(Credits: Far Out / Dave Mustaine / Megadeath / Andes)
Fri 27 March 2026 22:00, UK
There’s something of a tortured Salieri gnawing with jealous contempt at the lauded Mozart in the bitter dynamic between Dave Mustaine and the Metallica juggernaut.
For those unfamiliar with the Amadeus stageplay, royal favourite Antonio Salieri is driven mad by green envy over young upstart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s effortless glide into the premier classical standing of the Holy Roman Empire’s royal court. Never mind his distinguished career and volume of acclaimed work, Salieri just cannot abide his gnawing, infuriating silver medal.
There’s also the extra component of Salieri’s horror of Mozart’s boorish and childish behaviour, while being able to create such stunning musical pieces. Mustaine and Metallica had plenty of that between them back in the booze-filled metal undergrounds of Los Angeles and San Francisco, but Mustaine’s resentful glare has held a decades-long reach ever since he was first booted out of the band back in 1983 due to his alleged alcohol abuse and violent behaviour.
Like Salieri, Mustaine just never seemed to be able to take stock of how far he’s come. Forming Megadeth that same year of his Metallica dismissal, Mustaine’s new venture would go on to stand as thrash’s ‘Big Four’ along with his old band, Slayer, and New York’s Anthrax, shifting over 50 million records and winning a Grammy along the way. Still, the Megadeth founder and frontman seems to have never quite shaken off his Metallica firing over 40 years ago.
It’s not been lost on his former bandmates. While forging some kind of brotherhood all those years ago, the perennial yo-yoing between amicability and sourness was touched on by the Metallica frontman around the release of their Through the Never concert film. “I see him healthier now,” James Hetfield revealed to the So What! fanzine.
“I see him as less of a bitter guy. But I do see a lot of stuff in the press with him talking about jamming with us and making an album.”
James Hetfield
He added, “All this other crazy stuff. I read it and say to myself, ‘Hold on. This is the Dave that we kind of wanted to forget about. You know, the big mouth that wants to just go-go-go.’ But there is an authenticity about him when he speaks.”
It’s easy to imagine Mustaine’s motormouth and mammoth character standing as a forceful element of Metallica’s early alchemy, both creatively and socially. Yet, on the road to success, the threat of drunken brawls and erratic mood swings likely stood in the way of greater ambitions beyond the thrash clubs.
Mustaine’s wounded exit and Kirk Hammett’s entrance to the Metallica fold would ultimately vindicate such ruthless measures, going on to stand as one of the biggest-selling artists of all time.
Mustaine seems to have finally buried the hatchet of late, albeit tentatively. During Megadeth’s final eponymous LP sessions early this year, the band took a stab at Metallica’s Ride the Lightning title track, a number he co-wrote. “We’re constantly working on improving our relationship, me and James and Lars,” Mustaine reflected to SPIN. “I really do love those guys. That’s why we fought so much – it was that I missed them. And the idea of leaving the band, it was just hard to fathom.”
