Given that he founded Megadeth, it would seem safe to assume that death has never exactly been far from Dave Mustaine's mind. But lately, it seems as though he's been even more focused on mortality -- specifically his own.

"Time is short -- nobody knows how long they’re going to live," Mustaine mused during a recent interview with Minneapolis rock station 93X (via Classic Rock Magazine). Explaining that he's been particularly affected by the recent death of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, Mustaine revealed a new sense of creative urgency in his work, adding, "I want to write as much as I can while I can."

Along those lines, Mustaine added that Megadeth are "planning our next time to start demoing our next record" -- which is at least mildly surprising, given that the band's most recent record, 'Super Collider,' has only been in stores for a few weeks. In the meantime, there's a fresh round of Megadeth tour dates to take care of, with the band headlining the metal fest Gigantour through August.

At some point on the tour, Mustaine intends to hook up with Newsted frontman (and fellow former Metallica member) Jason Newsted for a performance of the 1983 Metallica song 'Metal Militia' -- a long-awaited live jam that was supposed to have taken place already, but had to be postponed when Newsted fell ill. "I hope you are feeling better @JasonCNewsted," Mustaine tweeted at his tourmate. "We miss you and are ready to do #MetalMilitia when you get back @Gigantour2013."

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