Dave Mustaine has said that Metallica once spent years attempting to keep him from moving forward in his career.
Speaking about the long standing friction between them, he admitted there is a real possibility he may never speak with former bandmates James Hetfield or Lars Ulrich again.
Mustaine explained to the Los Angeles Times: “Think of it. Where would I be right now if I didn’t have one of the biggest bands in the world spending their time trying to hold me back? They don’t do it anymore, but most of the time when they did, it just made me shake my head. And it wasn’t just Metallica, it was everybody. For a long time, it very much was me against the world. It was like, OK, if you’re not with me, you’re against me.”
Even with that complicated past, Mustaine recently chose to record a tribute tied to his former bandmates, a decision he knew would spark mixed reactions among fans.
He said about his version of Ride The Lightning on Megadeth's final self titled album: “There may not be a chance to ever say hello to James or Lars again. I knew some people would have a hard time with me doing the song, but that’s OK because I wanted to pay tribute and show my respect. If they like it, fine. If they don’t like it, fine. If they listen to it, fine. If they don’t, fine.”
Looking back on his time with Metallica, Mustaine said he still remembers those early years with appreciation, even though their young age and heavy drinking eventually helped drive them apart.
He said: “You know, I had a great time when I was in Metallica, and we did something tremendous. It’s a shame what the booze did, but we were all kids and, aside from Lars, we came from pretty broken families. Lots of stuff has happened over the years, but I felt like it would be great to make everything good with them before we stop. We should be friends. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be friends.”
