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Megadeth re-releasing 'Dawson' song

Megadeth re-releasing 'Dawson' song
Miriam Liddle  |  by jam.canoe.ca. All rights reserved. 9.03 | 16:33

The heavy metal Rock Band " Megadeth " (left to right) Jimmy De Grasso, Dave Mustaine, Dave Ellefson and Marty Friedman. (CP handout photo)

TORONTO (CP) - A Megadeth song that inspired a deranged gunman who opened fire at a Montreal community college has been reworked as a duet and will be the first single off the metal band's new album despite the controversy that surrounds it, says front man Dave Mustaine. Mustaine said his song "A Tout Le Monde" has long been misinterpreted as pro-suicide when in fact it was inspired by the sudden death of his mother.

"The song doesn't belong to the killer," Mustaine insisted recently in a wide-ranging interview that touched on politics, religion and his relationship with longstanding rival Metallica. "The song belongs to the people of Montreal, if anything it belongs to me and it was my gift to them. It was never meant to be misinterpreted like that.

" College killer Kimveer Gill singled out "A Tout Le Monde" as one of his favourites in hate-filled online posts that immediately preceded the rampage Sept. 13, 2006. Gill killed an 18-year-old student and injured 20 others when he opened fire at Dawson College.

He killed himself after being wounded in a shootout with police. Mustaine says the song, which first appeared on the 1994 album "Youthanasia," has been turned into a more up-tempo duet with Cristina Scabbia of the Italian goth/metal band Lacuna Coil and a video will be shot this week. "The song never got its opportunity to get out and it's a total fan favourite, people love it wherever we're at," says Mustaine, noting it failed to win MTV and radio support when it was released as a single more than 10 years ago.

For a time, Mustaine says he was keen to record the song as a duet with tabloid staple Lisa Marie Presley, but revoked his invitation to her at the last minute. "Lisa Marie Presley, there's a certain calibre of talent there that she obviously could sing the song, but I don't know that people would look at it as seriously because of her pedigree," the 45-year-old says by phone from his home in Fallbrook, Calif., about an hour north of San Diego, Calif.

"I'm excited that she would even know what Megadeth is and I'm flattered that she accepted." After 24 years, 11 studio albums and countless lineup changes with the acclaimed metal band, Mustaine has had more than his fair share of controversy. He formed Megadeth in 1983 after notoriously being fired from Metallica over persistent drinking problems.

The acrimony that ensued was immortalized in the 2004 documentary "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," in which Mustaine berates Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich for kicking him out of the band instead of trying to help him deal with his addiction. In a cringe-worthy yet mesmerizing exchange, Mustaine seems to approach tears as he fumes over the way he was relegated to the curb and gripes that he will always feel second-best despite going on to achieve phenomenal success with Megadeth. Mustaine denounced Ulrich and singer James Hetfield upon the film's release, complaining that the footage was taken out of context and that he never approved it for inclusion.

Three years later, Mustaine says he has a new perspective on his life and can look back on his Metallica days with a "certain fondness." "After the documentary I hated them, but it took some time for this whole thing to kind of reveal itself," says Mustaine, who has sold more than 20 million records worldwide with Megadeth. "There are certain things that I miss in James, certain things that I'm glad are gone with Lars and just there's no more sour grapes.

How can you sit in a house on a hill and have gas in your tank and food in your refrigerator and be bitter about something like that, especially so many years ago?" Mustaine says he's still disappointed by the way he was portrayed in the documentary, but credits the film with establishing his place in rock history. "The good thing about it is that it's finally given proof to the world that I was part of this band," he says.

"Regardless whether I was in it for awhile or not, truth was, it was in the formidable stages. I was the only guitar player and James just sang." Megadeth kicks off a world tour with Black Sabbath (sans Ozzy Osbourne) in Vancouver on Saturday.

An 11-city Canadian leg takes the band through Western Canada, the Prairies, Ontario and Quebec with new material including songs provocatively titled, "Washington Is Next!" and "Amerikhastan." A concert DVD, "That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires," is set for release March 6, with a CD version to hit store shelves March 27.

Megadeth's new album, "United Abominations," is due out May 8. Have you seen the Borat movie?

Read more on by jam.canoe.ca. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dave Mustaine, Marie Presley, Le Monde, Tout Le Monde, Lisa Marie, Lisa Marie Presley, Tout Le
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