Dave Mustaine doesn’t think there are any rockstars left.
The Megadeth frontman has bemoaned the current generation of rock musicians for being scared to put a foot wrong, in fear of their antics being picked up in the headlines.
He admitted: "There are no more rockstars. You know what you got? You got a lot of snot-nosed kids that work at music magazines – no offence."
The 57-year-old rocker blames it on the "internet" and music press for making it more about gossip than the music.
He told Metal Hammer: "But there used to be an honour code between the bands and the music magazines.
"Then the internet came out and started tearing bands apart, and it became normal happenstance where people would make a story just to destroy the bands.
"It became more important about who the writer was rather than the bands they were covering.
"I yearn for the days when it was about the music and not about the reviewer."
The ‘Sweating Bullets’ hitmaker also admitted he thinks that record stores that solely sold heavy metal records – that are few and far between nowadays – were a big part in inspiring the next generation of bands and that the only difference now is that there are streaming services making it much easier to release and consume new music.
Asked if he thinks it has gotten harder or easier for budding metallers to do well, he said: "It’s a double-edged sword. It’s so much easier for new bands to get their music out, but it’d be safe to bet one of my balls on the fact that Scott (Ian, Anthrax frontman) used to go into the same record store I did in San Francisco called The Record Well.
"And the fact that back then you could find a record store that’s strictly metal, and you walk in there and the person behind the counter will know you, and you can walk in and they can tell you what’s new. ‘The new Tank record’s out!’ or ‘The new Raven album’s out!’ or, ‘Dude, what do you think of the new Witchfinder General?’ And we were in there, like, ‘God damn, these are my people!’ It just feels great when you used to go into one of those stores, and you see people there that are like you. There’s not a lot of stores out there like that any more."
Dave Mustaine: There are no rockstars left
