Megadeth's Dave Mustaine says he and Metallica have hugged out
Dave Mustaine has a reputation for many things besides his extraordinary guitar playing. He’s a founding member of Metallica and one of the godfathers of what became known as thrash metal, yet he was fired from that band just before it broke big because of his rampant drugging and drinking. His volatile 25-year tenure as the leader of Megadeth has been marked by several classic metal albums and a revolving-door lineup. His long-running battle with drugs and drink led to rehab and eventually his conversion to Christianity. His outspokenness has embroiled him in public spats with his band and others, including Metallica and Pantera.
Now he lays out the whole story in his autobiography, “Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir” (HarperCollins, $25.99), released as he tours with Megadeth and fellow thrash-metal icons Slayer and Testament. Mustaine had more to say when I caught up with him between tour dates:
Q: You’ve said that after writing your autobiography, you felt like finally you’d been understood. What were the biggest misunderstandings about you that you wanted to clear up?
A: The biggest misunderstanding is all of the stuff in the past, the disagreements with other bands, stuff that is so old. None of us care about it anymore. You can see what happened with the “Big 4” reunion (the Megadeth stadium shows in Europe this summer with ‘80s thrash-metal bands Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax) and all of us playing together. It was like there was some kind of enjoyment having disagreements, this feud among all of us. A lot of people have disagreements. But there we were on stage playing together and hugging at the end. How can this be a feud when you have proof right there on film? It will be released on DVD -- the shot heard round the world. It shows you this whole terrible thing has been perpetuated by the press.
Now he lays out the whole story in his autobiography, “Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir” (HarperCollins, $25.99), released as he tours with Megadeth and fellow thrash-metal icons Slayer and Testament. Mustaine had more to say when I caught up with him between tour dates:
Q: You’ve said that after writing your autobiography, you felt like finally you’d been understood. What were the biggest misunderstandings about you that you wanted to clear up?
A: The biggest misunderstanding is all of the stuff in the past, the disagreements with other bands, stuff that is so old. None of us care about it anymore. You can see what happened with the “Big 4” reunion (the Megadeth stadium shows in Europe this summer with ‘80s thrash-metal bands Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax) and all of us playing together. It was like there was some kind of enjoyment having disagreements, this feud among all of us. A lot of people have disagreements. But there we were on stage playing together and hugging at the end. How can this be a feud when you have proof right there on film? It will be released on DVD -- the shot heard round the world. It shows you this whole terrible thing has been perpetuated by the press.
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