, Samantha Lee in her Slam Jam band a couple of times. 

Nick: Yeah Christian, he’s a great player. He’s going to be doing some stuff with me live as well.

OT: Well right on. So you’re actually planning on touring for this album?

Nick: Yeah I am, I am putting a band together right now, and I am looking at a couple of different people. So far it’s just me and Christian. We’ve been checking out bass players and seeing what’s what. I definitely want to get a good caliber of players, I don’t want any poser guys. You’ve got to be able to just rip on your instrument and have something to bring to the table ‘cuz I want other guys to write in the band. Basically I’m gonna split everything evenly with everyone that is in the band, so there’s that incentive of writing and a positive interest in the project, not just “these are the guys I’m playing with.” Christian and I have been writing songs together for years and he’s a pretty cool dude just in general. You know, the camaraderie there and just trying to get that going, just like a vibe in the band, so everybody likes each other and it’s a good vibe. That’s what makes good bands.

OT: That’s cool. So you’re doing the vocals on the album?

Nick: Yeah I did everything on it; I played the guitars, bass, and drums.

OT: So when you tour you’ll be doing the vocals?

Nick: No, I was going to play guitar and sing, but I think for right now I am going to play drums ‘cuz a lot of my initial fans are going to want to see me on drums. So I’ll just attack it from that angle. Plus that way I don’t have to look for a drummer just yet, now I’ve got to find a singer. I’ll probably just sing backgrounds, maybe lead on a couple of songs but I don’t know yet. I know I can sing lead and play drums, but it’s not really that practical. I used to sing a lot of the backgrounds in Megadeth live. The sound guy would just leave my mic on usually, ‘cuz every time he’d turn it on for a vocal, it would be like another drum-mix coming in, you know, a bunch of drum funk ‘cuz my monitors were so loud. It’s like, you can’t have that mic up there, and Dave’s like “you’ve gotta sing, gotta sing that stuff.” I could mimic Dave like, I could be him identically almost, and I could sing exactly the way he sang.

OT: So how is the sound of this album compared to the stuff with Megadeth, I mean what kind of music will this be?

Nick: I don’t really know, people have asked that. People say it sounds really against the grain; different. The commercial this and that, it’s got elements of all styles of music. It’s got my roots, just where I came from, bands I listened to when I was growing up. It’s kinda progressive, it’s just like I said, a snap shot of where I was in time. I don’t know what area to really put it under. I guess I’d say hard rock, progressive hard rock. It’s not really like metal per se or death rock or thrash, it’s more of a poppy commercial sound. I don’t want to say it’s commercial, because I hate that word. It’s definitely listen-able. And there’s some radio-friendly stuff on it and there’s a couple of heavy songs on there, like the first track is kind of a slamming drum piece at the beginning, just to have everyone say, “ Ok shut up, here’s a drum song for ya.” And there’s actually a hidden track, so there’s 14 songs in all and it’s all good. I had a really fun time recording it, I did it all at my house in my living room and it was cool. I’d like to open a record company, my own record company to market it. Right now the only place you can get it is menza.com. I am currently seeking a major distributor to pick it up, but if they don’t that’s cool too ‘cuz now I am starting to do a lot of press for it. Hopefully it will translate into a lot of sales because most people don’t know that it’s out. It’s just been word of mouth; me telling people and them going to my site and buying it.

OT: So what do you think fan’s expectations will be? I mean everybody knows you from being with Megadeth.

Nick: Y’know they make the comparisons. I’ve had mixed feelings about it, and gotten mixed replies on my email saying things like “who do you think you are, Dave Mustaine?” Well no, but thanks for the compliment. It’s like, I am just doing what I do, you know? It’s like, here’s what I can do, that’s basically what that CD is; a really good demo for me to shop around. The next record I do of my solo sh*t will probably have the band guys playing with me, it’ll be more of a live type feel. Initially I’d like to do live stuff, rhythm tracks, get the whole band playing. Not like this record where I did everything myself. Y’know, Christian came in at the end with some solos on some stuff, a couple of additional solos here and there, it was a lot of work. It was fun and time consuming and it took me like over a year to complete it, plus with my son being born last year. That put a little lull on things, ‘cuz I was preoccupied with trippin’ out on that. You know like, “wow I have a son, what a trip.” That’s just like a freaky thing man. He’s very cool, I love him to death. I can’t even make the comparison to anything in life, like when you have a kid, it’s trippy, very trippy. His name is Nicholas, just a year old on the 19th. I got him a little drum set, he’s all over it. His eyes got all big and he’s like, “wow, just like dad.” He’s all bangin’ away flinging his sticks around, he’s the coolest.

OT: Awesome! So when you go out on tour, are you planning on doing a full scale U.S. tour?

Nick: I hope so. Wherever they’re gonna have me, I hope I can oblige them and get out there. The only problem is, I don’t have any tour support from the record company ‘cuz I am the record company so... It’s gonna have to be kinda stream-line at first, or hopefully I can get on an already happening tour as a support act, kinda ride the coat tails of someone before I can get up enough income to generate a bigger production and all that stuff. I don’t want to get all crazy and do stupid sh*t, but it would be nice to have a bus and go in comfort, not be touring around in a van, driving 8 to 10 hours to each gig and being all tattered when you get there. But pretty much I’m gonna try to stick to select gigs that will be worth while to everyone involved. To put on a good show for everyone to come and see that it’s happening and it sounds good it’s gotta be happening sonically. You know you don’t really go to see music; you should go to listen to it. Make up the pictures in your mind not see something and go “that doesn’t look right.”

OT: Do you think with the different bands out there, and you said you couldn’t really classify your music, do you think there is a current market for the music you are going to be playing? You know there’s a new wave of metal out there and a lot of the old school guys still around.

Nick: I’ve always been there, and there is always a market for something if it’s out there and you’re actively working. Then I would classify it as active rock, because you are actively playing it. I’m not going to say it’s dated, but it’s definitely a 70’s early 80’s style I am doing on that record. It’s like I said, a big art project for me. It’s what I wanted to do personally, a lot of personal issues in there that I dealt with in songs and song titles and what my lyrics were about. There are a couple songs in there about Dave, and “Life Back” is about me wanting my life back. There is life after death for me, it’s like the record Life After Deth y’know, ‘cuz I am not ashamed of all the stuff I did with Megadeth, in fact, I am really proud of it. It was 10 to 12 years of really good experience for me, and Dave was a great teacher. I learned a lot of good stuff from him about song writing and what to do and what not to do. I really don’t have anything bad to say about the guy. I am not really happy that he fired me but hey sh*t happens. It’s like, if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here right now, which is true. He kinda gave me another lease on my life. It’s like I was just stuck in that situation, and really couldn’t go anymore, I couldn’t write songs like I wanted to and it was kinda  stifling, y’know? And I needed to expand out and try new stuff. And that band was always like a ball and chain. It was like man, I love playing with those guys and playing the gigs and it was totally fun. I don’t think there was one gig that I did where I wasn’t saying, “Man this is the sh*t”, you know? It was always great, I always did the best I could, I never slouched off or skimped out on sh*t, I always wanted to go on. I never played a bad show, I mean I had my good and bad shows, but I never let those guys down musically. Maybe my attitude suffered towards the end, but it was just because all the sh*t and turmoil. I went to have surgery on my knee, and Dave fired me like two days after the surgery - on the phone - which just bummed me out. But the other half of me was kinda relieved,Y’know? I’m free. Now I am going to bust out my solo record and here we are.

OT: Once the band is put together, when are you looking to head out?

Nick: In like the next month or two. I am still looking at some other players and just shooting some ideas around about how it’s going to be done. Try and do it cost effectively and do it right, I don’t want something half-assed. The band has to be right and playing the music right. It’s gotta be happening, I don’t want to go out and be embarrassed. You only really get one chance at it. I don’t want people saying, “ah f*ck it, he’s not happening.” I don’t want to have that happen. I don’t have fear of failure, I just have precautionary feelings. I don’t know if it’ll work or not work I’ll know once I get the guys together playing if its going to be the sh*t, I’ll feel good about it and it will be believable, like scheduled jamming. That’s all I really care about.

OT: Well right on Nick, thank you so much for the interview.

Nick: Hey thank you for the interview.

OT: And we’ll look for you when you get out on the road.

Nick: Alright then!