Dave Mustaine Says He Was Metallica’s “Alpha Male” Roughly 40 Years After the Fact
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Dave Mustai — Wow. I guess we all know where this is going, huh? Either way, here goes.
The only remaining original member of Megadeth and ginger shredder Dave Mustaine just can’t keep his old band out of his mouth. During a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine, Mustaine doubled down on a comment he’d made in his 2010 autobiography Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir in which he said he was he “leader of the band.”
When pressed about that comment by the interviewer Paul Elliot, who noted the big egos of James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich during the 80s, Mustaine rebutted with how he remembers those booze fueled days.
“Oh no. I am clearly the alpha male between the three of us. Why did I have to do everything when I was in the band? Why did they always ask me talk to the promoters and collect the cash? Why was I the one who had to do the fighting? Why did I have to talk in between songs?”
Who even says “alpha male” in 2022? I thought that kinda characterization was left to people who bathe in Axe body spray or watch Andrew Tate grift videos. It just smacks of weakness to me to have to assert you were the top dog of a group of other dudes.
Anyways, after making that claim, he said he didn’t “give a fuck” and that he could keep talking about Metallica because it’s so easy for him. Seriously, he’s the only ex-member of that band that practically trips over himself to talk about his time with Metallica. Even Jason Newsted would rather talk about his new projects than Metallica — and he was there for WAY LONGER than Mustaine was.
Still, Mustaine said he talks about Metallica all the time because he cares about them, sharing a text exchange he had with Hetfield after the latter expressed doubts during a recent show.
“I sent a text message to James just a couple of days ago after he’d said that he was insecure about his playing. I said: ‘James, I love you and I really like your playing.’ He didn’t answer. Of course not. Why would he? The point is I wanted him to know that I’ve had those feelings too, but I don’t now.
“I must remind you that when I joined Metallica, James did not play guitar. He just picked it up and started playing when I was in the band. But let’s be honest, James is one of the best metal guitar players in the world. So for him to have those feelings, that’s a lie, because he’s a mind-blowingly talented guy. So I just felt I needed to say something to him. I didn’t tweet it. I didn’t want anybody to know what I said. But I’m telling you because, hey, you brought it up.”
Man, imagine getting left on read and you still feel like you want to share that story. Oof.
To read more of Mustaine’s interview in which he actually talks about The Sick, The Dying…And the Dead! and the current state of Megadeth, check out the full thing on Classic Rock Magazine.
