"I wrote the notes to this one, so suffice it right now that this fairy dystopia comes close to being an idealization of what I love about movies—it’s the paradigmatic spring-afternoon-as-film, the living idea that speaks most clearly to the boy I once was and in some ways wish I was still. I miss that kid."

"In keeping with the dystopian theme. Murakami is always good and I am reading this right now. It’s like someone is using his fantasy to escape the dystopia of modern life. It’s like he’s accepted the way the world is, and he can’t fight it, so he delves into his inner world as way of negotiating the realities of life through his own fantasies."

"In terms of pushing my playing and songwriting, and the re-acquaintance of David Ellefson and myself, and with Kiko being such an un-fucking-believable guitar player, I would have to pick Dystopia at this point. But now Dirk Verbeuren’s in the band, I’m really looking forward to what’s next. When we get into the rehearsal room, warming up for the shows, and we hear Dirk playing some blastbeats, I’m questioning what Megadeth is going to sound like when we make the next record and we have those skull-numbing beats going on, it’s gonna push my playing to otherworldly limits. I’m excited because I can do the fast metal stuff, but having the chops and musical depth that Kiko has and with Ellefson holding down the fort, I’m really looking forward to the next record. I started thinking about it the day we left the studio after making Dystopia. That’s just how I’m wired."