One of the standout tracks on Megadeth's 80s classic, Peace Sells…But Who's Buying, is "The Conjuring." But ever since Mustaine became a born-again Christian he had problems playing the song.
In 2009, he explained why to Noisecreep, saying the song is about witch craft, which Mustaine practiced for a while:
"I put two hexes on people, and they both worked and the result was just what I was asking for," he explains. "Now, it took forever to get that Satanic depression off of me because it's just like playing with a Ouija board. You open the doorway to the dark side, and spirits come through. It took almost 20 years to get rid of that Satanic depression. I did it when I was 15, and I don't think I got free of it until I was in my mid-30s.You ask yourself, 'How is it possible that this is happening to me?' Well, because you flirted with the devil and you put a hex on somebody and you put another hex on somebody, and, well, you owe him. And that's why I have a problem playing 'The Conjuring' today."
Two years ago, Mustaine reconsidered his stance when Chris Adler was in the band and he wanted to play the song live:
"But the funny thing [is] Chis Adler [current MEGADETH drummer] just said, 'Hey, dude, can we re-record 'The Conjuring' with different lyrics?' And I was, like, 'Nah. You know what? Maybe I should re-think this whole thing.' Because when I first did the whole, 'You know what? I'm not gonna be a heathen anymore. I'm gonna clean up my life' thing, I kind of put some brakes on things I would and wouldn't do. And as I grow, I evolve in my outlook and my personal journey here, being a positive person and being a positive influence on other people's lives. So as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, I wouldn't mind doing the song again, 'cause it is a good song."
Which brings us to present day. The band is in Europe and at the last two shows on Tuesday (June 12th) and Wednesday (June 13th) at the Home Monitoring ArĂ©na in Plzeň, Czech Republic, the band finally WHIPPED IT OUT.
I wonder what got Dave to change his mind. View the side-stage angle above, and then the alt-angle below:
[youtube=https://youtu.be/4-wW0oYzqgM][/youtube]