Exclusive: MEGADETH lead guitarist Chris Broderick discusses the new album Endgame

images courtesy of Megadeth.com & ChrisBroderick.com

For many people around the world, September 15, 2009 will be the first exposure they get of Megadeth’s new axe-master Chris Broderick, on the brand new Roadrunner Records album Endgame. However, the man has been circulating in the underground for years, both as the incredibly gifted guitarist for Colorado’s Jag Panzer and touring guitarist for Nevermore.

Read on, as Examiner reintroduces the masses to a truly incredible talent!

When you were approached to come into Megadeth, did you have any apprehension about coming into the band after all of the public drama that has surrounded Dave Mustaine and the revolving door of band lineups over recent years?

No, not really. To tell you the truth, I don’t really keep up with the public opinion. I was never ever really in touch with the media behind it. So I didn’t really know anything good or bad going around.

As far as the members coming and going, I didn’t really know anything about that, either. I just knew that it was a great opportunity, and to play in a band like Megadeth for a lead guitarist, you really couldn’t ask for anything better.

It seemed like being in a band like Jag Panzer, which didn’t tour very frequently, from a certain perspective, looked like it would have only been a part-time gig anyway.

You know, I still love all those guys. I actually just got done talking to Rikard [Stjernquist - drums] about 2 minutes ago. So I talk to them all all of the time; they’re a bunch of really great guys. But yeah, it really was their inability to tour that kept me looking for other avenues to be able to tour out.

Do you think your stint with Nevermore helped prepare you for the road rigors of Megadeth, because as long as the band has been around, Megadeth is still a monster of a touring machine.

Yeah, I think so. In many ways, a lot of the different experiences that I’ve had have helped me move a little bit further. It seems like every experience takes me to that next level. When you step up to Megadeth, there’s obviously going to be a lot more press attention, the way you present yourself in image, there’s obviously more production involved. I think that everything has helped prepare me to where I am now.

Did you have to go through any kind of equivalent of a media-approachable finishing school to be able to conduct yourself in the professional manner that Megadeth seems to exude with the press?

No, but I think there are things that you learn over time. It’s kind of unfortunate, but you really have to watch your “p’s and q’s”. It seems like people are very touchy these days. It seems like even things got away with ten years ago, you have to be very mindful of today. So yeah, you keep all that in mind and then say what you want to say without inadvertently offending anybody.

That’s what I mean. Everything is so sensationalistic these days, too many journalists are gunning for that big outrageous headline, and, especially with Megadeth’s recent history, it seems like the vultures are looming, just waiting for the wrong thing to come out of somebody’s mouth.

Exactly! And I’m sure it will happen, if it didn’t already happen.

So, with a band that has such a memorable and extensive history, and an amazing ability to create unpredictable set lists, did you have any problems playing catch up to learn Megadeth’s catalogue?

Yeah, a little bit. Like now, I think I know about 30-32 songs, but when we get closer to rehearsing for the tour, I think I will have about 40 of them down. Luckily, when I first stepped in, I had a month to learn 20 songs, so that became my primary focus. When that first tour came along, we knew we were going to play a set number of songs, so it wasn’t that overwhelming at that time.

On the flipside of that experience, were there any songs you were really excited to get your hands on?

[Laughs] That actually happened after I learned the songs. It didn’t actually happen beforehand. Actually playing “Hangar 18” was really cool for me. I love the way that song flows and all of the back-and-forth solos that Dave and I have. That is definitely one of the more fun ones for me to play.

I know you’re not that much younger than Dave, but was he ever an influence on you?

Not a huge amount. I remember when Peace Sells... came out, and I loved some of the craftiness in there. But it wasn’t until later on when I noticed that he constantly worked with really great guitarists that Megadeth became an influence on me.

It was initially my following of Marty Friedman from Cacophony with Jason Becker (who I really respected a lot) that I really started following him into Megadeth and getting into it.

After listening to Endgame, it sounds like the band has a really solid lineup, and from the guitar work alone, it also sounds like you are actually bringing out the best in Dave.

Well, I would like to think that we do play off each other rather well, but it is possible that when we were in the studio recording, comparing each other’s solos, there may have been some “ah, I better step it up a bit!” I think, in the end, it works out really good, because that kind of competition can result in better playing.

And it really seems like it is the most energetic and inspired Megadeth album I’ve heard in years. There’s no filler on it, and everything just seemed to connect. Do you feel your participation in making this album helped it turn out the way it did?

Uh, yeah, for my part, yeah. I think we all had contributing factors. Whether it was the great bass lines from James - I’m still flabbergasted by him. I remember listening into the studio and hearing one of the songs he hadn’t yet played his part on, and it really sounded like something huge was missing. And Shawn does a great job carrying the rhythm and tearing it up on the drums. I think we all did our own parts, but I think where I contributed was more in the melodic continuity. Drumming up some of the lead melodies and harmonies over the top was where I think my major contribution was.

Where there any particular songs that took longer to come together than others, based on complexity or things that weren’t clicking?

I think they all kinda formed in their own way. It wasn’t like any one song was at a point where we didn’t know what to do with it. We’d work with part of a song and then move on, try something else, and then listen back and rearrange it or whatever we thought it needed.

It was kinda cool, because I’ve never been able to record in that manner. I became so used to having such a tight budget and such a tight time frame that everything had to be completely written and ready before we went into the studio. Whereas, in this case, we were able to go in and just record a riff, think about it and explore how it could develop. I think that was really cool.

When the album was being written, did you look to the band’s past for any inspiration? The way Endgame sounds, it comes across as the culmination of every era of Megadeth. There are little hints and echoes here and there that sound like the flavors from the various points in the band’s history.

I think that stems partially from the way it was created. It was created a little bit with that in mind. Dave has this catalogue of riffs that he’s held onto forever and ever, and some of them came out to generate the songs you hear. But some of those were also of the mindset of today where we had to use them as starting points to develop into full songs. So I think you kinda hit the nail on the head that it really does emphasize different moments in the Megadeth catalogue, but again, it was also due to the way the songs were written.

Since you’ve been in the band for over a year now, and the last studio album you appeared on came out in 2004, were you really chomping at the bit for this album to come out?

I don’t know about coming out. I’m actually excited to see how people receive it, because I am the new guy, and people like consistency, and yet they want to get to know the people who are writing the music that I hope they like. So I am really excited to see how people perceive this CD.

Did you know the Eidolon (Drover) brothers before you came into Megadeth?

I’d met them both a couple times in the past at NAMM shows and whatnot, but no, I didn’t really know them too well.

I was just wondering if there was any weirdness when you stepped in to replace Shawn’s brother, as the guys have played together for years.

Obviously, I thought there was going to be a little oddness, because they have played so long together and played off of each other really well. But I think ultimately that Shawn knew that there was a job to do and he had to step up and make it happen and help me out as much as possible and vice versa. I didn’t notice it personally, but I can imagine that it could be tough at times if I had a brother who I’d played with so long suddenly replaced by someone else.

With a degree in classical guitar, how did you end up in metal?

Well, my heart has always been in metal. When I started playing guitar, it was always about Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie and then the Shrapnel guys. But then I started listening to classical music of Chopin, Bach and the other greats and fell in love with that style of music and I just picked up the classical guitar.

Which do you feel is more expressive for you, the electric or acoustic guitar?

The electric, I would say, right now. But there are things the electric can be more expressive about. I have a general adage about instruments, and that is the more polyphony an instrument has, the less expressive it is in its voice by having more notes. The classical guitar, for me, is a little more polyphonic where you can have more notes, but is not as expressive as the electric, where when you’re soloing, you are expressing with more single notes.

Do you still give guitar lessons, or have you put a stop to it because of the work involved with Megadeth?

Yeah, I still give lessons when I’m not touring and I am at home. I definitely still teach when I have the time.

Do you have any goals that you’d like to accomplish over the next year or so in promoting the new Megadeth album, or are you taking it day by day, enjoying the ride?

My goals are all personal. They have a lot to do with really getting comfortable being in the position I’m in, putting my guitar playing out there at any point in time and be comfortable with it. Besides that, I’m going to do all of the touring and general events and use those to meet the goals that I have.

Are you psyched or scared about performing on Jimmy Fallon’s show this week [September 17]?

Both [laughs]. I think it’s a great opportunity. I can’t wait to see the whole process. But I’ve always had some performance issues, like with nerves. But it’s starting to get to the point (I’m really happy about this, actually) where that nervousness is slowly fading into anticipation, if you know what I mean.

Yeah, but this isn’t a case where you’re playing in front of 10,000 people, you’re going to be visible to 10 million people.

Yeah, but it’s the same thing. To tell you the truth, the way I perceive performance, whether I’m performing in front of 1 person or 10,000, it’s really an internal thing. You know you can play the material inside and out, it’s just a matter of getting rid of the external influence of your surroundings so you can focus on what needs to be done.