Dave Mustaine and the impact he had on Metallica

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Dave Mustaine expressed his pride in the success of his band Megadeth. Despite the tense relationship he has had with Metallica over the years. While he acknowledged the history between the two bands, Mustaine made it clear that he does not want to fuel any drama. However, he did take the opportunity to highlight the impact he had on Metallica, stating that his influence on the band was “pretty fucking deep.”

In 1981, Dave Mustaine became a part of Metallica, joining the band’s founding members James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, as well as Ron McGovney. Later, McGovney was replaced by bassist Cliff Burton. However, despite contributing to the songwriting of several tracks, Mustaine’s tenure with Metallica came to an end in 1983 due to his excessive alcohol consumption and erratic behaviour. As a result, Kirk Hammett was brought in as his replacement, and Mustaine did not play on Metallica’s debut album, “Kill ‘Em All”. Despite his departure from the band, Mustaine’s contributions to Metallica’s early sound were significant, and he went on to achieve great success as the founder and frontman of Megadeth.

Mustaine tells Guitar World “They became one of the biggest bands in the world, and here’s one of the biggest bands in the world wasting their breath trying to discredit me by saying, ‘Dave’s not a good guitar player,'” He adds “Excuse me, what the fuck did you say? I think I wrote many of the songs that made you famous, so you probably should recheck that bullshit statement.”

Megadeth Merchandise

Guitar World asked Mustaine how he measures his influence on Metallica, and he replied noting he was the only guitar player in the band when it first started. There was an early guitarist Brad Parker but his time in Metallica wasn’t long at all. Hetfield ended up picking up the guitar.

“Also, early on, James was terrified to talk to the crowd… So I — the guy who can’t play guitar — went up to the mic and started talking. That’s how it was until I left. James only started talking to the audience after I left; he had no choice,” Mustaine said. “And most of what I said onstage was things James would then copy after I left. So how do I view my influence on Metallica? It’s pretty fucking deep.”

Metallica Merchandise

Mustaine once again mentioned he’d love for Metallica and Megadeth to play a show together again. “I wanted things to be reconciled and to be friends,” He said of the tension of his old band. “But for whatever reason, they didn’t. And Metallica is represented by the same agent as Megadeth, and I’ve asked our agent, “You’re Metallica’s agent, too; why won’t those guys play with us? What are they afraid of?”

“The fact is simple,” Mustaine adds “The world wants to see Megadeth and Metallica play together … Does Megadeth need Metallica? No. But Metallica talks about their fans, but they don’t give them what they’ve been asking for. What are they afraid of? I don’t know. It’s not me; it’s them.”