According to Dave Mustaine, there's no competition between Megadeth and Metallica. Which almost feels like maybe Mustaine's ire toward his ex-bandmates has cooled until you read the rest of his comments.
In an interview with Guitar World, Mustaine said that he feels Megadeth has been the more consistent band over the years, and that Metallica got a "big head start" over him thanks to a bunch of music he wrote. Mustaine also says Metallica has been trying to discredit him over the years saying he's not a good guitarist, and then once again cites the fact that he wrote a bunch of their early material.
"In my mind, there is no competition between Megadeth and Metallica," he said. "We're different bands, and I believe Megadeth has been more consistent. But the sad thing is that the drama between us has been more popular than the music ever was. And remember, Metallica got a big head start, and they did so on the back of what I helped create.
"They became one of the biggest bands in the world, and here's one of the biggest bands wasting their breath trying to discredit me by saying, 'Dave's not a good guitar player.' Excuse me, what the fuck did you say? [Laughs] I think I wrote many of the songs that made you famous, so you probably should recheck that bullshit statement. But this is the shit those guys say, and you've got the sheep who follow them around believing it."
Accusations of Metallica using Mustaine's riffs while he was still in the band are nothing new. Disagreements over writing credits resulted in the shelving of a No Life Til Leather demo box set, and the cancellation of a 2010s project between Mustaine and Metallica frontman James Hetfield.
And to be fair, Mustaine does have writing credits on Metallica records. Whether or not he agrees with them is a different story, but they are:
- "The Four Horsemen," "Jump In The Fire," "Phantom Lord," and "Metal Militia" on Kill 'Em All
- "Ride The Lightning" and "Call Of Ktulu" on Ride The Lightning
- None on Master Of Puppets after his departure, even though Mustaine claims he co-wrote "Leper Messiah"
Mustaine comments didn't end there either. When asked about Megadeth's longevity, Mustaine went straight to saying that Metallica tried to hold him back and failed. He then mentions he's happy with the band's level of success these days, which is excellent – but then why both bringing up your former bandmates again?
"A lot of it is the take-no-shit attitude. People know Metallica has always tried to hold me back. They never expected me to do what I did after they fucked me over, but I succeeded and made better records along the way. But I don't care because I'm happy with my success, and I've had plenty of it. The music we make now tells you all that you need to know. But I hope we can tour together before it's all said and done, but I don't know if we will.
"As far as looking back at everything from the beginning, I think I've maintained my integrity. When I injured my arm, I sold off all my gear to pay the people I owed money to. When most bands end, they say, 'Fuck it,' and leave their vendors holding the bag. Not me. I'm way different. I'm old-fashioned. I'm old-school. I do what I say I'm going to do. That's why Megadeth is still here."
