Ex-Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren has been in Megadeth since 2016 and is currently working on his first album with the band. Frontman Dave Mustaine recently shared some video of Verbeuren tearing it up behind the kit, and now tells Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon that his playing in the band bears a resemblance to early drummer Gar Samuelson.
Samuelson played on the first two Megadeth records and was in the band from 1984 to 1987. Samuelson passed away in 1999 from liver failure.
"The thing that Dirk brings to the band is this uncanny similarity to Gar Samuelson, and that, to me, is the best thing out of all of it. Whether he can play fast or not, he can, and whether he can play metal or not, he can, and whether he can play jazz or not, he totally can. And it's been so long…
"You know, Nick [Menza] was great, but Gar had something Nick didn't. Nick was a metal kind of jazz guy. Gar was… he was an innovator. Dirk, to me, is like the ghost of Gar Samuelson; it's really crazy. And, unfortunately, both those drummers [Gar and Nick], they're no longer with us to have them do a drum-off, so I can say, 'See, I told ya.' But I'm flattered to have been graced with such great drummers in the first place."
You can see Verbeuren and crew tear it up live in 2019 on the Megacruise.
