CHRIS ADLER Says His Contributions To MEGADETH’s “Dystopia” Were Bigger Than Acknowledged: “Basically, DAVE And I Wrote That Entire Record”

If you examine Megadeth’s discography, one thing is clear: Dave Mustaine has long been the principal architect of the band’s sound. From enduring classics like “Peace Sells,” “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due,” and “Symphony of Destruction,” Mustaine’s songwriting is the cornerstone of the group’s legacy. Still, the revolving door of musicians in Megadeth has occasionally left space for others to make their mark.

In a conversation with The Classic Metal Show, former Megadeth and Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler offered insight into his work on Dystopia, released in 2016. According to Adler, his contributions went deeper than what the credits reflect.

“Dystopia itself, when Dave asked me to do it, I was in Los Angeles recording the drums for Sturm und Drang for the Lamb record, and I got a call at like, five in the morning,” Adler recalled (via Ultimate Guitar). “He’s an early bird. And he’s like, ‘Hey, Chris.’ We had met years ago and gotten along fairly well.”

He went on to describe Mustaine’s direct but unexpected approach: “We weren’t pen pals or anything, but he’s like, ‘Hey, I remember hanging out with you and you’re cool. And now a lot of people are telling me a lot of good things about you, and I was wondering if you’d like to make a thrash record with me?’ Which was like, I was jumping up and down. They recently put out Super Collider, which I think was a big disappointment to the base. I was like, ‘Yes! I want to get you back on track.’”

Adler joined Mustaine in Nashville after finishing his touring commitments with Lamb Of God.
“So, I’m finishing up a couple of tours, and then he flies me to Nashville, rents a house for like, three months, and it’s just me and him,” he said. “It’s for that entire time, like, at the end of those three months, I think it was three months, maybe two and a half, that’s when Kiko [Loureiro] was brought in.”

The lineup took shape gradually. “I was there when he was going through, like, ‘I don’t know who should play guitar. I don’t know this.’ And so Kiko comes in at the very end to do solos. David Ellefson comes in at the very end to do bass.”

Despite Mustaine’s name dominating the songwriting credits, Adler insists his role was central to the album’s development: “But basically, Dave and I wrote that entire record. And there were parts of it where I was like, ‘This should be heavier! This should be heavier!’ I was really pushy about it, but I think he appreciated that at the time. And the songs are awesome, clearly. It went on to do great things.”

While Adler’s tenure with Megadeth was brief, spanning only from 2015 to 2016, his impact on Dystopia seems to extend far beyond the surface credits.