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In a three-hour conversation with Shawn Ryan, an ex-Navy SEAL, CIA contractor, and host of the Shawn Ryan Show, Dave Mustaine, leader of MEGADETH, reminisced about his short-lived time with METALLICA in the early ’80s. When asked how he got involved with METALLICA, Dave recounted (as noted by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I had wrapped up with [my former band] PANIC and thought, ‘I need to find a new direction.’ So, I picked up a newspaper called The Recycler, a local classified ad magazine from Los Angeles and Orange County. Can you believe the world’s biggest band would place an ad in this paper? I found it saying, ‘Lead guitar player wanted,’ mentioning a few bands. I called and spoke to Lars [Ulrich, drummer of METALLICA], telling him, ‘I’m into MOTÖRHEAD and BUDGIE.’ He responded, ‘You like fucking BUDGIE, man?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ That broke the ice since BUDGIE is a lesser-known Welsh three-piece band. My familiarity with them showed I had credibility in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene, proving I wasn’t just another average metal fan.”
Mustaine elaborated: “So, Lars and I were chatting, and he acknowledged my knowledge of BUDGIE, which led us to discuss meeting. I drove from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach, where he lived in a place called Park Newport. Funny enough, my mom used to work as a maid for events in his complex. I thought, ‘What a story! Two different sides of the same coin?’ Upon arriving at his place, he played a song called ‘Hit The Lights’, which was authored by Lloyd Grant. It wasn’t a METALLICA song; Lloyd Grant had written it. Lars was friends with him, introduced him to James [Hetfield, guitarist/vocalist], and they ended up playing ‘Hit The Lights’. I told them, ‘This song could really use more lead solos.’ My cockiness surfaced: ‘It needs way more lead solos!’ Lars was trying to gauge my seriousness. So, we scheduled a rehearsal. He said, ‘We’re gonna try you out.’ I was confident in my abilities; I knew I had a gift, which I never attributed solely to my own efforts. I was just aware of my skill set. We went to [then-METALLICA bassist] Ron McGovney‘s parents’ fourplex. I set up my amps, plugged in, and began to warm up, but they didn’t come into the rehearsal room. Curious, I stepped out and asked, ‘Guys, are we doing the audition?’ They replied, ‘You got the gig.’
Mustaine shared that he felt certain he’d land the METALLICA gig at that initial audition. “‘Cause I could play that stuff,” he noted. “Back then, there weren’t many guitarists like me. Who was out there? Randy Rhoads and Warren DeMartini from RATT were contenders. But there weren’t many shredders around at that time.”
When discussing his experience with METALLICA during those early days, Mustaine remarked: “It felt like my destiny was unfolding. Our first gig took place at a school of some sort, possibly one Lars attended. I’m unsure if it was elementary, junior high, or high school. After that, it became evident that I was the one handling any disputes. James often maintained a calm demeanor while Lars enjoyed stirring things up. If trouble arose, it was up to me to manage it. During our early shows in San Francisco at a venue called The Stone, I was tasked with collecting the money. There are countless ways to manipulate payment at clubs or bars when a band is involved. They might claim, ‘You sold 200 tickets and have a bar tab here, so we’re giving you $150.’ Yet, they’d made a fortune on drinks and snacks. Plus, they’d take a hefty cut of our merchandise. That was my role.”
Reflecting on the well-known yet troubled tour across the country in spring 1983 that led to his departure from METALLICA, Mustaine stated: “The decision to move to New York came about because Lars had found someone to manage us—Jonny Zazula from Megaforce Records. After hearing our demo tape, ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’, he was excited. They wanted us to come out and record an album. While en route, we had a car accident. None of us knew how to drive in the snow except for Lars, given his Danish background. I was at the wheel of a 24-foot Ryder truck, towing James‘s pickup. We hit black ice, and the vehicle spun out of control. Thankfully, I kept it upright, but we found ourselves facing oncoming traffic. An incident occurred just then involving Mark Whitaker, who was managing our sound. I had to push him out of the way just in time to save his life. Fortunately, we managed to move our gear to another truck, and it was then that James and Lars decided to replace me, pinning the driving incident on me as the last straw.”
Commenting on speculations that his heavy drinking was the primary reason behind his firing, Mustaine clarified: “We all drank. They called it ALCOHOLICA for a reason, not DAVE-ALCOHOLICA. We all indulged, and they continued to do so. But I believe that was the beginning of the end. Once in New York, I had a reel-to-reel tape filled with guitar riffs I’d delayed working on. After performing two shows there, I was abruptly awakened one morning and told, ‘You’re out of the band.’ I was shocked: ‘What? No warning, no second chances?’ It struck me as unfair, a severe lack of character. I was furious and it added fuel to my fire. They didn’t want me to use my music, yet they did anyway. I wrote tracks like ‘Ride The Lightning’ and more.
“I created many of the riffs you hear. When things were heated, I said, ‘Don’t use my music,’ but they disregarded my wishes. ‘The Call Of Ktulu’, ‘Phantom Lord’, ‘Metal Militia’, ‘Jump In The Fire’, ‘The Four Horsemen’. And I contributed to ‘Leper Messiah’ on METALLICA‘s third album, ‘Master Of Puppets’ as well, yet got no credit. You listen to those riffs and it’s clear they’re mine. It’s foolish to think I wouldn’t recognize my own work. Indeed, I laid down foundational pieces of their music, including all the solos on their debut record, which Kirk [Hammett, Mustaine’s replacement in METALLICA] tried to emulate.”
When asked why he was singled out and dismissed from METALLICA despite everyone’s drinking habits, Dave responded: “When I got drunk, I was violent. One evening, James and I were at a club called Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco. Someone mentioned a guy hitting a girl in an alley, and feeling compelled to act, I went to investigate. With James cheering me on, I confronted the suspect. After subduing him, we exited the alleyway as paramedics arrived. I believe James realized my volatility and feared for his safety, recalling that I’d already punched him during a prior encounter.”
On the subject of the altercation with Hetfield, Mustaine recounted: “I had a dog with me during a rehearsal, and after some events transpired where he kicked her, I lost it. I confronted James, resulting in a heated exchange at the rehearsal. Ron McGovney intervened, saying I’d have to go through him first if I wanted to hit James. I chose to fight James instead, which led to chaos and was the last straw. Lars was upset, saying, ‘I don’t want it to end this way.’ But it was clear it was either me or James, and I faced the consequences.
When asked what followed his exit from METALLICA, Mustaine said: “I returned home and reached out to a friend, saying, ‘I quit.’ She corrected me, saying, ‘No, you were fired.’ I insisted I quit, but it didn’t matter. I wanted to present myself as someone who had been unfairly let go, downplaying how things went down. Our band, MEGADETH, may not be as renowned as METALLICA, but their biggest hit, ‘Enter Sandman’, resembled EXCEL‘s track ‘Tapping Into The Emotional Void’.
Years ago, Grant shared on the “Rockzone Legends” show that he was introduced to ‘Hit The Lights’ when Ulrich played it before the first rehearsal with Hetfield. “James was on bass, I played guitar, and Lars was on drums,” remarked Lloyd. “We rehearsed that song, and beforehand, Lars had shared it with me while we were enjoying soccer and chatting about a potential jam partner. Later, he invited me to provide solos for the ‘Hit The Lights’ recording for a compilation album [‘Metal Massacre’].”
In a November 2022 interview with Greg Prato from Songfacts, Mustaine explained his interest in collaborating again with Hetfield. When asked if that discussion occurred, Dave replied: “Our last chat didn’t go smoothly due to conflicting memories regarding past events within the band. It wasn’t even directly between us, as he was speaking through a ‘third party.’ They wanted to release ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ — a comprehensive collection including 27 songs, posters, and more. I was open to it, but James explained there were issues, citing previous failed endeavors. I found it interesting they hadn’t seen our past successes as failures. I was willing to move forward, but discrepancies concerning past contributions troubled me.
“James and I co-wrote both ‘Metal Militia’ and ‘Phantom Lord’. However, it was presented that Lars would get a share of ‘Metal Militia’, and Kirk, who wasn’t in the band at the time, received some credit too.”
“I’ve made peace with it. So when he expressed a desire to set things right, I was keen to cooperate. But when I voiced my stance, they insisted it was different than I remembered. Given their past actions, why would I want to reintegrate myself into that situation?”
“I’d love to collaborate with James again and Lars too, although I believe the real talent in METALLICA has always centered around the guitar, as most joke about the drumming.”
“Lars brings a unique flavor as a song arranger. I once witnessed him, poorly handling an acoustic guitar, create the opening riff for ‘Master Of Puppets’. It was quite basic, and its brilliance emerged from James‘s playing.”
Years back, Mustaine expressed his desire not to perpetuate misinformation by giving Ulrich songwriting credits regarding the planned expanded release of ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’.
‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ was released as a limited-edition cassette during Record Store Day in April 2015, exclusively available in independent record shops. Its artwork was based on Ulrich‘s personal copy of the original demo, complete with his notes. They promised expanded editions of the demo would eventually come out on CD, vinyl, and as a collector’s series.
This seven-song tape featured the original lineup of METALLICA, which included Ulrich, Hetfield, Mustaine, and Ron McGovney. The financing came from Kenny Kane, who owned High Velocity, with plans to release it as an EP in 1982.
Mustaine addressed the expanded version of ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ during a June 2018 interview with Kerrang!. Recalling his last conversation with Hetfield, regarding the re-release of ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’, Mustaine said: “He tried to persuade me to transfer publishing rights to Lars, even though James and I were the sole songwriters. I refused. I love James, a fantastic guitarist, but I couldn’t concede to that. The songs are already exposed. I’m not about to release something just to push a product, especially when it involves misleading information. Lars didn’t contribute to writing. It was solely me and James. End of story.”
Ulrich informed Metal Forces in 2016 that “unexpected legal challenges… hindered the development of the ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ box set and our initial vision for launching the reissue series. After some deliberation, James and I concluded that contentious discussions detracted from the celebration this should represent, thus deciding to step back and focus on ‘Kill ‘Em All.’“
Ulrich remained tight-lipped regarding the specifics causing the delays in the demo tape’s release, stating it was “a bit more convoluted than that” and didn’t see the need to elaborate. “No point diving deeper into it. It was just unforeseen,” he explained.
Mustaine tweeted that Hetfield reached out two years prior about “officially” releasing ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ with “27 tracks, pictures, and the full package,” but discussions faltered due to Lars seeking credit for two songs that Mustaine authored fully. “I possess the texts. That was my decision to step away.”
Ulrich communicated to Metal Forces in 2016 that METALLICA remained hopeful to bring out the expanded version of ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ in due time. “I’m eternally optimistic, viewing the glass as half full. Who knows?” he stated. “Some involved parties may have circled back now that they’ve recognized our vision is sincere, so we’ll see. Sharing ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ with fans sometime soon would be fantastic.”
‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ was recorded on July 6, 1982, at Chateau East Studio in Tustin, California. The songs featured on the tape later appeared on the band’s debut album, ‘Kill ‘Em All’, released in 1983, which included ‘Hit The Lights’, ‘Motorbreath’, ‘Jump In The Fire’, ‘Seek And Destroy’, ‘Metal Militia’, ‘Phantom Lord’, and ‘The Mechanix’, which was later retitled ‘The Four Horsemen’.
Mustaine was part of METALLICA for less than two years—from 1981 to 1983—before being replaced by Hammett.
Mustaine was notably absent from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction of METALLICA during the ceremony in April 2009 at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium. Ulrich later remarked to The Plain Dealer that Mustaine “never contributed to any METALLICA recordings. No disrespect intended, but there were many others involved in those early days. We believed it was fair to recognize anyone who played on a METALLICA record.” He further added: “Dave Mustaine was part of the band for eleven months, predominantly in 1982… I hold him in high regard and respect for his accomplishments since.”
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