Dave Mustaine has claimed that Metallica spent years trying to “hold [him] back.”
Opening up about the long‑running tension between them, he said he may never get the chance to speak to former bandmates James Hetfield or Lars Ulrich again.
Mustaine told the Los Angeles Times: “Think of it. Where would I be right now if I didn’t have one of the biggest bands in the world spending their time trying to hold me back? They don’t do it anymore, but most of the time when they did, it just made me shake my head. And it wasn’t just Metallica, it was everybody. For a long time, it very much was me against the world. It was like, OK, if you’re not with me, you’re against me.”
Despite the history between them, Mustaine recently recorded a tribute track connected to his former bandmates — a move he knew would divide fans.
He said of his rendition of Ride The Lightning on Megadeth’s final self-titled album: “There may not be a chance to ever say hello to James or Lars again. I knew some people would have a hard time with me doing the song, but that’s OK because I wanted to pay tribute and show my respect. If they like it, fine. If they don’t like it, fine. If they listen to it, fine. If they don’t, fine.”
Reflecting on his early days in Metallica, Mustaine said he still looks back fondly on what they created together, even if their youth and heavy drinking contributed to the fallout.
He said: “You know, I had a great time when I was in Metallica, and we did something tremendous. It’s a shame what the booze did, but we were all kids and, aside from Lars, we came from pretty broken families. Lots of stuff has happened over the years, but I felt like it would be great to make everything good with them before we stop. We should be friends. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be friends.”