Megadeth's Upcoming Album and UK Performance

You may remember that we spoke with Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine a few years back during the press rounds for their latest album, Super Collider. Well, as you can imagine, there have been plenty of changes for the band since then, including the announcement of a brand-new album! But here's the thing: the guys aren't going about releasing their 15th full-length record in the traditional sense. Rather than going through the standard industry model, they're reaching out directly to fans through the PledgeMusic platform. For those unfamiliar with Pledge, it's a crowd-funding service that allows artists to sell their products (be they shirts, albums, or other merchandise) straight to their listeners.

While you can check out what Megadeth is offering fans here, we can break it down a bit for you. First, the album doesn't have a name (yet, of course), but we can expect to hear it sometime this summer, with July being the open-ended date given for release. The heavy metal pioneers haven't put out any singles yet either, but they are previewing tracks off the new record on their Pledge site (though those previews are exclusive to people who pre-order). Additionally, the band has put together a number of unique gifts that you can receive based on how much money you "pledge." These include everything from hand-printed lyric sheets to autographed books and everything in between.

To coincide with the album's release, it appears that the group is stringing together some tour dates for the remainder of the year. A full schedule isn't out there just yet, but the dates are beginning to trickle out, including a show in the U.K. As noted on SongKick, the performance will take place on Dec. 18, 2015 at 02 Academy Newcastle in Newcastle Upon Tyne. So, yes, it's quite a long way out from right now. However, if the band does release their new album this summer, that'll give fans plenty of time to soak in the material before the show.

Beyond simply promoting their music and upcoming performance, the band has found other ways of getting their name out there that most acts haven't yet.

Believe it or not, the seminal band has become part of the gaming arena. Now, this type of move typically boils down to music placement in a game in the famed Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises. Megadeth has gone one step further, though, and made their own game (with the help of developers, of course). This is made evident by their offering hosted here, where it sits among titles featuring comic book characters, classic films, and more. While it's presented as your typical slot machine game, it quickly establishes its own identity. This is accomplished through the use of images of the group (including frontman Dave Mustaine, of course) and their beloved instruments along with audio clips of their music.

It's also worth noting that Mustaine expanded the band's brand into another niche at one point—high-quality, organic coffee. That's right, he had his own line in the mid-2000s that apparently got pulled in 2009, according to this article. The post notes that the coffee's taste was very much in line with Megadeth's music, "dark and bitter," though there's no clear explanation as to why it was taken off the market.

What's most interesting about all of this is whether or not it'll lead to a more diversified audience at their aforementioned show in Newcastle Upon Tyne. We'll just have to wait until December to see if that's the case!

Photo via the official Megadeth Facebook page.">the official Megadeth Facebook page.