"This is almost Devendra's Exile On Main Street. There's gospel singers on the song 'Saved', there's a song called 'Shabop Shalom' which is a satirical bar mitzvah song that he performs like Elvis. It has an epic jaw-dropping song called 'Seahorse' which alternates between psychedelic parts and jazz parts, a fuzzy roving ballad called 'So Long, Old Bean'. There's so much on it and I love that. Devendra was my neighbour in Brooklyn many years ago, and it was cool watching him become a superhero version of himself. He had that kind of bravery before almost anyone I knew, to embody their personal expression in this world. Devendra is a next-level master at combining musical, visual, and poetic aesthetics. For me he is a personal hero, his work is a benchmark of how much of your brain you can get out there it. We were born a few days apart, so we are really connected as peers."

"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."

"This is a record that shaped my musical path as a musician for a long time. My hardcore trump card in life is that I saw them in 1998 in front of about 100 people. They were fucking amazing. When I went to that gig I had the record and I was a little bit confused by it. It was a very divisive record in the scene because of the electro elements. Over time I came to adore it. I did once fly to Sweden to buy a Dennis Lyxzén solo album because I couldn’t find it anywhere I can play this entire record in my sleep. Everything I did with Million Dead was informed by this album. I wasn’t really a fan of the new record, but I did once fly to Sweden to buy a Dennis Lyxzén solo album because I couldn’t find it anywhere. The guy in the record store thought I was out of my fucking mind, which arguably I was"

"Maybe the best film ever made in Europe about modern Europe, by my favorite of all European directors, Carol Reed. It’s a companion piece to its follow-up, The Man Between, my other favorite Reed film; both films present a totally pessimistic take on the moral collapse of a divided postwar Europe, with no heroes or possible redemption. I’ve probably seen it fifty or sixty times since it first appeared on TV in the 1950s, and still watch it from beginning to end whenever I get the chance. With the exception of the miscast Orson Welles (how could Alida Valli ever have loved such a mean-spirited, charmless, smirking killer?), the players, led by Joseph Cotten, Valli, and Trevor Howard, are at their best, as are the finest collection of German-Austrian actors ever assembled. It contains one of the greatest musical scores and has easily the greatest ending to any film ever made."