CHRIS BRODERICK Was Contemplating Making Solo Album Before Leaving MEGADETH

The Metalist recently conducted an interview with former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE guitarist Chris Broderick. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On why he and drummer Shawn Drover left MEGADETH in November 2014:

“The big question everybody’s asking… Well, it was really pretty independent from each of us. I had been thinking about leaving for some time, and it really came down to a measurement of pluses and negatives, as with any job. You’re, like, ‘Well, the pay is good, but I have to deal with this, or I have to deal with that,’ and you’re constantly measuring, you know… For me, it was great for my career, and I love the fans and I love the fact that I got to play the ‘Big Four’ [shows with METALLICA], but once Shawn quit, I knew he had made the right decision. Because Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH mainman] was asking us to come down and record. And you don’t wanna start a project like that, or something like that, when you know that you might be leaving it, and your heart’s not in it. So I decided that, ‘You know what? Shawn is right. The time to leave is now.’ That’s why — at least for myself — I ended up quitting.”

On whether he was ever part of the songwriting process for the MEGADETH albums:

“Not really. I mean, I did get some songwriting credit, but it was always heavily… You know, it had to meet Dave‘s criteria of what he wanted, and how he felt songs should shound. And rightfully so, you know. MEGADETH, basically, is Dave, and so, he controls it, and he runs it, and he’s the owner of his corporation. For me, it just became time that I just really wanted to express myself creatively and be able to get it out there for people to listen to.”

On whether a desire to form a new band was a major factor in wanting to leave MEGADETH and start ACT OF DEFIANCE with Drover:

“No. To tell you the truth, as I was considering leaving, I was really focusing more on releasing a solo CD and had been working on songs for that. But, after talking to Shawn, after he had left, and I had left, it [was like], ‘Why don’t we do a band? Why don’t we actually put something together and get out the material that we had written over the past few years and see what people think of it?’ So that’s how ACT OF DEFIANCE kind of got started.”

On the “supergroup” tag that has been attached to ACT OF DEFIANCE, which also includes ex-SCAR THE MARTYR singer Henry Derek Bonner and SHADOWS FALL‘s Matt Bachand (bass):

“I do not think we are a supergroup in the least. The funny thing, to me, is I don’t even like the term ‘supergroup,’ because it implies something that’s better than something else. To me, we’re people that have had some forture in being able to play music live, and that’s really all it comes down to. And now we’ve been lucky enough that our names have gotten us the opportunity to sign with Metal Blade, but now, we have to grind it out again. We ‘re gonna be back in the clubs and we’re gonna be just… you know, grinding it out, and having a good time while we do it.”

ACT OF DEFIANCE released its debut album, “Birth And The Burial”, on August 21 via Metal Blade Records.