Dave Mustaine is one of the most successful and gifted metal guitarists of all time and goes without saying. His career with Megadeth is an example of determination, hard work, and creativity. Regardless of lineup changes, Mustaine you have managed to overcome a lot of adversity for several decades. And it makes perfect when considering this band was born out of massive adversity.
Most metal fans know that the American guitarist was initially playing with Metallica in the early 80s and was kicked out before the release of 1983’s “Kill ’em All. However, there have been a lot of comments and myths surrounding why he was kicked out. Mustaine‘s addiction was the main reason but there are other things that influenced it, at least looking in hindsight.
These are all the different elements involved in Dave Mustaine getting kicked out of Metallica. This includes the context of both parties and the end result. Moreover, it makes a lot of sense why Mustaine would have never worked with that band in the long run.
The Early Days of Mustaine
Dave Mustaine was born on September 13, 1961, in La Mesa, California, to parents Emily Marie and John Jefferson Mustaine. His parents divorced when he was a kid because of his father’s alcoholism, which took a toll on him. His mother and him moved around frequently, although he mainly stayed in California where he would begin his career as a musician.
However, Mustaine found solace in rock and metal music. He was a prominent fan of Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, Led Zeppelinand the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Furthermore, he began to practice guitar and started to form his own bands, with Panic being the most serious one.
Panic never made any official releases because two of the band members passed away in car crashes. However, it was in this period that Dave Mustaine he wrote some of his first songs, such as Metallica‘s future song, “Jump in the Fire“. He also wrote tracks that would become Megadeth tunes, such as “N2RHQ” (renamed “Hangar 18“), “Child Saint” (renamed “Rust in Peace… Polaris“), and “Mechanix“.
This period also shows Mustaine as a leader and songwriter. This is pivotal to understand his future projects since it shows him having a role of leadership. That would determine his career moving forward as a band’s main songwriter. But things would change forever for him in 1981.
The Context of Metallica
Metallica was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles when Lars Ulrich put on an ad looking for a guitar player. I have cited bands as Iron Maiden, diamond headand Tygers of Pan Tang for the style he was looking for. TO young James Hetfield picked up the ad and ended up joining with Ulrichforming the band in the process.
Dave Mustaine would follow suit as the lead guitarist and Ron McGovney as the bassist. The band would appear in some “Metal Massacre“compilations and create their first demo,”Power Metal” between 1981 and 1982. It was during this period that Mustaine and Hetfield would write the bulk of the “Kill’em All“.
Bassist Cliff Burton was playing for the band Trauma in late 1982 and blew the guys of Metallica away during a live performance. They chose to pick him up for the band and he agreed with the condition of them moving to San Francisco. This move proved to be the right one since glam metal was dominating California at the time, and Metallica I didn’t feel comfortable in this area. This would also allow the band to be part of the Bay Area thrash metal scene, which helped them in the long run.
The band had a very strong lineup, four great musicians, and a growing following. Furthermore, this group had a deal with Metal Blade Records to release their debut album in 1983. However, they had to deal with one major problem and that was Dave Mustaine.
The Issues with Dave Mustaine
It is true that Metallica already had a reputation for being a drinking band but Mustaine he was definitely the stand out performer in that area. Ulrich and Hetfield have become known for being quite pragmatic when it comes to decision-making and this era was no different.
“Dave “He was an incredibly talented guy but he also had an incredibly large problem with alcohol and drugs,” Brian Slagelowner of Metal Blade Records, said in 2008. “He’d get wasted and become a real crazy person, a raging megalomaniac, and the other guys just couldn’t deal with that after a while. I mean, they all drank of course, but Dave drank more… much more. I could see they were beginning to get fed up of seeing Dave drunk out of his mind all the time.”
Some issues include how Mustaine‘s dog, in one rehearsal, scratched the car of bassist Ron McGovney. This resulted in James Hetfield yelling at the dog, which prompted Mustaine to punch him in a fit of rage. He was fired from the band at the time but was allowed to rejoin the following day.
There was another incident involving McGovney. Mustaine had poured beer into the pick-ups of McGovney‘s bass, resulting in the latter suffering shock waves. This would result in the bassist leaving the band, and while it led to Cliff Burton joining them, Ulrich and Hetfield didn’t forget this event.
Ultimately, the band decided to let go of Mustaine during the recording days of “Kill ’em All” in New York in 1983. There have been multiple claims that his alcoholism and drug use made him strongly unreliable, with the band already having a replacement.
The Decision to Kick Him Out
Kirk Hammett from Exodus was chosen to be Mustaine‘s replacement. The band gave the guitarist a ticket to go back to San Francisco and let him go. This was a few months prior to the release of “Kill ’em All” in 1983. The album would be a watershed moment for the thrash metal movement. Moreover, it featured some of Mustaine‘s songwriting and was credited.
Mustaine he would suffer an extremely depressive time in his life soon after. Between losing his position in Metallica and the success of the latter’s album. He had some ideas of perhaps forming a band but nothing had been fully formed in his find.
Once he lost his patience due to his neighbor constantly playing the bassline of Van Halen‘s “Running with the Devil“, that’s how he would meet David Ellefson. These two musicians would form a partnership that would last for decades, with many ups and downs. Having a friend and a musical partner helped Mustaine think about the future.
“I was driven by revenge,” Mustaine said to Metal Hammer in 2023. “I was angry about what happened with Metallicaand all the way home, I kept thinking ‘I’ll just be faster, I’ll be better and my songs will be heavier.’
“Megadeth is supposed to be a group, not a solo project masquerading as a group,” Ellefson said to MetalEdge. “It’s always been a group. But there’s a reason the guys in the band back in 1983 aren’t playing with Dave now. But there’s also a reason that when other people left, I stuck around. Not a lot of people know how to complete Dave‘s sentences. But I inherently know how to complete the musical sentences of Megadeth. “It’s my primary language.”
The Aftermath
Both Metallica and Dave Mustaine won with this separation. Metallica went on to become one of the greatest metal acts of all time and Mustaine‘s band, Megadethdid likewise. Both groups have changed the metal genre as a whole and also influenced thousands of musicians all over the world.
There is also a great argument to be made that Mustaine needed to have his own band. Even if he had overcome his alcoholism and drug addiction with this group, he would have struggled with them. Hetfield and Ulrich are the driving forces of this band and Mustaine would have clashed with them.
Furthermore, Megadeth is a band that fully represents his vision. No matter the lineup changes, the band has remained consistent because of Mustaine‘s vision. The same can be argued with Metallicawhich reached the top of the metal world thanks to the way Hetfield and Ulrich did things.
This situation is a prime example of how the music business works. This was also the best for both parties and the metal world won because of it. There is an argument to be made that the entirety of the thrash metal movement wouldn’t have been the same without this event. The music world got two great bands and all three main players in the situation got a vehicle to do their projects as they wanted.
