Dave Mustaine shares insights on what defines a great Megadeth riff

In a recent interview on the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, hosted by Fozzy vocalist and wrestling icon Chris Jericho, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine discussed the band’s latest album, “Megadeth.” The album features numerous songwriting collaborations with Teemu Mäntysaari, who has been the band’s lead guitarist for the past three years.

Just because somebody has some credit on a record doesn’t mean that they wrote a lot of it. Because some of the stuff that we wrote together, I wrote just a little bit, and it says me and him. And in some cases it should probably say Dave and a lot of Teemu. But I’ve never been hung up on it. It’s just ink. What matters is how it tickles your ears. And I hate to be crass on your show, but that’s how it’s always been with Megadeth. What does it make you feel like? Do you wanna get motivated?

When asked to define the characteristics of a compelling Megadeth riff, particularly in the context of receiving riffs during the songwriting process, Dave provided his insights.

What makes a good Megadeth riff to me? I don’t know. I think it’s one of those things you feel, you hear. Whenever you listen to somebody’s new record and you’re going through the tracks and there’s that one song that just grabs you by the crotch and you’re going, like, ‘Wow, that’s a good [riff] on that song,’ and you’re looking for the next one. And you might skip forward after that song. And you might get to the end of the record and say, ‘Well, there’s only one really good riff on this song,’ and go back to that song that had that one riff.

When I would listen to Michael Schenker’s solo albums, he had a terrible habit of picking singers that reminded me of Graham Bonnet, and his guitar playing is some of the best in the world; there’s no argument there. But that doesn’t mean that you’re gonna be a great songwriter, ’cause you’re great player. So, a lot of times you need to hook up with somebody who’s gonna put the two pieces together. Like I had heard that with Stone Temple Pilots, the DeLeo brothers [Robert and Dean], the bass player [Robert] was the connector. And when they would get their songs and their pieces together, he would be the one who would connect all the parts. He would have those little delicious parts that — you know the ones we loved — and they’d put all the pieces together. And I don’t know their songs well enough to know what he did and what he didn’t do. We were close in the beginning. They went on to greatness, and we talked a little bit over the years after we did that first tour with them. And a lot of great guitar tones and guitar playing out of Dean.

Upcoming shows:

• Saturday, November 07, 2026 – Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
• Sunday, November 08, 2026 – Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
• Wednesday, November 11, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia
• Friday, November 13, 2026 – AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia
• Sunday, November 15, 2026 – Allianz Stadium, Sydney, Australia
• Wednesday, November 18, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
• Thursday, November 19, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
• Monday, February 22, 2027 – Grand Cube, Osaka, Japan
• Wednesday, February 24, 2027 – Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan
• Thursday, February 25, 2027 – Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan
• Tuesday, March 09, 2027 – The SSE Arena, Belfast, United Kingdom
• Thursday, March 11, 2027 – OVO Arena Wembley, London, United Kingdom
• Friday, March 12, 2027 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom
• Saturday, March 13, 2027 – Co-op Live, Manchester, United Kingdom
• Monday, March 15, 2027 – Utilita Arena, Cardiff, United Kingdom
• Tuesday, March 16, 2027 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow, United Kingdom
• Thursday, March 18, 2027 – bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, United Kingdom
• Friday, March 19, 2027 – First Direct Arena, Leeds, United Kingdom
• Sunday, March 21, 2027 – Zénith Paris – La Villette, Paris, France
• Tuesday, March 23, 2027 – Forest National, Brussels, Belgium
• Wednesday, March 24, 2027 – AFAS Live, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Thursday, March 25, 2027 – Mitsubishi Electric HALLE, Düsseldorf, Germany
• Saturday, March 27, 2027 – K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Sunday, March 28, 2027 – Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
• Tuesday, March 30, 2027 – Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
• Thursday, April 01, 2027 – Velodrom, Berlin, Germany
• Friday, April 02, 2027 – Tauron Arena, Krakow, Poland
• Sunday, April 04, 2027 – Zenith, Munich, Germany
• Monday, April 05, 2027 – Festhalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland
• Tuesday, April 06, 2027 – Unipol Forum, Milan, Italy
• Thursday, April 08, 2027 – Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, France
• Saturday, April 10, 2027 – Olimpic Arena, Barcelona, Spain
• Monday, April 12, 2027 – Movistar Arena, Madrid, Spain
• Tuesday, April 13, 2027 – Sagres Campo Pequeno, Lisbon, Portugal