Dave Mustaine Says He’s ‘Chosen to Find the Happier Things in Life’ Than Talk About Metallica
If there’s one thing about Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine that I think not enough people know about, it’s that he was once the lead guitarist for Metallica. It’s fucking wild that no one knows this, but it’s true.
Naturally, I’m kidding and it feels like Mustaine always talks about that time roughly four decades ago that he spent getting rip-roaringly drunk and playing super fast thrash metal with what would eventually become the biggest band in the world. And while I know he’s not doing this unprompted (most of the time) and that it’s usually in response to an interviewer’s question, it goes without saying that the red-headed shredder is intrinsically linked to his former band.
Yet during a recent interview with Rock Antenne during last month’s Summer Breeze festival in Dinkelsbühl, Germany (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Mustaine said he doesn’t ever really get sick about answering questions regarding Metallica, because he doesn’t spend a whole lot of time talking about them.
“Well, I don’t really talk about my time with Metallica. I don’t bring it up. So if someone brings it up, I’ll answer the question, but I usually don’t bother doing that. ‘Cause I think in a way that kind of gives the impression that I need to talk about them in order for me to feel good about myself. And I don’t — I don’t. I feel good about who I am just ’cause I feel good about who I am. It has nothing to do with bands that I’ve played in in the past. And if it was, I would say of the three bands that I was in that I enjoyed Panic and Megadeth more than I did in Metallica because we did argue a lot.
“I loved playing with those guys, but it was meant for a season. And I look back on that time with a lot of fondness. I used to not, because I was still hurt from losing my job, but now I know, basically, that things happen for a reason, no matter what they are, and whether I was still in that group or not, that was outta my hands. And once I accept those things… Acceptance is the key to all of my problems today. If there’s something happening in my life and I can’t change it, and I spend my time wasting energy and effort to try and change something I cannot change, man, you’re gonna go nuts. So I’ve chosen to find the happier things in life.”
Honestly, it seems like it’s the interviewers that can’t seem to let it go. After learning that Mustaine is cool with both Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield these days, coupled with the fact that he’s occasionally reuniting with old bandmates that aren’t in Kings of Thrash, maybe we’re living in a world where the frontman can finally be set in his successes. The dude deserves it.
