Megadeth to Tour with Body Count in 2017

Photo: Dana Zuk

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Sep 12, 2016

Even ahead of the proper kickoff, Megadeth's upcoming chunk of fall North American tour dates have been rife with drama, with metal unit Havok getting booted off the lineup. Megadeth bandleader Dave Mustaine is looking forward to a smoother 2017, though, and is already teasing an upcoming, five-band trek that will feature Ice T's long-running crossover project, Body Count.

Though the details have yet to arrive in full, Mustaine told Metal Hammer that Megadeth's plans for 2017 include "a very large tour next summer with five bands on it with us." While many of these acts remain under wraps, Mustaine confirmed that next year's traveling symphony of destruction will include Body Count, a veteran project that the metal icon has been backing for years.

"We've been looking at a lot of interesting acts, but for me I don't always try and pick out the flavour of the month – I have loyalty to my friends. I always thought that Body Count, while if not for everybody, I thought it was great," he said.

"It's not your normal metal band, it's cool to see somebody crossing over from the hip-hop world into the metal world," he continued. "I think it's great to be open-minded about different people from different backgrounds."

The exact tour route is unclear, but it will apparently find Megadeth hitting Malaysia for the first time since the repeal of a government-mandated ban slapped on the band in 2001. The block had been put in place because Megadeth's image was "unsuitable for the nation's youth."

"I'm super thrilled about this," Mustaine added. "We had been banned in Malaysia because of some knobhead in a remote area had conducted a black metal seance of some sort and killed somebody, then gave us the indubitable honour of spray painting Megadeth and Slayer on the wall."

 

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