Dave Mustaine

• 1. Introduction

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  Dave Mustaine fronts Megadeth, a thrash metal band that has released seventeen studio albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide. In 2017 the title track of its album Dystopia won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Yet the best-known chapter of his career belongs to another band. Mustaine was lead guitarist of Metallica, never appeared on one of its albums, and still earned a writing credit on six of its songs. He is also the sole consistent member of the group he built afterward. How did a dismissal become a foundation? What did addiction, injury and faith take from him, and what did they give back? And why does the word reconciliation keep landing beside the word feud in his story?

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• 2. From Panic to Greyhound

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  David Scott Mustaine was born on the 13th of September 1961 in La Mesa, California, a suburb near San Diego. His father, John Jefferson Mustaine, was of French, German, Irish and Finnish descent. His mother, Emily Marie, came from a German Jewish family. The household followed the Jehovah's Witnesses. Mustaine later lamented that "life unraveled in a great many ways" for his family before he was born.

  John Mustaine had been a branch manager for Bank of America before moving to NCR. His son remembers him as a very smart man who was good with his hands and head. At NCR, the corporation's shift from mechanical to electrical technology made him expendable, and he lost his job. He was already a problem drinker, and the habit only worsened. After Emily divorced him in 1965, he left his four-year-old son for good.

  Mustaine's first band was Panic, where he played lead guitar. The original lineup had Dave Harmon on drums, Tom Quecke on guitar, Bob Evans on bass and Pat Voelkes singing. Mike Leftwych filled in on drums for the first gig, at Dana Point. Leftwych and a sound man were killed in a car crash after the show. Mustaine says Quecke died in a separate crash soon after Panic began falling apart in 1981.

  In 1981 Mustaine disbanded Panic and joined Metallica. Drummer Lars Ulrich had placed an ad in a local newspaper, The Recycler, looking for a lead guitarist. Mustaine recalled walking out of his warm-up and asking whether he was going to audition. They told him he already had the job. He could hardly believe it, and he suggested they fetch beer to celebrate.

  Beer would become the problem. Brian Slagel, owner of Metal Blade Records, remembered Mustaine as incredibly talented, with a matching problem with alcohol and drugs. By Slagel's account, a drunk Mustaine turned into a "raging megalomaniac." The others drank too, Slagel said, but Mustaine drank much more.

  Two incidents stand out. Mustaine once brought his dog to rehearsal, and the dog scratched the paint on bassist Ron McGovney's car. James Hetfield allegedly yelled at the dog and kicked it. Mustaine physically attacked Hetfield in response. He was fired, asked to return the next day, and was let back in. On another occasion a drinking Mustaine poured a can of beer down the neck of McGovney's bass and into its pickups. McGovney said he got an electric shock when he plugged it into an amplifier.

  The final break came on the 11th of April 1983. The band had driven to New York to record its debut album, Kill 'Em All. Mustaine was officially ejected over alcoholism, drug abuse, overly aggressive behavior and clashes with founders Hetfield and Ulrich. He calls it "no warning, no second chance." The band packed up his gear, drove him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and put him on a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles.

  On that ride he scribbled lyric ideas on the back of a hand bill. They later became "Set the World Afire," a song on the 1988 Megadeth album So Far, So Good... So What!

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• 3. Naming Megadeth

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  Back in California in April 1983, Mustaine moved in with his mother. A man named Robbie McKinney helped him land what he calls his first real job, as a telemarketer. A friend of McKinney's, Matt Kisselstein, worked there too. Once Mustaine had saved enough for an apartment in Hollywood, he quit. He recruited McKinney on guitar and Kisselstein on bass for a band called Fallen Angels. Mustaine admits the group lacked "the chemistry, the energy, the spark." The partnership did not last.

  The band that mattered began with a noise complaint. Bassist Dave Ellefson was playing the opening bass line of Van Halen's "Runnin' with the Devil" in the apartment below. Hung over, Mustaine stomped on the floor and shouted for it to stop. Then he threw a potted plant out of his window, and it hit the air conditioner downstairs. Ellefson and Greg Handevidt came up to ask for cigarettes. Mustaine told them there was a store on the corner and slammed the door. They returned and offered to buy him beer. His reply was "OK, now you are talking." They spent the night discussing music, and soon the three were bandmates.

  Doubtful of his own singing, Mustaine added a vocalist known as Lor Kane. Kane did not stay long, but he suggested the new name. He knew Mustaine had already written a song called Megadeth. Dijon Carruthers became the first of many drummers. Mustaine and Ellefson later decided they could not trust him, and Brett Frederickson took over in November 1983.

  Singers came and went, among them John Cyriis and Billy Bonds. At a rehearsal on New Year's Eve 1984, Mustaine took over vocals himself while still playing lead and rhythm guitar. Kerry King played a few early shows, including the debut gig, in February and April 1984. Then he left to focus on his own band, Slayer. That year a three-song demo featured drummer Lee Rauch, who departed after Mustaine talked him into playing on a broken foot.

  Jazz-influenced drummer Gar Samuelson arrived next. A demo recorded as a three-piece caught the attention of guitarist Chris Poland, a jazz player and Samuelson's friend, who joined. In November the band signed with Combat Records and began touring. Its first album, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!, came out in June 1985. That summer the band toured the United States and Canada with Exciter.

  Poland was jailed for heroin possession, and Mike Albert filled in until Poland rejoined in October. On New Year's Eve that year, Megadeth played San Francisco on a bill with Exodus and Metal Church, with Metallica as headliner. It was the only time the two bands shared a card until 1993.

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• 4. Revolving Door

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  Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? came out on the 19th of September 1986. Capitol Records had signed Megadeth and obtained the rights to the album. MTV News used the opening bass lick of the title track in its segments, and "Wake Up Dead" became a thrash anthem. The band opened a US tour with King Diamond and Motörhead. In March 1987 its first world tour began in the UK.

  The lineup did not survive the success. That summer there were drug problems and suspicions that Poland and Samuelson were stealing equipment to pawn for drug money. After a final show in Hawaii, Mustaine fired both.

  Chuck Behler, who had been Samuelson's drum tech, became the drummer, and Jeff Young replaced Poland. So Far, So Good... So What! followed in January 1988, with "In My Darkest Hour" and "Hook in Mouth," which attacked the Parents Music Resource Center. An Allmusic critic judged the cover of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK" ill-advised, despite a guest appearance from ex-Pistol Steve Jones. Later that year Megadeth opened for Dio and then Iron Maiden. The Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington put the band on a bill with Kiss, Guns N' Roses, David Lee Roth and Helloween. Soon after, Mustaine fired Behler and Young, accusing Young of having thoughts of a relationship with his then-girlfriend.

  Nick Menza, Behler's drum tech, joined in 1989. The three-piece recorded one track, a cover of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" for the horror film Shocker. Director Penelope Spheeris later told Behind the Music that Mustaine arrived at the video shoot too high to sing and play at once. The two parts had to be recorded separately. That March, Mustaine was arrested for impaired driving with seven or more drugs in his system. Authorities forced him into a rehabilitation program, the first of 15 visits to rehabilitation centers.

  Marty Friedman joined in February 1990, and Rust in Peace arrived that year. Decibel and Kerrang! counted it among the best thrash records ever. In 1991 the band played for 145,000 people at Rock in Rio. Mustaine married Pamela Anne Casselberry that April. Their son Justis was born in 1992, and their daughter Electra on the 28th of January 1998.

  Countdown to Extinction, released in July 1992, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and became the band's most commercially successful record. It carried "Symphony of Destruction," "Sweating Bullets" and "Skin o' My Teeth." The first video for "Symphony of Destruction" was edited because it showed a political leader being assassinated. MTV aired "Skin o' My Teeth" with a disclaimer from Mustaine that the song did not endorse suicide.

  Addiction kept interfering. A 1993 US tour with Stone Temple Pilots, which included a planned appearance at Budokan, was canceled because of his continuing struggles. Megadeth was also kicked off Aerosmith's US tour after just seven dates. Mustaine had said, "We don't have much time to play because Aerosmith don't have much time left to live."

  Youthanasia, a more commercial album, followed in 1994. "Paranoid," the band's cover of Black Sabbath, earned a Grammy nomination in 1996. Cryptic Writings arrived in 1997, and "Trust" reached the 5th spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. It was nominated for a Grammy in January 1998. Later that year, two days after Menza had surgery for a benign knee tumor, Mustaine phoned to tell him he was no longer needed. Jimmy DeGrasso, from Mustaine's side project MD.45, took the drum seat.

  Risk, released on the 31st of August 1999, came after Mustaine heard that Lars Ulrich wished he would take more "risks." Managers and producers had more input, and producer Dann Huff worked with the band in Nashville. "Crush 'Em" was written specifically for wrestling arenas and was played live on WCW's Monday Nitro. Mustaine later blamed much of this period on Friedman's wish for a more pop direction. As the year ended, Friedman announced his departure.

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• 5. Silence and Faith

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  In January 2002, Mustaine went to hospital to have a kidney stone removed. The pain medication he was given triggered a relapse. Right after leaving the hospital, he checked himself into a treatment center in Texas. While in rehab he fell asleep with his left arm draped over the back of a chair, compressing the radial nerve. The diagnosis was radial neuropathy, also called Saturday Night Palsy. He could not grasp anything or even make a fist.

  On the 3rd of April 2002, a press release announced that Mustaine was disbanding Megadeth because of the arm injury. He then spent four months in intense physical therapy, five days a week, and had to re-teach his left hand. Doctors had predicted otherwise, but he recovered fully. He later told SuicideGirls that frustrations with Al Pitrelli's drinking and DeGrasso's complaining had made the lineup hard to bear. The injury, he said, felt like a relief.

  During the quiet stretch, he explored production and oversaw a Dolby 5.1 audio DVD release of Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? It was also then that he became a Christian. His faith deepened while he attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He told The Daily Times his own world was already shattered. He had gone back to being a Jehovah's Witness but was unhappy. Then, he said, "Looking up at the cross, I said six simple words, 'What have I got to lose?'"

  The change reached the stage. Mustaine now declines to appear with any band seen as black metal or satanic. He tried to pull out of a show in Greece with Rotting Christ and Dissection opening, and he declined a festival in Israel with Dissection. His teenage years had included black magic, which inspired several songs on Peace Sells. He stopped playing "The Conjuring" because it contains instructions for hexes. He said he put a couple of spells on people as a teenager and it haunted him forever. In 2016, drummer Chris Adler of Lamb of God suggested re-recording the song with modified lyrics. That made Mustaine consider playing it again, as long as it does not hurt anybody.

  Megadeth returned. The System Has Failed, released on the 14th of September 2004, began as a planned solo album. It featured drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Jimmy Sloas and guest solos from Chris Poland. During the 2005 Gigantour, a pastor traveled with Mustaine and rode on his bus. Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan said he thought this was meant to keep Mustaine on the straight and narrow. Endgame followed on the 15th of September 2009. In 2010, Ellefson rejoined eight years after the breakup, and the two agreed to leave unresolved issues behind.

  Dystopia took shape after lead guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover left in late November 2014, both citing creative differences. Chris Adler and Kiko Loureiro of Angra replaced them. Mustaine said his playing shifted slightly because of a brief stint with the San Diego Symphony. The album came out on the 22nd of January 2016 and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Loudwire's Chad Bowar called it a first-rate Megadeth album, while Slant Magazine's Benjamin Aspray said the solos rarely leave much of a mark.

  Health problems kept returning. In 2011 Mustaine said his neck and spine condition, stenosis, came from years of headbanging. On the 17th of June 2019 he announced a throat cancer diagnosis. On the 31st of January 2020, he told a Megadeth crowd he was cancer free. The cancer and the COVID-19 pandemic stretched out the recording of The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!, the longest the band had spent on an album. It was released in September 2022 and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 48,000 units. Dom Lawson of Blabbermouth.net gave it 9 out of 10.

  In August 2025, a press release said the next album, Megadeth, would be the band's last, followed by a farewell tour in 2026. Mustaine then revealed he had developed Dupuytren's contracture in his left hand, which makes playing painful. He blamed it for his decision to end the band.

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• 6. Opinions and Backlash

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  In 1988, Megadeth played a concert in Northern Ireland, where Mustaine dedicated a song to "the cause." A riot followed. He later said he was surprised to learn that this was a euphemism for supporting the Irish Republican Army during the Troubles. The same year, he spoke to Roy Wilkinson of Sounds. Mustaine said that if he were President, he would build a great wall along the Mexican border.

  His comments on religion drew scrutiny too. In 1988, reacting to Britain's Section 28, he said the Bible says men should not lie with men. He added that he did not want to miss heaven. In 2012, on KIRO-FM, he was asked whether he supported legalizing gay marriage. He answered, "I'm Christian. The answer to that would be no."

  His politics were not simply one direction. MTV News had him cover the 1992 Democratic National Convention, and some lyrics, such as "Foreclosure of a Dream," were read as leaning left. In 2009, radio host Alex Jones interviewed him for InfoWars. Mustaine said Endgame was inspired by his Christian beliefs and his expectation of a coming New World Order. In a 2016 Fox Business interview he described himself as an Independent.

  Still, his criticism often aimed at Democrats. In the 2004 campaign he said he believed John Kerry would "ruin our country." In 2011 he called Barack Obama "the most divisive president we've ever had." In a March 2012 interview he said he believed Obama was born outside the United States.

  That year, onstage in Singapore, Mustaine claimed that Obama had staged the shootings in Aurora, Colorado, and at a Wisconsin Sikh temple. He said the motive was to push a gun control agenda. Aurora survivors responded with backlash. Media outlets also reported in 2012 that he had endorsed Republican senator Rick Santorum. Mustaine said he only respected Santorum for leaving the campaign trail when his daughter got sick.

  In 2019 he addressed his reputation directly: "I've got this reputation that I'm a right-winger. Well, check my voting record to see that I've voted Democrat and Republican."

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• 7. Beyond the Band

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  In the summer of 2005, Mustaine launched a traveling North American metal festival. He named it Gigantour after Gigantor, a favorite childhood cartoon. It spanned six weeks and was co-headlined by Megadeth and Dream Theater, with Fear Factory and the Dillinger Escape Plan in support. His stated aim was to give American audiences an eclectic and affordable alternative to Ozzfest. The 2006 edition added Lamb of God, Opeth and Arch Enemy. In March 2008, Megadeth made its first tour stop in Bangalore, India. A revival announced in November 2011 opened at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey, on the 26th of January 2012. Motörhead, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil joined Megadeth on that bill.

  His guitars tell their own story. Early on, and throughout his time in Metallica, he played B.C. Rich, notably a Bich 10 string strung with only six. He painted it black around the release of Peace Sells. He then moved to Jackson, and a custom order there led to the Mustaine KV1 with 24 frets rather than 22. He credits his Flying V choice to being a fan of Michael Schenker of UFO.

  ESP announced his endorsement at the 2004 NAMM convention. The ESP Axxion, pronounced Action, celebrated Megadeth's 20th anniversary in 2005 and won a Gold Award from Guitar World. On the 6th of December 2006, he announced he was leaving ESP for Dean Guitars. The Dean VMNT debuted at NAMM on the 19th of January 2007, with a limited run of only 150 signed copies. In February 2021, he moved to Gibson, which launched The Dave Mustaine Collection. In 2022 he swapped a Fractal Axe-FX for a Neural DSP Quad Cortex on tour.

  He is also known for popularizing the "spider chord" technique for power chords, which streamlines hand movement and reduces string noise. Joel McIver ranked him No. 1 in The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009. Mustaine told Classic Rock he was most delighted to finish ahead of both Hetfield and Kirk Hammett, saying, "All I thought was - I win!"

  Martial arts became a second discipline. Mustaine trained in Kung Fu, then started taekwondo in Arizona in 1999. He holds black belts in taekwondo and Ukidokan karate, and in 2007 the World Taekwondo Federation named him a Goodwill Ambassador of the World. He earned a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in January 2021 and a brown belt at the age of 61. In 2025, at 64, he reached black belt. He says martial arts saved his life by helping him leave drugs and alcohol behind.

  Business followed. His collaboration with the San Diego Symphony in 2013 inspired the Symphony Interrupted Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2015 he started House of Mustaine, a winery in Nashville, Tennessee, and he also owns vineyards in Italy and California. Each limited wine is named after a Megadeth song and stamped with the family crest. In 2016 he launched Megadeth beer, with mascot Vic Rattlehead on every can. Its first signature brew, "À Tout le Monde," won a gold medal in 2017, and by 2025 the line had sold over 15 million pints.

  Television gave him cameos. In a 1998 episode of The Drew Carey Show, Mustaine auditions as a guitarist. When a character tells him to slow down, he answers, "It's supposed to sound that way."

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• 8. Old Rivals

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  On the 9th of December 1986, Ray and Jan Burton attended a Megadeth show at The Stone in San Francisco. They were the parents of Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who had died that September. Mustaine played "In My Darkest Hour" live for the first time in tribute.

  By then the feud had a complicated texture. Mustaine had made inflammatory remarks about Metallica and Kirk Hammett after Megadeth rose to fame. Yet Ulrich praised Mustaine's compositions in a 1985 MTV interview and again after Peace Sells. He and Burton were occasionally spotted at Megadeth shows in 1985 and 1986.

  The low point came on the 10th of March 1988 in Oakland, California. An intoxicated Mustaine insulted Metallica's replacement bassist Jason Newsted during a Megadeth set, while Ulrich and Hetfield watched from backstage. Tensions with Ulrich soon eased, and Ulrich appeared onstage with Megadeth and members of Guns N' Roses at Castle Donington.

  A 1991 interview had Ulrich saying the two had reconciled. Hammett said Mustaine approached him before a 1989 concert and apologized. In June 1993, Megadeth played Milton Keynes Bowl with Diamond Head and Metallica, then opened for Metallica on European stadium dates. In September 2001, Ulrich invited Mustaine to conduct an interview for the Some Kind of Monster documentary. Mustaine spoke with emotion about his substance abuse history and about measuring his career against Metallica's.

  In 2010 Metallica reiterated their reconciliation ahead of the Big Four tour with Anthrax and Slayer. The Big Four shows began in Warsaw, Poland, on the 16th of June. The run ended at Yankee Stadium in New York on the 14th of September 2011. The Sofia, Bulgaria show was released on Blu-ray and DVD. On the 10th of December 2011, Metallica's 30th anniversary celebration reunited past members, and Mustaine performed songs from the debut album.

  Peace did not last. Mustaine approached Hetfield in 2015 about a collaboration, including a possible remaster of the 1982 demo No Life 'Til Leather. Hetfield was unwilling. A year later Ulrich persuaded him to reconsider with Mustaine involved. Then a dispute over Ulrich requesting credit on all tracks canceled the project and reignited tensions.

  On Megadeth's final album, the band covered Metallica's "Ride the Lightning," a song Mustaine co-wrote before leaving. He told an interviewer: "We're constantly working on improving our relationship, me and James and Lars. I really do love those guys. That's why we fought so much - it was that I missed them."

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