Sometimes a door closed is an opportunity, and while some Megadeth fans may be upset by the exits of Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover and others may not be happy with the inability to reform the Rust in Peace lineup, frontman Dave Mustaine is very pleased with the additions of drummer Chris Adler and guitarist Kiko Loureiro.

Mustaine opens up in a new interview with Rolling Stone about the experiences of trying to replace the exiting Broderick and Drover over the last few months and offers an update on the progress of their next album.

As has been revealed, there was a brief moment where it looked like a Rust in Peace lineup reunion was going to happen, but Nick Menza and Marty Friedman have revealed that it didn't come to fruition. Mustaine says, "Contrary to all the scuttlebutt that's going around, I wish those guys the best. But their recollections of the events that led up to it and happened after are considerably different from my recollection. But here's the thing -- a lot of people, they either love or hate me. If I tell anybody what happened it's not gonna change the way they feel about me. But it'll probably change the way they feel about them. And I don't want to hurt anybody. All I can say I think they're both tremendous musicians and talented guys."

And they aren't the only talented guys that were considered for the band's future. Lamb of God's Chris Adler was ultimately selected to drum on the band's album, although he won't be touring with the band. Mustaine says, "The option to do a record with Chris was really exciting to me. So I thought, 'Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We'll figure out what we're gonna do about live shows, who's gonna take the drum throne.' And we've looked at a lot of people. I talked with my friend [ex-Dream Theater drummer] Mike Portnoy, who I think is an amazing talent. I talked to [ex-Slayer drummer] Dave Lombardo. [Current Dream Theater drummer] Mike Mangini's name has come up. But there was just something telling me to pause, saying, 'Really think about who you're gonna play with, Mustaine. Make sure you're going to do something that's really going to excite people and that is not predictable.' But we do have some live shows coming up and we have a drummer committed to our dates so far this year."

As for the new disc, Mustaine reveals, "We have 15 tracks -- 13 originals and two cover songs. We did 'Melt the Ice Away' by Budgie and 'Foreign Policy' by Fear. At this point, the drums are all done and Chris is back home. Kiko finished all his rhythms and he's now doing solos." Loureiro also reportedly played piano at the end of a haunting song called "Poisonous Shadows." The vocalist also revealed the song titled "The Emperor Has No Clothes" and another called "Tyranocide," but added that many of the tracks just have working titles at this point.

As for a street date, Mustaine stated that the band is aiming for a release during the later part of the year. Read the full interview with Mustaine at Rolling Stone.

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