We're just a few days out from the release of Megadeth's Dystopia album, a disc that's heavy in sound and dark in content. We recently had a chance to sit down and chat with frontman Dave Mustaine about the disc and in this video piece we dig into a couple of the songs off the album as well as some of the classical influences that have woven their way into his music after his 2014 performance with the San Diego Symphony.

"That whole thing originated because someone said something very disrespectful to our genre about heavy metal guitar players not being that talented and they said that classical is way harder to do," said Mustaine about his appearance with the San Diego Symphony. The rocker revealed that the experience taught him something and gave him some ideas as he approached songs like "Bullet to the Brain" and "Poisonous Shadows" off the new disc.

Speaking of "Poisonous Shadows," the track holds a special place for Mustaine, who calls it "my favorite song on the record for a lot of reasons." While the song itself features a lot of different sounds, the influences are almost as plenty. In the clip above, Mustaine discusses finding inspiration in the idea of righting past wrongs, but also in binge watching a number of popular and dark in tone TV series.

The rocker is also quite proud of "Fatal Illusion," a track that delves into the state of the world and does so in an impactful way. "If you can say something with a short amount of words with a lot of meaning, to me that's really being a lyricist, being a poet, being a writer," says Mustaine. Get his full thoughts on "Fatal Illusion" in the video above.

Both "Poisonous Shadows" and "Fatal Illusion" appear on Megadeth's Dystopia album, due Jan. 22. The disc is currently available to pre-order in digital and physical formats.

See Where Dave Mustaine Ranks Among the Top 50 Hard Rock + Metal Guitarists of All Time

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Discusses 'Dystopia' Songwriting

More From The Basin's Classic Rock