Megadeth Announce Release Date For 'Th1rt3en'

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ RoadRunner Records) Megadeth have made it official: Their 13th studio album, TH1RT3EN, will be released on November 1, 2011. Says singer and guitarist Dave Mustaine, "This record is the culmination of my work over the 13 records I recorded. There are moments on TH1RT3EN that capture my every emotion, and other moments where I am releasing feelings I never knew existed! My proudest moments of my musical career are captured on TH1RT3EN."

TH1RT3EN also marks the recorded return of bassist Dave Ellefson, who was part of the band's classic lineup from 1983 to 2002. In a move that delighted the band's legion of diehards, Ellefson returned to performing live with Megadeth in early 2010 and has remained a fixture on the stage ever since. This is the first time Ellefson has played on a Megadeth record since 2002's Rude Awakening.

The album's title has several layers of meaning, which leader and guitar deity Mustaine, who first picked up an axe at the age of 13, revealed in a recent chat with RollingStone.com, saying, "I was born on September 13th; this is my thirteenth record. It just seemed like it was the right thing to do to call it TH1RT3EN."

The band has spent the summer killing it on the main stage of the fourth annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival tour, and they'll cap that off by performing as part of "The Big 4" once again, this time in New York at Yankee Stadium alongside Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. The only previous "Big 4" show in the U.S. took place in April in Southern California.

The band recorded an original track, "Never Dead," specifically for the NeverDead action-adventure video game franchise; that song will appear on TH1RT3EN, as will "Sudden Death," which the band recorded for Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock.