Dave Mustaine Details 'Rust in Peace' Memoir

'The Inside Story of the Megadeth Masterpiece' arrives in September

Photo: Dana Zuk

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Jul 17, 2020

In sharing that he was officially cancer-free this past February, Dave Mustaine also revealed plans to explore Megadeth's acclaimed 1990 full-length Rust in Peace in a new memoir. Now, the frontman has shared the details behind his second book.

Mustaine's Rust in Peace: The Inside Story of the Megadeth Masterpiece will arrive September 8 through Hachette Books. Co-written with music journalist Joel Selvin, the 208-page book also boasts a foreword from fellow shredder Slash.

You can find the cover of the book below. While it had previously been announced with the title Building the Perfect Beast, though the publisher's synopsis still reads as follows:

Building the Perfect Beast details the making of Megadeth's iconic record, Rust in Peace, which was released in 1990, at an incredible time of flux and creativity in the rock world. Relayed by the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of Megadeth himself, Dave Mustaine, the book covers the process of hiring the band and supporting cast, of trying to handle the ensuing success, and ultimately the pressure of fame and fortune-which caused the band to finally break-up. In short, it's a true story of groundbreaking anti-pop that was moving toward the mainstream (or the mainstream that was moving toward the band), at a time of great cultural change, power, ego, drugs, and other vices that went hand-in-hand with Rock N' Roll, circa the late eighties-early nineties.

Little did Mustaine know that the birth pangs of the record were nothing compared to the oncoming pain and torment that would surround it. Alcohol, drugs, sex, money, power, property, prestige, the lies the band was told by the industry-and the lies they told each other-were just beginning, and much like rust in real life, these factors would ultimately eat away at the band's bond until only the music survived.


Building the Perfect Beast is a story of perseverance, of scraping off the rust off that builds over time on everything: ourselves, our relationships, pop culture, art, and music.

As Slash writes in part for his foreword, "Rust in Peace put the band on the map. It made Megadeth a household name… I certainly understand why every important Rust in Peace anniversary is celebrated as a pivotal moment for both Megadeth and for heavy metal."

Mustaine's Rust in Peace memoir is now available for pre-order. He had previously told his own life story in 2010's Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir.

Megadeth recently finished recording a follow-up to their 2016 LP Dystopia. The band have yet to detail what will be their sixteenth studio album.

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