Dave Mustaine
Encyclopedia
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is the founder, main songwriter
, guitarist
, and lead vocalist
for the American heavy metal band Megadeth
. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica
until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he was ranked No. 1 in Joel McIver
's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists
. Mustaine was ranked 89th by Hit Parader
on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. He is also the manager for the Canadian band Baptized in Blood
.
. When his parents divorced, he spent much of his youth with his mother and sisters moving constantly to avoid contact with his father. By the age of 15, Mustaine had rented his own apartment and was surviving financially by dealing drugs. One of his clients, Willow, was often short of cash, but worked in a record store, so in return for drugs, she offered albums by artists such as Iron Maiden
, AC/DC
, Motörhead and Judas Priest
in trade, which helped form his taste in hard rock
and heavy metal
. In the late 1970s, Mustaine started to play electric guitar
, most notably a B.C. Rich
and joined a band known as Panic for a short time.
had posted an ad in a local newspaper
, The Recycler
, looking for a lead guitarist. In his own words, Mustaine remembers his first meeting with James Hetfield
and Lars Ulrich
: "I was in the room warming up and I walked out and asked, 'Well, are you gonna audition?', and they said, 'no, you've got the job.' I couldn't believe how easy it had been and suggested that we get some beer to celebrate."
Mustaine's membership in Metallica would last less than two years. Brian Slagel
, owner of Metal Blade Records
, recalls in an interview: "Dave was an incredibly talented guy but he also had an incredibly large problem with alcohol and drugs. He'd get wasted and become a real crazy person, a raging maniac, and the other guys just couldn't deal with that after a while. I mean, they all drank of course, but Dave drank more...much more. I could see they were beginning to get fed up of seeing Dave drunk out of his mind all the time."
On one occasion, Mustaine brought his dog to rehearsal; the dog jumped onto the car of Metallica bassist Ron McGovney
and scratched the paint. Hetfield allegedly proceeded to yell at Mustaine's dog and kicked it in anger, to which Mustaine responded by physically attacking Hetfield and McGovney and verbally abusing Ulrich. Mustaine was fired following the altercation, but the next day, Mustaine asked to be allowed back in the band and was granted his request. Another incident occurred when Mustaine, who had been drinking, poured a full can of beer down the neck and into the pick-ups of Ron McGovney's bass. When McGovney tried playing it, he received an electrical shock which he claims 'blew him across the room and shocked the hell out of him'. McGovney then told Mustaine and Hetfield to leave his house and left the band shortly after.
On April 11, 1983, after Metallica had driven to New York to record their debut album, Mustaine was officially fired from the band because of his alcoholism
, drug abuse, overly aggressive behavior, and personality clashes with founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, an incident Mustaine refers to as "no warning, no second chance". The band packed up Dave's gear, drove him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal
, and put him on a Greyhound bus bound for Los Angeles. It was on this bus ride that Mustaine scribbled some lyrical ideas on the back of a muffin wrapper, which would later become the song "Set The World Afire" from the 1988 Megadeth album So Far, So Good... So What!
During his time in Metallica, Dave Mustaine toured with the band, co-wrote four songs which appeared on Kill Em All, and co-wrote two songs which would eventually appear on Ride the Lightning
. Mustaine has also made unverified claims to have written parts of "Leper Messiah" from Master of Puppets
. He also recorded several songs with the band including the No Life 'Til Leather demo tape. A few of the songs he wrote with Hetfield and Ulrich went on to be re-recorded by Metallica. The most well-known of these is "The Four Horsemen" from Kill 'Em All, which Mustaine wrote as "The Mechanix" and later released on Megadeth's debut album with the original lyrics as "Mechanix".
and drummer Dijon Carruthers. After a series of unsuccessful vocalist auditions, Mustaine elected to take on vocal duties himself in addition to playing lead guitar. In 1984, Megadeth cut a three-song demo with drummer Lee Raush. Kerry King
joined the band for a few shows; however, he opted to leave Megadeth after less than a week so he could continue working on his own band, Slayer
. Jazz-influenced drummer Gar Samuelson
replaced Raush. Megadeth recorded a demo as a three-piece band which captured the attention of guitarist Chris Poland
, also a jazz player and a friend of Samuelson, who subsequently joined the band. In November, the band signed a deal with Combat Records
and began touring.
In May 1985, Megadeth released their first album, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!
, on Combat Records. That summer, the band toured the U.S. and Canada with Exciter
. Guitarist Mike Albert replaced Chris Poland for a while because Poland was charged for possession of heroin. After Poland was released, he rejoined the band in October and the band then began recording their second studio album for Combat. On New Year's Eve of that year, Megadeth played in San Francisco with Exodus
,and Metal Church
. Metallica was on the card but did not attend due to various reasons.
In 1986, after recording Killing Is My Business..., Mustaine approached Jackson Guitars
for a custom-built guitar. Jackson modified their existing Jackson King V model for Mustaine by adding 2 more fret
s to the standard 22 fret King V. In the 1990s the company began mass-producing a Dave Mustaine signature series Jackson King V which continued into the early 2000s.
The following year, major label Capitol Records
signed Megadeth and obtained the rights to their second album, Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
, from Combat. Megadeth opened a U.S. tour with King Diamond
and Motörhead. This album, released in November, is regarded as a landmark metal album. It produced the notable title track (the opening bass lick of which was used by "MTV News
" segments) as well as the thrash anthem "Wake Up Dead." The videos for both songs became staples on MTV
's Headbanger's Ball.
In February 1987, Megadeth opened for Alice Cooper
on his Constrictor tour. The band also toured with King Diamond
whose previous band, Mercyful Fate
, were a huge influence on Megadeth. In March, Megadeth's first world tour began in the U.K. Mustaine and Ellefson guested on the band Malice's License To Kill album. Megadeth re-recorded "These Boots" for a movie soundtrack, and that summer went on tour with Overkill
and Necros
. Amid drug problems and suspicions of stealing the band's equipment and pawning it for drug money, Mustaine fired Poland and Samuelson after their last show in Hawaii
.
Chuck Behler
, who had been Samuelson's drum tech, became Megadeth's new drummer with a guitarist named Jeff Young
replacing Poland. Megadeth released their third album, So Far, So Good... So What!
, in January 1988. The album contains the song "In My Darkest Hour
", which, according to the liner notes of So Far, So Good... So What!
, was composed after the death of Metallica's bass player Cliff Burton
, despite the lyrics having nothing to do with Burton. "Hook in Mouth" attacked the Parents Music Resource Center
with gusto, although their cover of the Sex Pistols
' "Anarchy in the UK", despite a guest appearance from ex-Pistol Steve Jones
, was ill-advised in the eyes of Allmusic's critic.
Later that year, Megadeth opened for Dio
and then Iron Maiden
on tour before playing the Monsters of Rock
festival at Castle Donington in the U.K. with Kiss
, Iron Maiden
, Guns N' Roses
, David Lee Roth
, and Helloween
. Shortly after, Mustaine fired Behler and Young, accusing Young of having thoughts of a relationship with Mustaine's then-girlfriend. Around this period, Mustaine produced the debut album from Seattle thrash band Sanctuary
, called Refuge Denied
.
Nick Menza, who was Chuck Behler's drum tech, joined Megadeth in 1989, and the band recorded their only track ever as a three-piece: a cover of Alice Cooper
's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" for the Wes Craven
-directed horror flick, Shocker
. Video director Penelope Spheeris
would later recount in the Megadeth episode of Behind The Music
that Mustaine showed up to the video shoot so fried on heroin and other drugs that he could not sing and play guitar at the same time; therefore, the singing and playing had to be recorded separately. Mustaine was arrested for "impaired driving" that March with seven or more drugs in his system and was forced by authorities to enter a rehabilitation program (the first of his 17 visits to rehabilitation centers).
(formerly of Cacophony
) was auditioned to fill in the vacant lead-guitar position. In September of that year, the band joined the "Clash of the Titans" tour overseas with Slayer
, Suicidal Tendencies
and Testament
. The tour began one month before Megadeth released Rust in Peace
(1990), which continued their commercial success. They then went back on the road to promote the new album, this time as support for Judas Priest
.
Megadeth started off 1991 by performing for 145,000 people at a festival in Brazil before starting their own world tour with Alice in Chains
as their special guest. Mustaine got married in April, the same month the Rusted Pieces
home video was released. That summer, the Clash of the Titans tour hit the U.S., featuring Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax
, with Alice in Chains taking the opening slot. Later that year, the Megadeth song "Go to Hell" was featured on the soundtrack to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
.
Also in 1991, Mustaine collaborated with Sean Harris from Diamond Head
on the track "Crown of Worms." (Mustaine would later appear on Diamond Head's reformation album Death and Progress
.) Mustaine's wife, Pamela, gave birth to their son Justis on February 11, 1992. The band was featured on another soundtrack, this time for Super Mario Bros.
with the song "Breakpoint." July saw the release of Megadeth's most commercially successful record: Countdown to Extinction
. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200
and boasted some the band's most commercially successful songs, including "Symphony of Destruction
", "Sweating Bullets
" and "Skin o' My Teeth
". The original version of the "Symphony of Destruction" video was edited due to its depiction of a political leader being assassinated; "Skin o' My Teeth" was aired on MTV
with a disclaimer from Mustaine insisting that the song did not endorse suicide. Ellefson contributed lyrics to the family-farm ballad "Foreclosure of a Dream", and Menza wrote the lyrics about canned hunt
ing for the title track. This album began a new, more "collaborative" Megadeth.
Pantera
and Suicidal Tendencies opened for Megadeth on the Countdown to Extinction tour. MTV News
invited Mustaine to cover the Democratic National Convention
for them that summer. In November, the "Exposure of a Dream" home video was released. In 1993, Mustaine guested on a new album by one of the bands who had influenced his own sound: Diamond Head
. Megadeth began a U.S. tour with Stone Temple Pilots
as their opening act. This tour, including a planned appearance at Budokan
, was ultimately canceled due to Mustaine's continuing struggles with addiction. In June, Megadeth played Milton Keynes Bowl with Diamond Head and Metallica and later opened for Metallica on a handful of European Stadium dates. Megadeth was kicked off Aerosmith
's U.S. tour after just seven dates due to the comment made by Mustaine that "We don't have much time to play because Aerosmith don't have much time left to live." was deemed offensive to Aerosmith. "Angry Again" was featured on the soundtrack to the Arnold Schwarzenegger
movie Last Action Hero
, while "99 Ways To Die" was featured on The Beavis and Butt-head Experience
compilation album.
Megadeth spent the bulk of 1994 making Youthanasia
, a much more commercial album undoubtedly inspired in part by the success of Countdown to Extinction
. The band covered Black Sabbath
's song "Paranoid" for Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath and performed on MTV's "Night of the Living Megadeth" in celebration of the Halloween release of their new album. They began a tour the next month in South America. Youthanasia became the quickest album to go gold (500,000 units) in Canadian history and sold well throughout the world. It was an album that showed a more melodic side to the band with tracks such as "À Tout le Monde
." The album also included "Train of Consequences
," the music video for which became one of the band's most well-known.
Another soundtrack appearance, "Diadems" on Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight, kicked off 1995. Megadeth spent the first two months of the year on the "Youthanasia" tour with Corrosion of Conformity
in tow. In March, the Hidden Treasures compilation hit European stores. The "Evolver: The Making of Youthanasia" home video followed in May, and Hidden Treasures made it to the U.S. and Japan in July, just in time for the start of the "Reckoning Day" tour with special guests Flotsam and Jetsam
, Korn
and Fear Factory
. In September the band performed at the "Monsters of Rock
" festival in South America.
A Grammy nomination for "Paranoid" began 1996 for Megadeth. Enlisting Fear
singer Lee Ving
, Mustaine released an album under the moniker "MD.45
" with Suicidal Tendencies drummer Jimmy DeGrasso
. In September, Megadeth returned to the studio, this time in Nashville, TN, to record Cryptic Writings
.
Cryptic Writings (1997) included thrashing songs like "Vortex" and "FFF" - reminiscent of Megadeth's older material - alongside radio-friendly fare like "Trust
," the song which put Megadeth on the #1 spot in the U.S. Billboard, earning them many spins at rock radio. Megadeth.com launched that year, and in June, the reformed Misfits opened for the band on tour. Chaos Comics released "The Cryptic Writings of Megadeth" comic books, and a remix of "Almost Honest" showed up on the "Mortal Kombat Annihilation" soundtrack. The first ever all-acoustic Megadeth performance in Buenos Aires, Argentina closed out the year in December.
Mustaine's daughter, Electra Mustaine, was born on January 28, 1998, the same month that "Trust" was nominated for a Grammy. Megadeth played on the Howard Stern Show
and that summer took part in Ozzfest
. As Nick Menza sat in the hospital side-lined by a knee injury, he received a call from Mustaine informing him that his services would no longer be needed. Jimmy DeGrasso, who Mustaine had enjoyed playing with in MD.45, joined Megadeth in his place. On New Year's Eve, Megadeth opened for Black Sabbath alongside Soulfly
, Slayer, and Pantera.
While touring after Cryptic Writings, Mustaine told interviewers that songs like "She-Wolf" and "Vortex" had reinvigorated his love for classic metal by bands like Iron Maiden and Motörhead, and that he intended to write an album that was "1/2 Peace Sells, 1/2 Cryptic Writings"; however, after hearing about a comment that Lars Ulrich
had made in the press in which he said he wished Mustaine would take more "risks," intentions changed. Managers and producers had more input. The song "Crush 'Em
" was written with the express purpose of being played in sports arenas. In later years, Mustaine would blame much of this period on Friedman's desire to go in a more "pop
" direction. Recorded with producer Dann Huff
, again in Nashville, Risk was released on August 31, 1999. "Crush 'Em" made it onto the Universal Soldier: The Return soundtrack and into WCW wrestling events (notably played live on Monday Nitro). In July, the band covered "Never Say Die" for a second Black Sabbath tribute. They closed the Woodstock '99 music festival and again opened for Iron Maiden in Europe. There were few other highlights in the Megadeth world in 1999, a year that ended with Marty Friedman announcing his departure from the band.
replaced Friedman on the road. In April, the new lineup entered the studio to begin work on a new album a couple of months before they officially parted ways with Capitol Records. The summer was spent on the road with Anthrax
and Mötley Crüe
. Capitol released a "best of" collection in the fall, Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years
, featuring two brand new (and more metal-leaning) songs, "Dread and the Fugitive Mind
" was one of the brand new songs and appeared on the next studio album the following year. With a new deal in place with Sanctuary Records
, Megadeth returned to the studio toward the end of the year to finish their album and on New Year's Eve, played a show in Anchorage, Alaska.
An acoustic tour sponsored by radio stations, a press tour, and a video shoot for the song "Moto Psycho" all preceded the May, 2001 release of The World Needs A Hero
. The summer was filled with festival appearances supporting AC/DC
. In September, Megadeth set out across North America with Endo and Iced Earth
. VH1's "Behind The Music" special on Megadeth aired that year and was later released on DVD. At the end of the year, the band filmed two shows in Arizona, which were released as the 2CD and DVD Rude Awakening. The early part of 2002 saw the release of a remixed and re-mastered Killing Is My Business... with bonus tracks and expanded packaging, followed by Rude Awakening
.
In January 2002, Mustaine was admitted to the hospital to get a kidney stone
removed. While undergoing treatment, he was administered pain medication that triggered a relapse. Following his hospital stay, he immediately checked himself into a treatment center in Texas. While at the treatment center, Mustaine suffered a freak injury causing severe nerve damage to his left arm. The injury, induced by falling asleep with his left arm over the back of a chair, caused compression of the radial nerve
. He was diagnosed with radial neuropathy, also known as Saturday Night Palsy, which left him unable to grasp or even make a fist with his left hand.
On April 3, 2002, Mustaine announced in a press release that he was disbanding Megadeth, officially due to his arm injury. For the next four months, Mustaine underwent intense physical therapy
five days a week. Slowly, Mustaine began to play again, but was forced to "re-teach" his left hand.
Mustaine himself gave what he called "the Reader's Digest
version" of the whole matter during an interview for SuicideGirls
: "I went into retirement because my arm got hurt really bad. I broke up the band which at the time was Al Pitrelli
, Dave Ellefson, Jimmy DeGrasso
, and myself. I was having problems with Al because he liked to drink, and we didn’t want to show up at places with him drunk. Al also got married to a nice woman, but he wanted to spend time with her. After a few years, most married men are willing to die, so I figured if we got a couple years into the marriage that might have changed. But the fact was, Al wasn’t fitting. DeGrasso was really hard to be around because he was so negative all the time with his complaining about money and wanting things. Ellefson was all about 'play my songs, play my songs.' I hated being around these guys so when the arm injury happened, it was a welcome relief and an indication that I had to stop."
Mustaine went through physical therapy
for his arm injury. During his recovery, he explored other areas of the music industry, including production. Contrary to what doctors had predicted, within a short time he fully recovered. However, all was mostly quiet on the Megadeth front for the better part of 2003. Mustaine left Jackson guitars, did a solo acoustic performance at a benefit show, unveiled his new ESP model at the NAMM convention, and oversaw the release of Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying? as an audio DVD presented in Dolby 5.1 surround.
At the same time, Mustaine's personal life once again underwent change. It was during this period that Mustaine became a Christian
. He expressed his intent to withdraw from a show in Greece that had Rotting Christ
and Dissection
opening for Megadeth. Mustaine told The Daily Times during a recent interview, his own world was already shattered, and becoming a Christian was the one way he's found to put the pieces back together. “I went back to being a Jehovah’s Witness, but I wasn’t happy with that.” He later said in an interview, “Looking up at the cross, I said six simple words, ‘What have I got to lose?’ Afterwards my whole life has changed. It’s been hard, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Rather go my whole life believing that there is a God and find out there isn't than live my whole life thinking there isn't a God and then find out, when I die, that there is." Mustaine also considers his talent a gift from God. "To be the No. 1 rated guitar player in the world is a gift from God and I'm stoked about it, but I think Christ is better than I am, anyway," he said. "Either way, I don't put too much earthly merit on it."
In 2004 Mustaine oversaw the remixing and re-mastering of Megadeth's entire Capitol Records
catalog. All albums were re-released with bonus tracks and full liner notes. With one album remaining in his contract to Sanctuary Records
, Mustaine began recording what he intended to be the first Dave Mustaine solo album with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta
and bassist Jimmy Sloas
. Complete with guest solos from old friend Chris Poland, this project became a new Megadeth album, The System Has Failed
, released September 14, 2004. One month before, Mustaine announced a new touring lineup for Megadeth: Glen Drover
(King Diamond
/Eidolon
) and James MacDonough
(Iced Earth
). Nick Menza had briefly been a part of the new band before differences once again caused his departure. One week before a new US tour with Exodus
supporting, new drummer (and Glen's brother) Shawn Drover
(Eidolon
) joined Megadeth.
The "Blackmail The Universe" tour started in February 2005 with Diamond Head
and Dungeon supporting. Capitol released a new greatest hits, Back To The Start
, in June, a month before Mustaine created "Gigantour" with Dream Theater
, Anthrax
, Fear Factory
, Symphony X
, Dillinger Escape Plan, Life of Agony
, and more. During 2005 Gigantour Mustaine brought a "spiritual counselor" to help him avoid the problems that almost cost him his life due to his prior drug addictions. The Dillinger Escape Plan
frontman Greg Puciato
stated: "He had a pastor
walking around with him on tour and riding on his bus, I think to help keep him on the straight and narrow path."
The Arsenal of Megadeth, a two-disc anthology DVD
, was released in March 2006. Bass player James LoMenzo (Black Label Society
, White Lion
) replaced James MacDonough in February shortly before the band headed to the Dubai Desert Rock Festival in the United Arab Emirates
. On April 19, the band began recording a new album, United Abominations
, at SARM studios in the UK (David Gilmour's house), they announced a worldwide deal with Roadrunner Records
in May 2006. United Abominations was released worldwide on May 15, 2007. However, the album had already been leaked before its release. On January 13, 2008, Dave Mustaine confirmed that guitarist Glen Drover had quit Megadeth to focus on his family and that he had been replaced by Chris Broderick
of Jag Panzer
. The new lineup made its live debut in Finland on February 4 and returned to the US for Gigantour 2008 in the spring.
A 12th studio album titled Endgame was released on September 15, 2009.
Mustaine planned to open Megadeth's California recording studio to under-privileged children to teach them about rock 'n' roll. The band owns a building in San Diego, California
, which has housed their recording equipment over the years. In an interview with Kerrang, Mustaine wanted to make better use of the studio by turning the space into a learning center for children who come from under-privileged backgrounds. He also said he vowed to teach them how to play instruments.
has recently re-joined Megadeth after 8 years since the disbanding of Megadeth in 2002. Ellefson and Mustaine have agreed to keep any unresolved issues in the past and are working on building and maintaining their friendship again.
Megadeth embarked on a Rust In Peace 20th Anniversary tour, playing the album in its entirety, along with fan favorites such as "Wake Up Dead", "In My Darkest Hour" and "Skin O' My Teeth."
On August 3, 2010, Mustaine released his autobiography in the US, titled "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir". The book covers Mustaine's life from childhood till shortly before the release of the 2009 Megadeth album "Endgame". The book was released in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand titled "Mustaine: A Life in Metal"
On November 16, 2010, Mustaine revealed that he and Megadeth were working on material for a new album. At the time of the statement, they had "five songs almost finished".
On August 10, 2011, Mustaine revealed he approached Metallica's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich to form a heavy metal supergroup. Dave Ellefson is said to be the bassist of the band. Mustaine said it was "on my bucket list." James has declined at this point.
under the name of his band. The game also features two Megadeth titles: "Holy Wars: the Punishment Due" and "This Day We Fight". Megadeth downloadable contents are also available as tracks including "Hangar 18", "Symphony of Destruction" and "Peace Sells".
In the summer of 2005, Mustaine launched a travelling North American metal festival. He named it Gigantour
after a favorite childhood cartoon of his, Gigantor
. It spanned six weeks and was co-headlined by Megadeth and Dream Theater
, with a variety of other supporting metal acts such as Fear Factory
and The Dillinger Escape Plan
. Mustaine has been quoted as saying that his main intention when conceiving the tour was to bring the American metal audiences an eclectic and affordable alternative to Ozzfest
.
The second annual Gigantour began in September 2006 and was composed of Megadeth, Lamb of God
, Opeth
, and Arch Enemy. The second stage bands were Overkill
, Into Eternity, Sanctity
, and The Smash Up.
The 2007 Gigantour featured Bring Me the Horizon
, Static-X
, DevilDriver
, and Lacuna Coil
along with Megadeth. Megadeth appeared on their first tour to India, Bangalore in March 2008.
The 2008 installment of the tour featured Megadeth, Children of Bodom
, In Flames
, High on Fire
, and Job for a Cowboy
(and Evile
for the UK and Scandinavia tour).
Megadeth Blood in the Water: Live in San Diego
(from the Gigantour 2008) premiered on HDNet Sunday November 2 at 8PMET in high definition and 5.1 audio (Repeats check www.hd.net)
In November 2011, it was announced the Gigantour would start up again. The lineup consists of Megadeth, Motorhead, Volbeat, and Lacuna Coil
. The tour kicks off at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ on Jan 26, 2012.
guitars early in his career (and for his entire duration with Metallica), most notably a B.C. Rich Bich 10 string with just the regular six strings. First the guitar started in a natural finish, but Dave painted it black around the time 'Peace Sells' was released. In 1987 he switched to Jackson guitars.
In March 2009, while he was guest hosting Bruce Dickinson's Friday night radio show, Mustaine attributed his choice of the Flying V guitar to being a fan of UFO's Michael Schenker when he was growing up.
After switching to Jackson Guitars
he helped to re-design the guitar maker's version of the King V
model (at the time, it was a "double Rhoads size" meaning it had two of the longer fins from the RR). The reshaped Mustaine KV1 model had slightly shorter fins, Kahler bridge and Seymour Duncan
JB (SH-4b) and Jazz (SH-2n) pickups. He also specified 24 frets rather than the original King V's 22, a tradition which Jackson still keeps on its King V models today, and the KV1, as have all of Mustaine's signature models, also featured a smaller, medium fretwire compared to the extra jumbos featured on most Jacksons.
Mustaine later switched to ESP Guitars
. The company released the DV8 signature model in the 2004 NAMM convention also at which time Mustaine announced his ESP endorsement deal. In 2005, Mustaine and ESP teamed up to release the ESP Axxion, , in order to celebrate Megadeth's 20th anniversary.(the XX in Axxion and the fretboard inlays being the number 20 in Roman numerals) The ESP Axxion and ESP DV8 were both successful and cheaper models such as the LTD-DV8 R, LTD DV200 and the LTD Axxion were released to target a bigger market.
However, on December 6, 2006, Dave Mustaine announced that he was leaving ESP guitars and shifting his endorsement to Dean Guitars
. His new signature guitar was revealed during NAMM Show
on January 19, 2007. The signature guitar is called the Dean VMNT
. The V-shaped guitar is very similar to his earlier Jackson and ESP Signature models. The release campaign of the VMNT had a limited copy of only 150 in the world and are signed by Dave Mustaine. This was posted on the website.
"After two successful years, I have decided to leave ESP guitars. This was a business decision and had nothing to do with the guitars or the manufacturing of the guitars, and I wish the staff of ESP, both in the USA and in Japan and Korea the very best of health and prosperity. Meanwhile, I am taking my Classic Metal V known formerly as a Jackson King V1 or an ESP DV8, and my new guitar design presently known as an Axxion, which was the recipient of the Gold Award from Guitar World Magazine for 2005 for new guitar designs with me. I will also be re-introducing through my new endorsement many special models, including re-issues of my old models from over the span of my career, as well as some retro V shapes, similar to the formerly known Jackson Y2KV or a Gibson Flying V. I will make my announcement and be attending the 2007 NAMM show to meet Megadeth fans and all metal fans, musicians of all styles-especially guitarists."
Today he uses his signature models by Dean Guitars, the Dean VMNT and Zero. The USA models were available briefly in limited run after release, although the Korean and Chinese models are in continuous production. Mustaine uses the USA and Korean models on stage.
Dave Mustaine has also recently collaborated with Marshall in order to produce the 1960DM Dave Mustaine Signature Cabinets. He is now using his signature Marshall cabinets on tour.
Dave Mustaine endorses Seymour Duncan and has his own Signature Live Wire pickups and uses Signature GHS Progressives Strings (10-52).
The Dean Zero debuted in 2010 with Dean guitars was a unique new shape for Dave, resembling the Gibson Explorer with sharper points. Dave has made a few appearances so far; with this guitar on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and on shows during the Australian tour with Slayer. He has also used the guitar in the later dates of the 2009 Endgame tour and continues to use it to this day. He says he primarily still uses his VMNT's so he can grab on to the lower horn with his legs for certain songs.
Dave has also used Ovation acoustic guitars for most of his career. However, he stopped endorsing the company after receiving a signature acoustic from Dean
, dubbed the Mako.
Dave also has his own signature Zoom pedal, called the Zoom G2.1DM.
Amps
Other Effects/Rack Equipment
In 2009 Mustaine was named the No. 1 player in Joel McIver
's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists
. As he told Classic Rock
magazine in September 2009: "It was especially sweet when I found out that Joel has written books on Metallica. Every page I turned, I became more excited. I get to Number 5 and it's Kirk Hammett
, and I thought, 'Thank you, God'. At that point it didn't matter [which position I was]. To be better than both of them [James Hetfield and Hammett] meant so much – it's been one of the pet peeves of my career and I've never known how to deal with it. All I thought was--I win!"
In 1988, in response to the British government's criticism of homosexuality, Mustaine said: "More power to them. It says in the Bible
that men should not lay with men like they lay with women. I mean I don't wanna f--k up and not go to heaven." In an answer to a question about Judas Priest having an overt homosexual image, "I don't wanna talk about this. The last thing I need is a bunch of homos picketing us."
Mustaine began to focus on religion more directly while attending Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings. Finding that the meetings were actually impeding his progress in sobriety and spirituality, Mustaine left to focus on Christianity on his own. Through this process he became a committed Christian. In line with this, it has become his policy not to appear with any band that is seen as black metal
or satanic
, such as declining to appear in a music festival in Greece with the band Rotting Christ
as well as in Israel with the band Dissection
. In these instances, Mustaine requested that the bands not be kicked off the bill, but that Megadeth would step down and perform some other night. However, the promoters actually removed the smaller bands from the billing rather than deal with rescheduling the headliner.
journalist Roy Wilkinson, Mustaine said, "If I were President of the United States, I'd build a great wall along the Mexican border and not let anybody in. ... The beauty is gone when you see Americans sleeping on sidewalks and it makes me sick to to think we have assh---s in this country letting f--king Mexicans in. Who needs this s--t?"
In 1989, Mustaine caused a riot when Megadeth played a concert in Northern Ireland
after he "unwittingly" expressed support for the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) regarding the problems between Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities. This incident occurred amid a period of turmoil in the province known as the Troubles
.
In 1992 Mustaine covered the Democratic National Convention
for MTV
. He went on to vote for President Bill Clinton.
In 2004, Mustaine said he would vote for President Bush because John Kerry would "ruin our country." In 2011, he called President Obama "the most divisive president we've ever had. I've never, in my 50 years of being alive, listened to an American president try and turn one class of people against another class of people."
In 2009, Mustaine discussed the influence Alex Jones' films and ideas have had him and his music. Specifically, Mustaine said that he wrote the album Endgame based on Jones' Endgame film
in order "to educate his fans and the general public about the conspiracy behind the march towards global government."
and karate
. In 2007 he was made a Goodwill Ambassador of the World by the World Taekwondo Federation
.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, and lead vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
for the American heavy metal band Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he was ranked No. 1 in Joel McIver
Joel McIver
Joel McIver is a British author. The best-known of his 20 books to date is the bestselling Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica, first published in 2004 and selling close to 50,000 copies in nine languages since then. McIver's other works include biographies of Black Sabbath, Slayer, Ice...
's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists
The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists
The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists is a book by British author Joel McIver, published in 2009 by Jawbone Press and featuring a foreword by Glen Benton of Deicide. Foreign-language editions appeared shortly after the original English language version. It contained a list of 100 guitar players in...
. Mustaine was ranked 89th by Hit Parader
Hit Parader
Hit Parader is an American music magazine focusing on the genres of hard rock, pop, and heavy metal.The magazine was originally started as a pop song lyric magazine by Charlton Publications in 1942. Charlton sold off the magazine before the company went under in 1991...
on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. He is also the manager for the Canadian band Baptized in Blood
Baptized in Blood
Baptized in Blood are a 5-piece London, Ontario based heavy metal band. They are managed by Mark Adelman and Dave Mustaine, the frontman of American heavy metal band, Megadeth. They have been signed to Roadrunner Records since December 2009...
.
History
Dave Mustaine was born in La Mesa, California, to Emily and John Mustaine. His mother was Roman Catholic but Dave was brought up as a Jehovah's WitnessJehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
. When his parents divorced, he spent much of his youth with his mother and sisters moving constantly to avoid contact with his father. By the age of 15, Mustaine had rented his own apartment and was surviving financially by dealing drugs. One of his clients, Willow, was often short of cash, but worked in a record store, so in return for drugs, she offered albums by artists such as Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, Motörhead and Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
in trade, which helped form his taste in hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. In the late 1970s, Mustaine started to play electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, most notably a B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich is a manufacturer of guitars and bass guitars founded by the late Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969. Currently, most B.C. Rich guitars are manufactured in Asia, but luthiers of the company's custom shop continue to hand-make instruments. The Hanser Music Group, based in Kentucky, operates B.C....
and joined a band known as Panic for a short time.
Metallica (1981-1983)
In 1981, Mustaine left Panic to join Metallica as the lead guitarist. Metallica's drummer Lars UlrichLars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
had posted an ad in a local newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, The Recycler
The Recycler
The Recycler is a Los Angeles based, classifieds only newspaper, started by Gunter and Nancy Schaldach in 1973. The Recycler was based in Silverlake and was subsequently sold to the Times Mirror Company in 1998....
, looking for a lead guitarist. In his own words, Mustaine remembers his first meeting with James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
and Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
: "I was in the room warming up and I walked out and asked, 'Well, are you gonna audition?', and they said, 'no, you've got the job.' I couldn't believe how easy it had been and suggested that we get some beer to celebrate."
Mustaine's membership in Metallica would last less than two years. Brian Slagel
Brian Slagel
Brian Slagel is the owner and founder of Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for giving Metallica their first break in 1982, with an appearance on Metal Massacre, a compilation album on Metal Blade, and has since released seminal albums by Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning,...
, owner of Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...
, recalls in an interview: "Dave was an incredibly talented guy but he also had an incredibly large problem with alcohol and drugs. He'd get wasted and become a real crazy person, a raging maniac, and the other guys just couldn't deal with that after a while. I mean, they all drank of course, but Dave drank more...much more. I could see they were beginning to get fed up of seeing Dave drunk out of his mind all the time."
On one occasion, Mustaine brought his dog to rehearsal; the dog jumped onto the car of Metallica bassist Ron McGovney
Ron McGovney
Ron McGovney is a former American musician, best known as the original bassist in the heavy metal band Metallica.-Leather Charm and Metallica:...
and scratched the paint. Hetfield allegedly proceeded to yell at Mustaine's dog and kicked it in anger, to which Mustaine responded by physically attacking Hetfield and McGovney and verbally abusing Ulrich. Mustaine was fired following the altercation, but the next day, Mustaine asked to be allowed back in the band and was granted his request. Another incident occurred when Mustaine, who had been drinking, poured a full can of beer down the neck and into the pick-ups of Ron McGovney's bass. When McGovney tried playing it, he received an electrical shock which he claims 'blew him across the room and shocked the hell out of him'. McGovney then told Mustaine and Hetfield to leave his house and left the band shortly after.
On April 11, 1983, after Metallica had driven to New York to record their debut album, Mustaine was officially fired from the band because of his alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, drug abuse, overly aggressive behavior, and personality clashes with founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, an incident Mustaine refers to as "no warning, no second chance". The band packed up Dave's gear, drove him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...
, and put him on a Greyhound bus bound for Los Angeles. It was on this bus ride that Mustaine scribbled some lyrical ideas on the back of a muffin wrapper, which would later become the song "Set The World Afire" from the 1988 Megadeth album So Far, So Good... So What!
So Far, So Good... So What!
- 2004 bonus tracks :† The intro makes use of a sample from The Ink Spots' 1941 song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire"- Personnel :- Charts :-RIAA Certifications:- External links :*...
During his time in Metallica, Dave Mustaine toured with the band, co-wrote four songs which appeared on Kill Em All, and co-wrote two songs which would eventually appear on Ride the Lightning
Ride the Lightning
Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on July 27, 1984 through the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on November 5, 1987 and was most recently certified 5x platinum on June 9, 2003...
. Mustaine has also made unverified claims to have written parts of "Leper Messiah" from Master of Puppets
Master of Puppets
-Personnel:Metallica* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on track 1, first solo on tracks 2 and 7* Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals* Lars Ulrich – drums* Kirk Hammett – lead guitarProduction...
. He also recorded several songs with the band including the No Life 'Til Leather demo tape. A few of the songs he wrote with Hetfield and Ulrich went on to be re-recorded by Metallica. The most well-known of these is "The Four Horsemen" from Kill 'Em All, which Mustaine wrote as "The Mechanix" and later released on Megadeth's debut album with the original lyrics as "Mechanix".
Megadeth (1983-present)
Subsequent to his firing, in 1983, Mustaine met bass player Dave Ellefson. He then enlisted guitarist Greg HandevidtGreg Handevidt
Greg Handevidt was born in 1965 in Concord, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. His family later moved to Jackson, Minnesota where he met David Ellefson when they were 10 years old. Shortly after graduating from high school, the two moved to Hollywood, CA in order to pursue careers in music....
and drummer Dijon Carruthers. After a series of unsuccessful vocalist auditions, Mustaine elected to take on vocal duties himself in addition to playing lead guitar. In 1984, Megadeth cut a three-song demo with drummer Lee Raush. Kerry King
Kerry King
Kerry King is an American lead and rhythm guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist and cofounder of American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since...
joined the band for a few shows; however, he opted to leave Megadeth after less than a week so he could continue working on his own band, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
. Jazz-influenced drummer Gar Samuelson
Gar Samuelson
Gary C. "Gar" Samuelson was a drummer for thrash metal band Megadeth, working in it from 1984–1987.-Biography:Little is known about Samuelson before he joined Megadeth...
replaced Raush. Megadeth recorded a demo as a three-piece band which captured the attention of guitarist Chris Poland
Chris Poland
Chris Poland is an American guitarist, best known for being a former member of heavy metal band Megadeth.-Early career:...
, also a jazz player and a friend of Samuelson, who subsequently joined the band. In November, the band signed a deal with Combat Records
Combat Records
Combat Records was an independent record label from New York City. The label was home to predominantly metal and punk rock acts including Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, Death, Dead Brain Cells, Possessed, Crumbsuckers, Agnostic Front, Agent Steel, Dark Angel, Heathen, Zoetrope and...
and began touring.
In May 1985, Megadeth released their first album, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!
Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!
Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! is the debut album by the American heavy metal band Megadeth, released in June 1985 through Combat and Relativity Records. During the beginning of 1985, the band was given $8,000 by Combat Records to record and produce their debut album, but this...
, on Combat Records. That summer, the band toured the U.S. and Canada with Exciter
Exciter (band)
Exciter is a Canadian speed metal band from Ottawa, Ontario. They are widely considered to be one of the first speed metal bands and a seminal influence of the thrash metal genre. Exciter have sold nearly 2.3 million units in the USA and a total sells at 10 million units worldwide...
. Guitarist Mike Albert replaced Chris Poland for a while because Poland was charged for possession of heroin. After Poland was released, he rejoined the band in October and the band then began recording their second studio album for Combat. On New Year's Eve of that year, Megadeth played in San Francisco with Exodus
Exodus (band)
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
,and Metal Church
Metal Church
Metal Church was an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in Seattle, Washington as Shrapnel in 1980. Their first album was released in 1984, and the band's most recent work, This Present Wasteland, was released in 2008....
. Metallica was on the card but did not attend due to various reasons.
In 1986, after recording Killing Is My Business..., Mustaine approached Jackson Guitars
Jackson Guitars
__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
for a custom-built guitar. Jackson modified their existing Jackson King V model for Mustaine by adding 2 more fret
Fret
A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck. On most modern western instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard...
s to the standard 22 fret King V. In the 1990s the company began mass-producing a Dave Mustaine signature series Jackson King V which continued into the early 2000s.
The following year, major label Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
signed Megadeth and obtained the rights to their second album, Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
-25th Anniversary 2-CD reissue:-25th Anniversary box set:Disc 5 contains both the original album, and the above listed 1987 show in hi-resolution audio....
, from Combat. Megadeth opened a U.S. tour with King Diamond
King Diamond (band)
King Diamond is the heavy metal band that King Diamond formed after the split up of his heavy metal band Mercyful Fate, and the departure of Hank Shermann. He was joined by most members of the then defunct Mercyful Fate. The Satanic focus was replaced by a focus on horror stories...
and Motörhead. This album, released in November, is regarded as a landmark metal album. It produced the notable title track (the opening bass lick of which was used by "MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
" segments) as well as the thrash anthem "Wake Up Dead." The videos for both songs became staples on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Headbanger's Ball.
In February 1987, Megadeth opened for Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
on his Constrictor tour. The band also toured with King Diamond
King Diamond (band)
King Diamond is the heavy metal band that King Diamond formed after the split up of his heavy metal band Mercyful Fate, and the departure of Hank Shermann. He was joined by most members of the then defunct Mercyful Fate. The Satanic focus was replaced by a focus on horror stories...
whose previous band, Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate was a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen. Initially active from 1981 to 1985, they reunited in 1992. The band went on hiatus again in 2000, when frontman King Diamond decided to continue his solo career...
, were a huge influence on Megadeth. In March, Megadeth's first world tour began in the U.K. Mustaine and Ellefson guested on the band Malice's License To Kill album. Megadeth re-recorded "These Boots" for a movie soundtrack, and that summer went on tour with Overkill
Overkill (band)
Overkill is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many line-up changes, with singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bassist D.D. Verni remaining from the original lineup. Along with Anthrax , the band is one of the most successful East Coast thrash metal...
and Necros
Necros
Necros were an early American hardcore punk band from Maumee, Ohio, although they are usually identified with the Detroit music scene. They are the first band to record for Touch and Go Records.-History:...
. Amid drug problems and suspicions of stealing the band's equipment and pawning it for drug money, Mustaine fired Poland and Samuelson after their last show in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Chuck Behler
Chuck Behler
Chuck Behler is an American drummer. Behler played drums for the heavy metal band Megadeth from 1987 through 1989, recording the album So Far, So Good… So What! with the group in 1988...
, who had been Samuelson's drum tech, became Megadeth's new drummer with a guitarist named Jeff Young
Jeff Young
Jeff Young is an American guitarist. He graduated from Musicians Institute in 1985, and is best known for his time with the thrash metal band Megadeth, appearing on the 1988 album So Far, So Good... So What!...
replacing Poland. Megadeth released their third album, So Far, So Good... So What!
So Far, So Good... So What!
- 2004 bonus tracks :† The intro makes use of a sample from The Ink Spots' 1941 song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire"- Personnel :- Charts :-RIAA Certifications:- External links :*...
, in January 1988. The album contains the song "In My Darkest Hour
In My Darkest Hour
"In My Darkest Hour" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was the second single from Megadeth's third album, So Far, So Good...So What! . According to the liner notes of the remastered album, band leader Dave Mustaine wrote "In My Darkest Hour" in one sitting after learning of the...
", which, according to the liner notes of So Far, So Good... So What!
So Far, So Good... So What!
- 2004 bonus tracks :† The intro makes use of a sample from The Ink Spots' 1941 song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire"- Personnel :- Charts :-RIAA Certifications:- External links :*...
, was composed after the death of Metallica's bass player Cliff Burton
Cliff Burton
Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton was an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the American heavy metal band Metallica....
, despite the lyrics having nothing to do with Burton. "Hook in Mouth" attacked the Parents Music Resource Center
Parents Music Resource Center
The Parents Music Resource Center was an American committee formed in 1985 with the goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to music deemed to be violent, have drug use or be sexual.The committee was founded by four women: Tipper Gore, wife of Senator and later Vice...
with gusto, although their cover of the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
' "Anarchy in the UK", despite a guest appearance from ex-Pistol Steve Jones
Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
, was ill-advised in the eyes of Allmusic's critic.
Later that year, Megadeth opened for Dio
Dio (band)
Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...
and then Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
on tour before playing the Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual music festival held in England, then moved in other locations like The Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile.The Last show was in 2008....
festival at Castle Donington in the U.K. with Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
, and Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
. Shortly after, Mustaine fired Behler and Young, accusing Young of having thoughts of a relationship with Mustaine's then-girlfriend. Around this period, Mustaine produced the debut album from Seattle thrash band Sanctuary
Sanctuary (band)
Sanctuary is an American heavy metal band founded in Seattle in 1985. The band consisted of Warrel Dane , Lenny Rutledge , Sean Blosl, Jim Sheppard , Dave Budbill , and in the end Jeff Loomis.-History:...
, called Refuge Denied
Refuge Denied
Refuge Denied is the debut album by the band SanctuaryThis was the only album to feature extremely high pitched, layered vocals from vocalist Warrel Dane...
.
Nick Menza, who was Chuck Behler's drum tech, joined Megadeth in 1989, and the band recorded their only track ever as a three-piece: a cover of Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" for the Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
-directed horror flick, Shocker
Shocker (film)
Shocker is a 1989 horror film written and directed by Wes Craven. The relatively low-budget film has since become a cult classic...
. Video director Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...
would later recount in the Megadeth episode of Behind The Music
Behind the Music
Behind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
that Mustaine showed up to the video shoot so fried on heroin and other drugs that he could not sing and play guitar at the same time; therefore, the singing and playing had to be recorded separately. Mustaine was arrested for "impaired driving" that March with seven or more drugs in his system and was forced by authorities to enter a rehabilitation program (the first of his 17 visits to rehabilitation centers).
The 1990s
In February 1990, guitarist Marty FriedmanMarty Friedman (guitarist)
Marty Friedman is a guitarist, well known for his tenure as the lead/rhythm guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth, which lasted almost a decade...
(formerly of Cacophony
Cacophony (band)
Cacophony was an American Speed metal band formed in 1986 by guitarists Marty Friedman and Jason Becker. Cacophony is often recognized for its technically challenging, neo-classical metal and speed metal elements, as well as featuring two shred guitarists...
) was auditioned to fill in the vacant lead-guitar position. In September of that year, the band joined the "Clash of the Titans" tour overseas with Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is a U.S. crossover thrash band founded in 1981 in Venice, Los Angeles, California by Mike Muir, its leader and only permanent member. The band is sometimes credited as one of "the fathers of crossover thrash"...
and Testament
Testament (band)
Testament is an American metal band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1983. They are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
. The tour began one month before Megadeth released Rust in Peace
Rust in Peace
Rust in Peace is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on September 24, 1990, it was the third Megadeth album distributed through Capitol Records. The album was the band's only collaboration with record producer Mike Clink who was the first producer to...
(1990), which continued their commercial success. They then went back on the road to promote the new album, this time as support for Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
.
Megadeth started off 1991 by performing for 145,000 people at a festival in Brazil before starting their own world tour with Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
as their special guest. Mustaine got married in April, the same month the Rusted Pieces
Rusted Pieces
Rusted Pieces is a 1991 home video released by Megadeth. It contains six uncensored music videos, with Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson speaking about each one briefly...
home video was released. That summer, the Clash of the Titans tour hit the U.S., featuring Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
, with Alice in Chains taking the opening slot. Later that year, the Megadeth song "Go to Hell" was featured on the soundtrack to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey is a 1991 American science fiction comedy film, and the directing debut of Peter Hewitt. It is the second film in the Bill & Ted franchise, and a sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure . Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin reprise their respective roles...
.
Also in 1991, Mustaine collaborated with Sean Harris from Diamond Head
Diamond Head (band)
Diamond Head are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. The band is recognised as one of the leading members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and is acknowledged by later bands like Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence.-Early history:Formed by...
on the track "Crown of Worms." (Mustaine would later appear on Diamond Head's reformation album Death and Progress
Death and Progress
Death and Progress is a recording by Diamond Head and was released in 1993 under Castle Music Ltd.This was Diamond Head's first album since Canterbury, released 10 years earlier. It was mixed by Andrew Scarth, who had previously worked for bands such as Bad Company and Foreigner...
.) Mustaine's wife, Pamela, gave birth to their son Justis on February 11, 1992. The band was featured on another soundtrack, this time for Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. (film)
Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 American action film directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. Based on the Super Mario Bros.video game and its entire franchise, the film features Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper and Samantha Mathis. It tells the story of the Mario brothers, Mario and...
with the song "Breakpoint." July saw the release of Megadeth's most commercially successful record: Countdown to Extinction
Countdown to Extinction
Countdown to Extinction is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Megadeth. It was released on July 14, 1992 through Capitol Records. Countdown to Extinction is Megadeth's best-selling album, eventually achieving double platinum status...
. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and boasted some the band's most commercially successful songs, including "Symphony of Destruction
Symphony of Destruction
"Symphony of Destruction" is a 1992 single by American heavy metal band Megadeth, taken from their 1992 double platinum selling album, Countdown to Extinction. The lyrics explores the hypothetical situation where an average citizen might be placed into a position where he can run the country while...
", "Sweating Bullets
Sweating Bullets (song)
"Sweating Bullets" is a song by the American heavy metal band Megadeth. It was released in 1993 as the third single from their fifth album, Countdown to Extinction. The song charted at #29 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and at #26 in the UK....
" and "Skin o' My Teeth
Skin o' My Teeth
"Skin o' My Teeth" is the third single from Megadeth's multi-platinum album Countdown to Extinction. The song, written by Dave Mustaine, deals with the theme of a failed suicide attempt. It's one of the fastest songs of the album, with a pace of 196 bpm...
". The original version of the "Symphony of Destruction" video was edited due to its depiction of a political leader being assassinated; "Skin o' My Teeth" was aired on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
with a disclaimer from Mustaine insisting that the song did not endorse suicide. Ellefson contributed lyrics to the family-farm ballad "Foreclosure of a Dream", and Menza wrote the lyrics about canned hunt
Canned hunt
A canned hunt is essentially a trophy hunt in which the animal is kept in a more confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill...
ing for the title track. This album began a new, more "collaborative" Megadeth.
Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
and Suicidal Tendencies opened for Megadeth on the Countdown to Extinction tour. MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
invited Mustaine to cover the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
for them that summer. In November, the "Exposure of a Dream" home video was released. In 1993, Mustaine guested on a new album by one of the bands who had influenced his own sound: Diamond Head
Diamond Head (band)
Diamond Head are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. The band is recognised as one of the leading members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and is acknowledged by later bands like Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence.-Early history:Formed by...
. Megadeth began a U.S. tour with Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
as their opening act. This tour, including a planned appearance at Budokan
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...
, was ultimately canceled due to Mustaine's continuing struggles with addiction. In June, Megadeth played Milton Keynes Bowl with Diamond Head and Metallica and later opened for Metallica on a handful of European Stadium dates. Megadeth was kicked off Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
's U.S. tour after just seven dates due to the comment made by Mustaine that "We don't have much time to play because Aerosmith don't have much time left to live." was deemed offensive to Aerosmith. "Angry Again" was featured on the soundtrack to the Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
movie Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
, while "99 Ways To Die" was featured on The Beavis and Butt-head Experience
The Beavis and Butt-head Experience
The Beavis and Butt-head Experience is a compilation album, released in 1993 by Geffen Records. The name is a reference to Jimi Hendrix's original band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Overview:...
compilation album.
Megadeth spent the bulk of 1994 making Youthanasia
Youthanasia
Youthanasia is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994 through Capitol Records. A remixed and remastered version, featuring several bonus tracks, was released in 2004....
, a much more commercial album undoubtedly inspired in part by the success of Countdown to Extinction
Countdown to Extinction
Countdown to Extinction is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Megadeth. It was released on July 14, 1992 through Capitol Records. Countdown to Extinction is Megadeth's best-selling album, eventually achieving double platinum status...
. The band covered Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
's song "Paranoid" for Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath and performed on MTV's "Night of the Living Megadeth" in celebration of the Halloween release of their new album. They began a tour the next month in South America. Youthanasia became the quickest album to go gold (500,000 units) in Canadian history and sold well throughout the world. It was an album that showed a more melodic side to the band with tracks such as "À Tout le Monde
À Tout le Monde
"À Tout le Monde" is the fourth song on Megadeth's sixth studio album Youthanasia, released as a single in 1995. In 2007, a re-arrangement titled "À Tout le Monde " featuring Cristina Scabbia of Italian band Lacuna Coil was released as the second single from the band's album United...
." The album also included "Train of Consequences
Train Of Consequences
"Train of Consequences" was the first single from Megadeth's 1994 album, Youthanasia. The song reached #29 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #22 in the UK. Its music video received significant airplay on MTV, debuting during the Halloween special, Night of the Living Megadeth,...
," the music video for which became one of the band's most well-known.
Another soundtrack appearance, "Diadems" on Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight, kicked off 1995. Megadeth spent the first two months of the year on the "Youthanasia" tour with Corrosion of Conformity
Corrosion of Conformity
Corrosion of Conformity is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina formed in 1982. For almost the majority of its existence, the band has consisted of guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean , drummer Reed Mullin and vocalist and rhythm...
in tow. In March, the Hidden Treasures compilation hit European stores. The "Evolver: The Making of Youthanasia" home video followed in May, and Hidden Treasures made it to the U.S. and Japan in July, just in time for the start of the "Reckoning Day" tour with special guests Flotsam and Jetsam
Flotsam and Jetsam (band)
Flotsam and Jetsam is a thrash metal band that formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1982.-1981-1986: The beginning:The band's original name was "Paradox" founded by Drummer Kelly David-Smith and two other guitarists, until 1982 when bassist Jason Newsted joined. Jason had come to Phoenix with his band...
, Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
and Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
. In September the band performed at the "Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual music festival held in England, then moved in other locations like The Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile.The Last show was in 2008....
" festival in South America.
A Grammy nomination for "Paranoid" began 1996 for Megadeth. Enlisting Fear
Fear (band)
Fear is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1977. The band is credited for helping to shape the sound and style of American hardcore punk, the group started out as part of the early California punk rock scene, and gained national prominence after an infamous 1981...
singer Lee Ving
Lee Ving
Lee Ving Lee Ving Lee Ving (born Lee James Capellaro; April 10, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an American musician, most famous for his role as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Los Angeles-based punk rock band Fear, and actor. In the late 1960s Ving joined Sweet Stavin Chain Blues Band...
, Mustaine released an album under the moniker "MD.45
MD.45
MD.45 was a side project of Megadeth guitarist/frontman Dave Mustaine, Fear guitarist/vocalist Lee Ving on singing duties, Electric Love Hogs and future Goldfinger bassist Kelly LeMieux and former Suicidal Tendencies member Jimmy DeGrasso on drums...
" with Suicidal Tendencies drummer Jimmy DeGrasso
Jimmy DeGrasso
Jimmy DeGrasso is an American heavy metal drummer. He is currently the drummer for F5.DeGrasso was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and graduated from Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1981....
. In September, Megadeth returned to the studio, this time in Nashville, TN, to record Cryptic Writings
Cryptic Writings
Cryptic Writings is the seventh studio album by heavy metal band Megadeth. The album was released on June 17, 1997 and debuted at #10 on Billboard Top 200. This is the last Megadeth studio album to feature drummer Nick Menza. His departure would mark the end of the band's longest lasting lineup to...
.
Cryptic Writings (1997) included thrashing songs like "Vortex" and "FFF" - reminiscent of Megadeth's older material - alongside radio-friendly fare like "Trust
Trust (Megadeth song)
"Trust" is the first song on Megadeth's seventh studio album Cryptic Writings. It was released on May 8, 1997 in both English and Spanish language versions...
," the song which put Megadeth on the #1 spot in the U.S. Billboard, earning them many spins at rock radio. Megadeth.com launched that year, and in June, the reformed Misfits opened for the band on tour. Chaos Comics released "The Cryptic Writings of Megadeth" comic books, and a remix of "Almost Honest" showed up on the "Mortal Kombat Annihilation" soundtrack. The first ever all-acoustic Megadeth performance in Buenos Aires, Argentina closed out the year in December.
Mustaine's daughter, Electra Mustaine, was born on January 28, 1998, the same month that "Trust" was nominated for a Grammy. Megadeth played on the Howard Stern Show
Howard Stern Show
The Howard Stern Show is an American radio show hosted by its namesake Howard Stern. It gained wide recognition in the 1990s when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1986 to 2005...
and that summer took part in Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
. As Nick Menza sat in the hospital side-lined by a knee injury, he received a call from Mustaine informing him that his services would no longer be needed. Jimmy DeGrasso, who Mustaine had enjoyed playing with in MD.45, joined Megadeth in his place. On New Year's Eve, Megadeth opened for Black Sabbath alongside Soulfly
Soulfly
Soulfly is a heavy metal band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix, Arizona. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max...
, Slayer, and Pantera.
While touring after Cryptic Writings, Mustaine told interviewers that songs like "She-Wolf" and "Vortex" had reinvigorated his love for classic metal by bands like Iron Maiden and Motörhead, and that he intended to write an album that was "1/2 Peace Sells, 1/2 Cryptic Writings"; however, after hearing about a comment that Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
had made in the press in which he said he wished Mustaine would take more "risks," intentions changed. Managers and producers had more input. The song "Crush 'Em
Crush 'Em
"Crush 'Em" is a song by heavy metal band Megadeth and the lead single from their eighth studio album, Risk. It first appeared on the soundtrack to Universal Soldier: The Return in July 1999 and debuted as the third most added track on alternative rock stations on July 5...
" was written with the express purpose of being played in sports arenas. In later years, Mustaine would blame much of this period on Friedman's desire to go in a more "pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
" direction. Recorded with producer Dann Huff
Dann Huff
Dann Huff is an American musician, session musician, singer-songwriter and producer. For his work as a producer in the Country music genre he has won several awards including the Musician of the Year award in 2001 and 2004 at the Country Music Association Awards and the Producer of the Year award...
, again in Nashville, Risk was released on August 31, 1999. "Crush 'Em" made it onto the Universal Soldier: The Return soundtrack and into WCW wrestling events (notably played live on Monday Nitro). In July, the band covered "Never Say Die" for a second Black Sabbath tribute. They closed the Woodstock '99 music festival and again opened for Iron Maiden in Europe. There were few other highlights in the Megadeth world in 1999, a year that ended with Marty Friedman announcing his departure from the band.
The 2000s
As the tour behind Risk soldiered on, Al PitrelliAl Pitrelli
Al Pitrelli is a guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Joe Lynn Turner, Asia and Savatage.-Early career :...
replaced Friedman on the road. In April, the new lineup entered the studio to begin work on a new album a couple of months before they officially parted ways with Capitol Records. The summer was spent on the road with Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
and Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
. Capitol released a "best of" collection in the fall, Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years
Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years
-Track listing:-Hidden track :-Bonus track :-Charts:AlbumSingles...
, featuring two brand new (and more metal-leaning) songs, "Dread and the Fugitive Mind
Dread and the Fugitive Mind
"Dread and the Fugitive Mind" is the second single off Megadeth's ninth studio album The World Needs a Hero . The song is about introspection and looking within one's self for true and proper meaning."It's about judgment...
" was one of the brand new songs and appeared on the next studio album the following year. With a new deal in place with Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
, Megadeth returned to the studio toward the end of the year to finish their album and on New Year's Eve, played a show in Anchorage, Alaska.
An acoustic tour sponsored by radio stations, a press tour, and a video shoot for the song "Moto Psycho" all preceded the May, 2001 release of The World Needs A Hero
The World Needs a Hero
-Track listing:-Personnel:-Album:-Singles:...
. The summer was filled with festival appearances supporting AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
. In September, Megadeth set out across North America with Endo and Iced Earth
Iced Earth
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. Originally formed under the name "Purgatory" in 1984, Iced Earth has released a total of ten studio albums, one live album, three EP's, two compilations and boxsets...
. VH1's "Behind The Music" special on Megadeth aired that year and was later released on DVD. At the end of the year, the band filmed two shows in Arizona, which were released as the 2CD and DVD Rude Awakening. The early part of 2002 saw the release of a remixed and re-mastered Killing Is My Business... with bonus tracks and expanded packaging, followed by Rude Awakening
Rude Awakening (Megadeth album)
Rude Awakening is a live album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. The album was released by Sanctuary Records in 2002, the last release before the band broke up in 2002...
.
In January 2002, Mustaine was admitted to the hospital to get a kidney stone
Kidney stone
A kidney stone, also known as a renal calculus is a solid concretion or crystal aggregation formed in the kidneys from dietary minerals in the urine...
removed. While undergoing treatment, he was administered pain medication that triggered a relapse. Following his hospital stay, he immediately checked himself into a treatment center in Texas. While at the treatment center, Mustaine suffered a freak injury causing severe nerve damage to his left arm. The injury, induced by falling asleep with his left arm over the back of a chair, caused compression of the radial nerve
Radial nerve
The radial nerve is a nerve in the human body that supplies the upper limb. It supplies the medial and lateral heads of the triceps brachii muscle of the arm, as well as all 12 muscles in the posterior osteofascial compartment of the forearm and the associated joints and overlying skin.It...
. He was diagnosed with radial neuropathy, also known as Saturday Night Palsy, which left him unable to grasp or even make a fist with his left hand.
On April 3, 2002, Mustaine announced in a press release that he was disbanding Megadeth, officially due to his arm injury. For the next four months, Mustaine underwent intense physical therapy
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
five days a week. Slowly, Mustaine began to play again, but was forced to "re-teach" his left hand.
Mustaine himself gave what he called "the Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
version" of the whole matter during an interview for SuicideGirls
SuicideGirls
SuicideGirls is a website that features softcore pornography and text profiles of goth, punk and indie-styled young women who are known as the "Suicide Girls"...
: "I went into retirement because my arm got hurt really bad. I broke up the band which at the time was Al Pitrelli
Al Pitrelli
Al Pitrelli is a guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Joe Lynn Turner, Asia and Savatage.-Early career :...
, Dave Ellefson, Jimmy DeGrasso
Jimmy DeGrasso
Jimmy DeGrasso is an American heavy metal drummer. He is currently the drummer for F5.DeGrasso was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and graduated from Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1981....
, and myself. I was having problems with Al because he liked to drink, and we didn’t want to show up at places with him drunk. Al also got married to a nice woman, but he wanted to spend time with her. After a few years, most married men are willing to die, so I figured if we got a couple years into the marriage that might have changed. But the fact was, Al wasn’t fitting. DeGrasso was really hard to be around because he was so negative all the time with his complaining about money and wanting things. Ellefson was all about 'play my songs, play my songs.' I hated being around these guys so when the arm injury happened, it was a welcome relief and an indication that I had to stop."
Mustaine went through physical therapy
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
for his arm injury. During his recovery, he explored other areas of the music industry, including production. Contrary to what doctors had predicted, within a short time he fully recovered. However, all was mostly quiet on the Megadeth front for the better part of 2003. Mustaine left Jackson guitars, did a solo acoustic performance at a benefit show, unveiled his new ESP model at the NAMM convention, and oversaw the release of Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying? as an audio DVD presented in Dolby 5.1 surround.
At the same time, Mustaine's personal life once again underwent change. It was during this period that Mustaine became a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
. He expressed his intent to withdraw from a show in Greece that had Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene.- Line-up :...
and Dissection
Dissection (band)
Dissection was a black metal band from Strömstad, Sweden. The band was formed in 1989, by Jon Nödtveidt. The band released its first EP in 1991. They disbanded in 2006, after Nödtveidt's suicide.- Band overview :...
opening for Megadeth. Mustaine told The Daily Times during a recent interview, his own world was already shattered, and becoming a Christian was the one way he's found to put the pieces back together. “I went back to being a Jehovah’s Witness, but I wasn’t happy with that.” He later said in an interview, “Looking up at the cross, I said six simple words, ‘What have I got to lose?’ Afterwards my whole life has changed. It’s been hard, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Rather go my whole life believing that there is a God and find out there isn't than live my whole life thinking there isn't a God and then find out, when I die, that there is." Mustaine also considers his talent a gift from God. "To be the No. 1 rated guitar player in the world is a gift from God and I'm stoked about it, but I think Christ is better than I am, anyway," he said. "Either way, I don't put too much earthly merit on it."
In 2004 Mustaine oversaw the remixing and re-mastering of Megadeth's entire Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
catalog. All albums were re-released with bonus tracks and full liner notes. With one album remaining in his contract to Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
, Mustaine began recording what he intended to be the first Dave Mustaine solo album with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta
Vinnie Colaiuta
Vincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...
and bassist Jimmy Sloas
Jimmy Sloas
Jimmie Lee Sloas grew up in Fairborn, Ohio & Isonville, Kentucky. He is an American session musician, producer and songwriter who plays bass guitar...
. Complete with guest solos from old friend Chris Poland, this project became a new Megadeth album, The System Has Failed
The System Has Failed
-Songs:* "Blackmail the Universe" has numerous quotes from the movie Thirteen Days, which was about the Cuban Missile Crisis.* "Die Dead Enough" was released as a single, and was originally set to be featured in the movie Saw, but it was not used for undisclosed reasons.* "The Scorpion" was...
, released September 14, 2004. One month before, Mustaine announced a new touring lineup for Megadeth: Glen Drover
Glen Drover
Glen Drover is a heavy metal guitarist from Missisauga, Ontario, Canada. He currently resides in MississaugaOntario. Drover is best known as the former lead guitarist in Megadeth and King Diamond, as well as his own band Eidolon, along with his brother Shawn Drover.-History:Glen Drover began...
(King Diamond
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen , better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Grammy Award nominated Danish heavy metal musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his extensive vocal range, in particular his usage of falsetto. He is the lead vocalist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond...
/Eidolon
Eidolon (band)
Eidolon was a Canadian power metal band formed in 1993 by brothers Shawn and Glen Drover . The band was signed to Metal Blade Records, but was let go in 2004, in part because of a refusal to tour. Eidolon signed soon after to Escapi Records. The band has released seven studio albums to date...
) and James MacDonough
James MacDonough
James MacDonough born on April 3, 1970 in Jacksonville, Florida U.S.A. is a professional bass guitarist. He has played with Iced Earth, Nevermore, and most recently, Megadeth....
(Iced Earth
Iced Earth
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. Originally formed under the name "Purgatory" in 1984, Iced Earth has released a total of ten studio albums, one live album, three EP's, two compilations and boxsets...
). Nick Menza had briefly been a part of the new band before differences once again caused his departure. One week before a new US tour with Exodus
Exodus (band)
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
supporting, new drummer (and Glen's brother) Shawn Drover
Shawn Drover
Shawn Drover is a Canadian drummer, best-known for his work with the heavy metal band Megadeth....
(Eidolon
Eidolon (band)
Eidolon was a Canadian power metal band formed in 1993 by brothers Shawn and Glen Drover . The band was signed to Metal Blade Records, but was let go in 2004, in part because of a refusal to tour. Eidolon signed soon after to Escapi Records. The band has released seven studio albums to date...
) joined Megadeth.
The "Blackmail The Universe" tour started in February 2005 with Diamond Head
Diamond Head (band)
Diamond Head are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. The band is recognised as one of the leading members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and is acknowledged by later bands like Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence.-Early history:Formed by...
and Dungeon supporting. Capitol released a new greatest hits, Back To The Start
Greatest Hits: Back to the Start
Greatest Hits: Back to the Start is the second greatest hits album by Megadeth. It was released in 2005 by Capitol Records. The tracklist for Back to the Start was largely the result of a poll on their official website, in which tens of thousands of fans voted for their favorite tracks from the...
, in June, a month before Mustaine created "Gigantour" with Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
, Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
, Symphony X
Symphony X
Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey.Founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo, their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community...
, Dillinger Escape Plan, Life of Agony
Life of Agony
-Formation and River Runs Red :The band was formed in the summer of 1989 by singer Keith Caputo, bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. After playing with several drummers, they enlisted Type O Negative drummer Sal Abruscato before recording the debut album River Runs Red after they signed to...
, and more. During 2005 Gigantour Mustaine brought a "spiritual counselor" to help him avoid the problems that almost cost him his life due to his prior drug addictions. The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
frontman Greg Puciato
Greg Puciato
Greg Puciato is the lead singer of the band The Dillinger Escape Plan. He is known for his reckless live performances, wide vocal range, and outspoken views, having caused controversy due to both performances and interviews...
stated: "He had a pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
walking around with him on tour and riding on his bus, I think to help keep him on the straight and narrow path."
The Arsenal of Megadeth, a two-disc anthology DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, was released in March 2006. Bass player James LoMenzo (Black Label Society
Black Label Society
Black Label Society is a heavy metal band formed by Zakk Wylde, with nine studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, one EP, and three video albums released since formation of the band.-Formation and Sonic Brew :...
, White Lion
White Lion
White Lion is an American/Danish hard rock/heavy metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "Wait" and #3 hit "When the...
) replaced James MacDonough in February shortly before the band headed to the Dubai Desert Rock Festival in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. On April 19, the band began recording a new album, United Abominations
United Abominations
United Abominations is the eleventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on May 8, 2007, United Abominations is the first Megadeth release distributed through Roadrunner Records, and was recorded with an all new lineup excluding the band's singer, guitarist, songwriter,...
, at SARM studios in the UK (David Gilmour's house), they announced a worldwide deal with Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
in May 2006. United Abominations was released worldwide on May 15, 2007. However, the album had already been leaked before its release. On January 13, 2008, Dave Mustaine confirmed that guitarist Glen Drover had quit Megadeth to focus on his family and that he had been replaced by Chris Broderick
Chris Broderick
Christopher Broderick is the virtuoso guitarist of the American thrash metal band Megadeth. He currently resides in Sherman Oaks, California...
of Jag Panzer
Jag Panzer
Jag Panzer were an American power metal band from Colorado Springs, Colorado.-Biography:Jag Panzer came together in late 1981, being inspired by the onslaught of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
. The new lineup made its live debut in Finland on February 4 and returned to the US for Gigantour 2008 in the spring.
A 12th studio album titled Endgame was released on September 15, 2009.
Mustaine planned to open Megadeth's California recording studio to under-privileged children to teach them about rock 'n' roll. The band owns a building in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, which has housed their recording equipment over the years. In an interview with Kerrang, Mustaine wanted to make better use of the studio by turning the space into a learning center for children who come from under-privileged backgrounds. He also said he vowed to teach them how to play instruments.
The 2010s
Long time bassist, David EllefsonDavid Ellefson
David Warren "Dave" Ellefson is a bassist and founding member of the American thrash metal band Megadeth. He also goes by "Junior." He currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona...
has recently re-joined Megadeth after 8 years since the disbanding of Megadeth in 2002. Ellefson and Mustaine have agreed to keep any unresolved issues in the past and are working on building and maintaining their friendship again.
Megadeth embarked on a Rust In Peace 20th Anniversary tour, playing the album in its entirety, along with fan favorites such as "Wake Up Dead", "In My Darkest Hour" and "Skin O' My Teeth."
On August 3, 2010, Mustaine released his autobiography in the US, titled "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir". The book covers Mustaine's life from childhood till shortly before the release of the 2009 Megadeth album "Endgame". The book was released in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand titled "Mustaine: A Life in Metal"
On November 16, 2010, Mustaine revealed that he and Megadeth were working on material for a new album. At the time of the statement, they had "five songs almost finished".
On August 10, 2011, Mustaine revealed he approached Metallica's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich to form a heavy metal supergroup. Dave Ellefson is said to be the bassist of the band. Mustaine said it was "on my bucket list." James has declined at this point.
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Dave Mustaine composed the song "Sudden Death" for Guitar Hero: Warriors of RockGuitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is a music video game and the sixth main entry in the Guitar Hero series for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles. The game was released September 24, 2010 in Europe, September 28, 2010 in North America and September 29, 2010 in Australia...
under the name of his band. The game also features two Megadeth titles: "Holy Wars: the Punishment Due" and "This Day We Fight". Megadeth downloadable contents are also available as tracks including "Hangar 18", "Symphony of Destruction" and "Peace Sells".
Gigantour
Gigantour
Gigantour is the name of a sporadically organised traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Megadeth's Dave Mustaine. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America, and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also traveled to Australia...
after a favorite childhood cartoon of his, Gigantor
Gigantor
Gigantor is an American adaptation of the anime version of Tetsujin 28-go, a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama released in 1956. It debuted on U.S. television in 1964. As with Speed Racer, the characters' original names were altered and the original series' violence was toned down for American viewers...
. It spanned six weeks and was co-headlined by Megadeth and Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, with a variety of other supporting metal acts such as Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
and The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
. Mustaine has been quoted as saying that his main intention when conceiving the tour was to bring the American metal audiences an eclectic and affordable alternative to Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
.
The second annual Gigantour began in September 2006 and was composed of Megadeth, Lamb of God
Lamb of God (band)
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...
, Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
, and Arch Enemy. The second stage bands were Overkill
Overkill (band)
Overkill is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many line-up changes, with singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bassist D.D. Verni remaining from the original lineup. Along with Anthrax , the band is one of the most successful East Coast thrash metal...
, Into Eternity, Sanctity
Sanctity (band)
Sanctity was a heavy metal band from Asheville, North Carolina, USA. They formed in 1998 and have released one album, Road to Bloodshed, on April 24, 2007. They are currently writing for a new album, with their new TBA vocalist...
, and The Smash Up.
The 2007 Gigantour featured Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon are a British metalcore band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. Bring Me the Horizon constits of Oliver Sykes as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist Lee Malia, rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, bassist Matt Kean and drummer Matt Nicholls...
, Static-X
Static-X
Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California. They were formed in 1994. They are signed to Warner Bros. Records and have released six albums, their most recent being Cult of Static, which was released on March 17, 2009....
, DevilDriver
DevilDriver
DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002. The band was originally named Deathride, however, due to copyright issues and the name being taken by several bands, Deathride changed its name to DevilDriver, which refers to bells Italian witches used to...
, and Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Formed in 1994, the group has had two name changes since being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal and was inspired by the combination of gothic imagery and music...
along with Megadeth. Megadeth appeared on their first tour to India, Bangalore in March 2008.
The 2008 installment of the tour featured Megadeth, Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...
, In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
, High on Fire
High on Fire
High on Fire is a stoner metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, previously played guitar for the influential stoner doom band Sleep.-History:...
, and Job for a Cowboy
Job for a Cowboy
Job for a Cowboy is a American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album Genesis was released in 2007, peaking at #54 on the US Billboard 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's Ruination, sold 10,600 copies in...
(and Evile
Evile
Evile is a thrash metal band from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Their debut album, Enter the Grave, was produced by Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark and was released worldwide in 2007 by Earache Records to critical acclaim by fans and critics...
for the UK and Scandinavia tour).
Megadeth Blood in the Water: Live in San Diego
Blood in the Water: Live in San Diego
Blood in the Water: Live in San Diego is a live DVD from American thrash metal band Megadeth. It features a live concert recorded at Cox Arena in San Diego filmed during Gigantour 2008 on May 20, 2008. The band decided to release it as a full concert due to the other acts on the bill declining...
(from the Gigantour 2008) premiered on HDNet Sunday November 2 at 8PMET in high definition and 5.1 audio (Repeats check www.hd.net)
In November 2011, it was announced the Gigantour would start up again. The lineup consists of Megadeth, Motorhead, Volbeat, and Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Formed in 1994, the group has had two name changes since being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal and was inspired by the combination of gothic imagery and music...
. The tour kicks off at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ on Jan 26, 2012.
Equipment
Mustaine used B.C. RichB.C. Rich
B.C. Rich is a manufacturer of guitars and bass guitars founded by the late Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969. Currently, most B.C. Rich guitars are manufactured in Asia, but luthiers of the company's custom shop continue to hand-make instruments. The Hanser Music Group, based in Kentucky, operates B.C....
guitars early in his career (and for his entire duration with Metallica), most notably a B.C. Rich Bich 10 string with just the regular six strings. First the guitar started in a natural finish, but Dave painted it black around the time 'Peace Sells' was released. In 1987 he switched to Jackson guitars.
In March 2009, while he was guest hosting Bruce Dickinson's Friday night radio show, Mustaine attributed his choice of the Flying V guitar to being a fan of UFO's Michael Schenker when he was growing up.
After switching to Jackson Guitars
Jackson Guitars
__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
he helped to re-design the guitar maker's version of the King V
Jackson King V
The King V is an electric guitar made by Jackson Guitars based on the Gibson Flying V. The Jackson King V was originally designed for Robbin Crosby of Ratt and he popularized the guitar throughout the 80s. Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine eventually became the guitarist most identified with using...
model (at the time, it was a "double Rhoads size" meaning it had two of the longer fins from the RR). The reshaped Mustaine KV1 model had slightly shorter fins, Kahler bridge and Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
JB (SH-4b) and Jazz (SH-2n) pickups. He also specified 24 frets rather than the original King V's 22, a tradition which Jackson still keeps on its King V models today, and the KV1, as have all of Mustaine's signature models, also featured a smaller, medium fretwire compared to the extra jumbos featured on most Jacksons.
Mustaine later switched to ESP Guitars
ESP Guitars
, located in North Hollywood, California, is an American-based, Japanese-owned manufacturer of electric guitars and basses.- History :In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop called Electric Sound Products in Tokyo. It provided custom replacement parts for guitars. In 1976, ESP gained a reputation...
. The company released the DV8 signature model in the 2004 NAMM convention also at which time Mustaine announced his ESP endorsement deal. In 2005, Mustaine and ESP teamed up to release the ESP Axxion, , in order to celebrate Megadeth's 20th anniversary.(the XX in Axxion and the fretboard inlays being the number 20 in Roman numerals) The ESP Axxion and ESP DV8 were both successful and cheaper models such as the LTD-DV8 R, LTD DV200 and the LTD Axxion were released to target a bigger market.
However, on December 6, 2006, Dave Mustaine announced that he was leaving ESP guitars and shifting his endorsement to Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
. His new signature guitar was revealed during NAMM Show
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world, founded in 1901. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA, at the Anaheim Convention Center...
on January 19, 2007. The signature guitar is called the Dean VMNT
Dean VMNT
The Dean VMNT is a custom design by Dean Guitars for Dave Mustaine. It was designed in cooperation with Mustaine in 2007. Its design is based on the Jackson King V that Mustaine popularized in the 90's.- Limited Edition :...
. The V-shaped guitar is very similar to his earlier Jackson and ESP Signature models. The release campaign of the VMNT had a limited copy of only 150 in the world and are signed by Dave Mustaine. This was posted on the website.
"After two successful years, I have decided to leave ESP guitars. This was a business decision and had nothing to do with the guitars or the manufacturing of the guitars, and I wish the staff of ESP, both in the USA and in Japan and Korea the very best of health and prosperity. Meanwhile, I am taking my Classic Metal V known formerly as a Jackson King V1 or an ESP DV8, and my new guitar design presently known as an Axxion, which was the recipient of the Gold Award from Guitar World Magazine for 2005 for new guitar designs with me. I will also be re-introducing through my new endorsement many special models, including re-issues of my old models from over the span of my career, as well as some retro V shapes, similar to the formerly known Jackson Y2KV or a Gibson Flying V. I will make my announcement and be attending the 2007 NAMM show to meet Megadeth fans and all metal fans, musicians of all styles-especially guitarists."
Today he uses his signature models by Dean Guitars, the Dean VMNT and Zero. The USA models were available briefly in limited run after release, although the Korean and Chinese models are in continuous production. Mustaine uses the USA and Korean models on stage.
Dave Mustaine has also recently collaborated with Marshall in order to produce the 1960DM Dave Mustaine Signature Cabinets. He is now using his signature Marshall cabinets on tour.
Dave Mustaine endorses Seymour Duncan and has his own Signature Live Wire pickups and uses Signature GHS Progressives Strings (10-52).
The Dean Zero debuted in 2010 with Dean guitars was a unique new shape for Dave, resembling the Gibson Explorer with sharper points. Dave has made a few appearances so far; with this guitar on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and on shows during the Australian tour with Slayer. He has also used the guitar in the later dates of the 2009 Endgame tour and continues to use it to this day. He says he primarily still uses his VMNT's so he can grab on to the lower horn with his legs for certain songs.
Dave has also used Ovation acoustic guitars for most of his career. However, he stopped endorsing the company after receiving a signature acoustic from Dean
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
, dubbed the Mako.
Dave also has his own signature Zoom pedal, called the Zoom G2.1DM.
Gear
Guitars- DeanDean GuitarsDean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
Dave Mustaine Signature VMNT Models - DeanDean GuitarsDean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
Dave Mustaine Signature Zero Models - Seymour DuncanSeymour DuncanSeymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
Dave Mustaine Live Wire Pick Ups - DunlopDunlop ManufacturingDunlop Manufacturing, Inc., known colloquially as Jim Dunlop, is a manufacturer of musical accessories based in Benicia, California. Originally founded in 1965 by Jim Dunlop, Sr., the company has grown from a small home operation to being a large manufacturer of music gear for over 40 years.- Way...
.73mm Picks - GHSGHS (strings)GHS Strings is a Battle Creek, Michigan based guitar and bass guitar string manufacturer. The company was founded in 1964, and in 1975 was bought by Robert McFee, who is still the CEO...
Dave Mustaine Progressive Strings 10-52
Amps
- MarshallMarshall AmplificationMarshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
JVM410 100W Amp Head - FractalFractalA fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
Axe FX Ultra Preamp - DigiTech GSP1101 Preamp
- MarshallMarshall AmplificationMarshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
EL34 100/100 Dual Monobloc Power Amp - MarshallMarshall AmplificationMarshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
Dave Mustaine Signature 1960DM Cabinets With Celestion Speakers
Other Effects/Rack Equipment
- Rocktron All Access Controller
- Furman PL Plus Power Conditioner
- Mogami Cables
- WhirlwindWhirlwind USAWhirlwind USA is a manufacturer of audio interfacing equipment and custom audio interfacing, including digital products that employ the EtherSound standard. In addition, Whirlwind manufactures guitar effects pedals. Whirlwind was founded in 1975 by Michael Laiacona , and its headquarters are...
MultiSelector - ShureShureShure Incorporated is an American corporation originally founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a consumer and professional audio-electronics manufacturer of microphones, wireless microphone systems, phonograph cartridges,...
UHF-R Wireless Guitar System - Ebtech Hum Eliminator
Guitar playing
In 2004, Guitar World magazine ranked Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman together at #19 on the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time.In 2009 Mustaine was named the No. 1 player in Joel McIver
Joel McIver
Joel McIver is a British author. The best-known of his 20 books to date is the bestselling Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica, first published in 2004 and selling close to 50,000 copies in nine languages since then. McIver's other works include biographies of Black Sabbath, Slayer, Ice...
's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists
The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists
The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists is a book by British author Joel McIver, published in 2009 by Jawbone Press and featuring a foreword by Glen Benton of Deicide. Foreign-language editions appeared shortly after the original English language version. It contained a list of 100 guitar players in...
. As he told Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
magazine in September 2009: "It was especially sweet when I found out that Joel has written books on Metallica. Every page I turned, I became more excited. I get to Number 5 and it's Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
, and I thought, 'Thank you, God'. At that point it didn't matter [which position I was]. To be better than both of them [James Hetfield and Hammett] meant so much – it's been one of the pet peeves of my career and I've never known how to deal with it. All I thought was--I win!"
Personal life
Dave was married to Pamela Casselburry in 1991. They have a son named Justis David Mustaine and a daughter Electra Nicole Mustaine. Dave recently confirmed to Eddie Trunk that after 2 trial separations, he and Pam had reconciled.Coffee line
Mustaine helped promote his wife Pam's coffee business, Net Worth Coffee Brokers, by creating a Dave Mustaine line of coffee and associated items, with part of the proceeds going to Door of Faith charity. The bags featured his silhouette with a guitar and his signature. Among the items in the line were Dave Mustaine's Peruvian Blend coffee, Black Gold Blend coffee, Decaff coffee, Dave Mustaine's Perfect Tea Maker, a Barrel Mug, Travel Tumbler, and a Christmas T-shirt. Mustaine announced the line would be discontinued in August 2009, though his wife's business would continue.Christianity
Mustaine was raised as a Jehovah Witness and over the course of his career has been born again as a Christian.In 1988, in response to the British government's criticism of homosexuality, Mustaine said: "More power to them. It says in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
that men should not lay with men like they lay with women. I mean I don't wanna f--k up and not go to heaven." In an answer to a question about Judas Priest having an overt homosexual image, "I don't wanna talk about this. The last thing I need is a bunch of homos picketing us."
Mustaine began to focus on religion more directly while attending Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
meetings. Finding that the meetings were actually impeding his progress in sobriety and spirituality, Mustaine left to focus on Christianity on his own. Through this process he became a committed Christian. In line with this, it has become his policy not to appear with any band that is seen as black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
or satanic
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
, such as declining to appear in a music festival in Greece with the band Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene.- Line-up :...
as well as in Israel with the band Dissection
Dissection (band)
Dissection was a black metal band from Strömstad, Sweden. The band was formed in 1989, by Jon Nödtveidt. The band released its first EP in 1991. They disbanded in 2006, after Nödtveidt's suicide.- Band overview :...
. In these instances, Mustaine requested that the bands not be kicked off the bill, but that Megadeth would step down and perform some other night. However, the promoters actually removed the smaller bands from the billing rather than deal with rescheduling the headliner.
Politics
Over his career, Mustaine has made comments about politics in the US and internationally. In a confrontational 1988 interview with SoundsSounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
journalist Roy Wilkinson, Mustaine said, "If I were President of the United States, I'd build a great wall along the Mexican border and not let anybody in. ... The beauty is gone when you see Americans sleeping on sidewalks and it makes me sick to to think we have assh---s in this country letting f--king Mexicans in. Who needs this s--t?"
In 1989, Mustaine caused a riot when Megadeth played a concert in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
after he "unwittingly" expressed support for the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) regarding the problems between Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities. This incident occurred amid a period of turmoil in the province known as the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
.
In 1992 Mustaine covered the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. He went on to vote for President Bill Clinton.
In 2004, Mustaine said he would vote for President Bush because John Kerry would "ruin our country." In 2011, he called President Obama "the most divisive president we've ever had. I've never, in my 50 years of being alive, listened to an American president try and turn one class of people against another class of people."
In 2009, Mustaine discussed the influence Alex Jones' films and ideas have had him and his music. Specifically, Mustaine said that he wrote the album Endgame based on Jones' Endgame film
Endgame (2007 film)
Endgame: Blueprint for Global Enslavement is a 2007 American documentary film written and directed by Alex Jones.-Subject matter:In the documentary, director Jones describes the Bilderberg Group, tracking them to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their private meetings and reveals an alleged...
in order "to educate his fans and the general public about the conspiracy behind the march towards global government."
Martial arts
Dave Mustaine holds black belts in taekwondoTaekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
and karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
. In 2007 he was made a Goodwill Ambassador of the World by the World Taekwondo Federation
World Taekwondo Federation
The World Taekwondo Federation is the International Federation member of the International Olympic Committee for the competition events of the martial art of taekwondo...
.
Cameo appearances
Dave Mustaine has appeared on various television shows:- In 1992 Mustaine covered the Democratic National ConventionDemocratic National ConventionThe Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
for MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. He also hosted the MTV2MTV2MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
Television Network's series Headbanger's Ball on two occasions: once on a tribute to Dimebag DarrellDimebag DarrellDarrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
in December 2004 and the second time as a special guest on an episode which aired August 27, 2005. He also played the song "Gears of War" with Megadeth on an episode about the video game release under the same name. - Dave Mustaine makes an appearance on the 1998 The Drew Carey ShowThe Drew Carey ShowThe Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
episode entitled "In Ramada Da Vida". When Drew and the gang decide to start a band, they audition guitarists, including Mustaine. After playing a lightning fast guitar solo, Lewis Kiniski tells Mustaine "Don't be nervous son, just slow down," to which Mustaine replies, "It's supposed to sound that way." Drew replies by saying, "Yeah, sure it is..... next." - In the 1996 Black Scorpion sci-fi series episode "Love Burns" Mustaine plays Torchy Thompson, a vengeful arsonist.
- Dave Mustaine and Megadeth appear in the Duck DodgersDuck Dodgers (TV series)Duck Dodgers is an American animated television series, based on the classic cartoon short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 2003 to 2005. The series aired on Cartoon Network and starred Daffy Duck as the titular character...
2006 episode "In Space, Nobody can Hear you Rock/Ridealong Calamity", the second-to-last episode of the series. In the show, Mustaine plays a cryogenically frozen version of himself. He is unfrozen because the main cast requires an incredibly loud noise to overload a Martian sonic weapon, and "nobody rocks harder, faster, or louder than Dave Mustaine." He is referred to in the episode as being "genetically engineered to rock and raised by wolverines". During this episode he played the song "Back in the Day" from the album The System Has FailedThe System Has Failed-Songs:* "Blackmail the Universe" has numerous quotes from the movie Thirteen Days, which was about the Cuban Missile Crisis.* "Die Dead Enough" was released as a single, and was originally set to be featured in the movie Saw, but it was not used for undisclosed reasons.* "The Scorpion" was...
. Mustaine appeared again in the show in the final episode, Bonafide Hero: Captain Duck Dodgers. - Mustaine appeared on the second episode of season 8 on the television show Never Mind the BuzzcocksNever Mind the BuzzcocksNever Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
. - Mustaine and Megadeth appeared in promotional videos for the NHL team Philadelphia FlyersPhiladelphia FlyersThe Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
in response to an inflammatory comment by Mike Wise in the Washington Post which suggested that some of the Flyers' fans could work security for Megadeth. Mustaine invited them to do so. Megadeth all wore Flyers' jerseys. Mustaine sported the one of team captain Jason Smith, while other members wore the jerseys of Danny Brière, Martin BironMartin BironMartin Gaston Biron is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League . He has also played professionally for the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Islanders...
and Mike RichardsMike RichardsMichael Richards is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League . He previously played for and was captain of the Philadelphia Flyers.-Early years:...
. - Mustaine appeared in an episode of Rock & Roll Jeopardy!Rock & Roll Jeopardy!Rock & Roll Jeopardy! is a variant of the quiz show Jeopardy! which centered entirely around popular music. The series was hosted by Jeff Probst and ran on VH1 from August 8, 1998 to May 12, 2001. Loretta Fox was the show's announcer for the first two seasons...
along with George ClintonGeorge Clinton (funk musician)George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
and Moon ZappaMoon ZappaMoon Unit Zappa is an American actress, musician and author. She goes by the name Moon Zappa; "Unit" is her middle name.-Personal life:...
. He won the game in a landslide victory.