Megadeth guitarist Dave Mustaine will perform the US national anthem in the upcoming new film, “America.”
The Hollywood Reporter says Mustaine will mark the 45th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" with a version of his own that will appear in "America" (in theaters July 2), the new movie from Dinesh D’Souza, the creator of "2016: Obama's America".
"Jimi recorded his version at a different time in the history of our nation," Mustaine said. "Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King had been assassinated, the nation was mired in war and chaos and that is reflected in his guitar."
"America" is described as "a journey of discovery that will bring you face-to-face with the heroes who built America, in the times in which they lived, bled, and sacrificed in order to build a great nation: Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and others. You'll be there as Columbus sets foot on American soil, as bullets whiz by Washington's head, as Douglass demands that America live up to the promises of her Founding Fathers, and as Lincoln sacrifices thousands of lives, including his own, to right a great wrong of history."
"First off, no version of our national anthem is or will ever be better than the original," Mustaine said. "My inspiration and take on the song for the film was our Founding Fathers and wondering what they would think of us today if they saw what we had become. My hope for America is that we'll become a nation they'd be proud of again and I tried to capture that with my guitar."
Some of Mustaine’s work can be heard in the trailer for “America”, which can be seen below.
Mustaine and Megadeth have cancelled their immediate tour plans following the death of bassist David Ellefson’s brother, Eliot, who passed away in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 19 after battling cancer.
Ellefson is taking a break to spend time with his family following their loss; a private family service will be held.
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Search Megadeth at hennemusic
