In a new interview with Guitar World, Dave Mustaine has again surfaced past claims that Metallica is intimidated by the musical prowess of Megadeth and that is the reason the two bands haven’t toured together. Dave was also asked about the competition between the two bands, the drama that exists from fans, his vast influence over the music of Metallica, and the notion that Metallica discredited Dave and his playing, especially after he was fired from the band 41 years ago. Megadeth has an over 38-year long career and released their excellent album The Sick… The Dying, And The Dead in 2022 via Universal Music Group.

“In my mind, there is no competition between Megadeth and Metallica. We’re different bands, and I believe Megadeth has been more consistent. But the sad thing is that the drama between us has been more popular than the music ever was. And remember, Metallica got a big head start, and they did so on the back of what I helped create. They became one of the biggest bands in the world, and here’s one of the biggest bands wasting their breath trying to discredit me by saying, ‘Dave’s not a good guitar player.’ Excuse me, what the fuck did you say? [Laughs] I think I wrote many of the songs that made you famous, so you probably should recheck that bullshit statement. But this is the shit those guys say, and you’ve got the sheep who follow them around believing it.”

 

“The issue is that people don’t know their history and take sides. I never wanted to take sides; I wanted things to be reconciled and to be friends, 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?’ And they’ve confirmed they’re going out [this summer] with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and the PANTERA thing, so it’s clearly about the money. The fact is simple: the world wants to see Megadeth and Metallica play together. And in case anyone is wondering: there’s fucking money in that. The fans want to see Metallica and Megadeth share the stage. 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.”

 

“In the early days, I was the only guitar player in the band and wrote some of the songs that ended up on their earlier records. So, for a guy who ‘couldn’t play guitar,’ I sure did fucking influence things. The only reason James [Hetfield, Metallica frontman] even played guitar early on was that we couldn’t find anyone else. So who was it that couldn’t play guitar? We had one guy named Brad Parker, whose real name was Damian Phillips. He showed up and had an oversized feather earring; we did one show, and that was the end of him. And that was why we ended up having James play guitar. There was no other reason. Also, early on, James was terrified to talk to the crowd, and I would look at him and say, ‘Talk, man. Get up there and fucking talk,’ but James didn’t do it; he stayed in the background, and he’s the fucking singer. 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. You can hear it on the tapes from the shows we did in San Francisco at the Waldorf and the Stone; I did all the talking. And most of what I said on stage was things James would then copy after I left. So how do I view my influence on Metallica? It’s pretty fucking deep.”