The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!

The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead! took more than two years to materialize, with the recording sessions taking place between May 2019 In June, the band announced the cancellation of then-upcoming shows, as Mustaine had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Despite Mustaine's illness, the band vowed to continue working on the album. On November 6, 2018, Mustaine shared a video on Twitter teasing a track from the album, which at the time, was originally set for release in the next year. The band re-entered the studio in Nashville in mid-2020 to resume recording their new album, by now tentatively planned for release in 2021. While hosting a Masterclass "Front Row Live" for fans via Zoom on January 9, 2021, Mustaine announced the album's title as The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!, but indicated that the title could be subject to change. Originally scheduled for release in early 2022, the album's release was delayed for several months due to issues with vinyl printing and distribution. It was eventually released in September 2022. Dismissal of Ellefson On May 10, 2021, sexually explicit videos of bassist David Ellefson masturbating were posted on Twitter. The videos were reportedly recorded by a fan with whom Ellefson was in correspondence. Accusations of child grooming were initially raised against Ellefson, although both parties denied this. The fan publicly claimed she was a consenting adult. Ellefson subsequently contacted the authorities to seek charges for revenge porn against the party responsible for leaking the videos and presented the police with evidence related to the allegations. An official statement released the next day from Megadeth stated that the situation was being "watched closely". On May 24, Megadeth released a statement announcing Ellefson was out of the band, saying the scandal had strained their relationship and made "working together impossible moving forward." His already-recorded bass parts were subsequently removed from the album and re-recorded by Steve Di Giorgio of Testament. Former bassist James LoMenzo, who Ellefson replaced in 2010, rejoined Megadeth on a touring capacity in August before becoming an official member in May 2022. ==Songs==

"Night Stalkers" features rapper Ice-T on vocals, and "is about the 160th Battalion with the U.S. Army, and it's all the black-ops helicopters that go in at night." "Killing Time" focuses on a former girlfriend of Mustaine's. According to Mustaine, "Dogs of Chernobyl" is not about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but "is a love song". Prior to the album's production, Mustaine had been diagnosed with throat cancer. He revealed that his treating radiologist contributed "a couple of phrases and some information about the radiation poisoning when everyone got sick at Chernobyl" to the song's lyrics. Two cover songs are featured on various editions of the album. Sammy Hagar features on a cover of his solo song, "This Planet's on Fire". "Police Truck" is a heavier cover of the Dead Kennedys song. ==Release==

The website sickdyingdead.com was launched on June 20, 2022, to promote the album. As of December 2022, six singles have been released from the album. The first, "We'll Be Back", was released via streaming services on June 23, with "Night Stalkers" following on July 22. The third single to be released was "Soldier On!" on August 12. The title track was released as a single on September 2, the same day as the album. ==Critical reception==

The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead! has received favorable reviews and holds a Metacritic rating of 78/100. Dom Lawson of Blabbermouth.net rated the album 9 out of 10 and wrote, "That means that Dave Mustaine is well aware of how lethal Megadeth are, circa 2022. This is easily the band's best album since Endgame... possibly even Countdown To Extinction. The cantankerous old devil is back in blistering top form and making music that will remind you exactly why we love the cantankerous old devil in the first place." ==Track listing==

Megadeth • Dave Mustaine – vocals, guitars, additional bass • Kiko Loureiro – guitars, flute on "Night Stalkers" • Dirk Verbeuren – drums • James LoMenzo – bass (credit only) Additional Musicians • Steve Di Giorgio – bass • Ice-T – guest vocals on "Night Stalkers" • Sammy Hagar – guest vocals on "This Planet's on Fire" • Brandon Ray – additional vocals on tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8–12 • Eric Darken – percussion on tracks 1–3, 5–12 • Roger Lima – keyboards on tracks 1–9, 11, effects on tracks 1–3, 5–9, 11 • Luliia Tikhomirova – voices on "Dogs of Chernobyl" • Bill Elliot – voices on "Junkie" • John Clement – voices on tracks 9, 11 • The Marching Metal Bastards – voices on "Soldier On!" • Maila Kaarina Rantanen – voices on "Mission to Mars" Technical personnel • Dave Mustaine – co-production, engineering, art concept • Chris Rakestraw – co-production, engineering • Lowell Reynolds – assistant engineering • Maddie Harmon – assistant engineering • Rick West – drum technician • Josh Wilbur – mixing • Ted Jensen – mastering • Brent Elliott White – cover art • Josh Graham – artwork, design, layout • Mcabe Gregg – photography ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==References==