Megadeth have shared “Soldier On!,” the latest single from their forthcoming album The Sick, The Dying…and the Dead! arriving September 2nd.
The new song comes a week before Megadeth’s co-headlining tour with Five Finger Death Punch. The outing kicks off August 19th in Portland, Oregon, and runs through October 15th in Salt Lake City. You can buy tickets via Ticketmaster.
“Solider On!” calls back to Countdown to Extinction with its groove metal riffs and prominent vocal melodies. It’s the most compact and accessible single we’ve heard from the new album thus far. And according to Dave Mustaine’s comments in the press release, it might have been inspired by the ousting of former bassist David Ellefson.
“Coming to the realization that you need to walk away from a relationship that’s very toxic, and how hard it can be to start down that road,” Mustaine said. “But you know you need to, and just taking that first step is the hardest part. Whatever your leaving does to them, you have to block that part out, stay the course and do what’s right for you. It will be hard in the beginning, but you have got to live for yourself to be worth a damn to anyone else. You’ve got to ‘Soldier On!’”
Speaking of Ellefson, the bassist has since formed three new bands, including the recently announced Kings of Thrash supergroup. Ellefson, fellow ex-Megadeth member Chris Poland, and other veteran thrash musicians plan to cover two Megadeth albums on the band’s upcoming tour, adding more salt to the Mustaine-Ellefson feud.
You can pre-order Megadeth’s upcoming album The Sick, The Dying…and the Dead! here. Previously, the band previewed the album with the Ice-T collab “Night Stalkers” and “We’ll Be Back.”