Biography
Although he contributed no performances to their recordings, guitarist Dave Mustaine played a decisive role in shaping Metallica’s pioneering thrash-metal style. Mustaine entered the world on September 13, 1961, in La Mesa, California; during his childhood the family relocated repeatedly to avoid the abuse of his alcoholic, violent father. Exposure to music arrived first through his older sister, whose tastes leaned toward the folk-oriented singer-songwriter work of Cat Stevens, yet by adolescence Mustaine had embraced metal wholeheartedly. While mastering the guitar on his own and deliberately rejecting his father’s self-destructive patterns, he nevertheless sank deeply into alcohol and, soon afterward, harder substances. The shift occurred while he was dealing drugs, when a customer settled a debt with albums that introduced him to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal—specifically Iron Maiden, Saxon, Motörhead, and Venom.
Residing in the Los Angeles region at that point and energized by the new style, Mustaine resolved to assemble a band that would prioritize the NWOBHM sound over visual presentation—the direct antithesis of the glam-metal ethos dominating the Sunset Strip. An advertisement in a local paper connected him with singer-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, and bassist Ron McGovney, resulting in the formation of Metallica. Although the group’s approach would later inspire numerous other metal acts, success eluded them in Los Angeles. After McGovney proved unreliable, the lineup welcomed bassist Cliff Burton, who agreed to participate only on the condition that the band move to San Francisco. With no remaining prospects in L.A., they relocated and quickly built a loyal audience through explosive live performances and the widely traded demo No Life ’Til Leather. The tape secured a contract with the independent Megaforce label, yet the musicians were once again required to relocate—this time to New York.
Soon after arriving, Metallica dismissed Mustaine, determining that his increasingly self-destructive behavior posed a threat to the others.
Crushed by the expulsion, Mustaine boarded a bus for the long journey home. During that nearly week-long trip he conceived both the name and the guiding idea for his next project, Megadeth, intending its lyrics and themes to be more intellectually provocative than those of his prior band and its music to be still more intricate and aggressive. Back in California he befriended a neighbor, bassist Dave Ellefson, who shared his passion for metal and became the first recruit. Drummer Lee Rash and ex-Slayer guitarist Kerry King completed the initial lineup; the group began performing locally, with Mustaine eventually assuming vocal duties alongside guitar. By 1984 Rash had been replaced by Gar Samuelson and King had returned to Slayer, leaving Chris Poland to fill the second guitar slot as Megadeth signed with Combat Records. Their debut, 1985’s Killing Is My Business, stirred underground interest, yet the major-label follow-up for Capitol, Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?, issued a year later and widely regarded as one of the greatest metal albums ever, elevated the band to far greater prominence and eventually attained gold certification.
Throughout the remainder of the 1980s Mustaine’s addictions intensified while he and Ellefson remained the sole stable members amid a rotating cast of supporting musicians. The unfocused So Far So Good So What arrived in 1988; two years later Rust in Peace marked a striking return to form. Although journalists portrayed Mustaine as newly “clean and sober,” the assertion proved premature, and he continued struggling with substance abuse through the 1990s. He also sustained a public feud with his former Metallica bandmates, asserting primary authorship of much of their early material—a claim later validated in part when he received songwriting credits for such tracks as “The Four Horsemen,” “Jump in the Fire,” “Phantom Lord,” “Metal Militia,” “Ride the Lightning,” and “Call of Ktulu,” among others. Meanwhile Megadeth delivered further commercial successes, including 1992’s Countdown to Extinction, 1994’s Youthanasia, and 1997’s Cryptic Writings. Beyond band activities, Mustaine appeared in Penelope Spheeris’s 1988 documentary Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years, covered the 1992 Democratic National Convention for MTV, collaborated with former Fear singer Lee Ving on the one-off project MD.45 (whose sole album, The Craving, appeared in 1996), and created a signature line of instruments for Jackson Guitars.
Following multiple brushes with death, Mustaine achieved lasting sobriety in the late 1990s while Megadeth maintained an active touring and recording schedule, releasing the experimental Risk in 1999 and The World Needs a Hero, their first Sanctuary album, in 2001. The same year VH1 aired a Behind the Music episode devoted to the band and, more broadly, to Mustaine.
Residing in the Los Angeles region at that point and energized by the new style, Mustaine resolved to assemble a band that would prioritize the NWOBHM sound over visual presentation—the direct antithesis of the glam-metal ethos dominating the Sunset Strip. An advertisement in a local paper connected him with singer-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, and bassist Ron McGovney, resulting in the formation of Metallica. Although the group’s approach would later inspire numerous other metal acts, success eluded them in Los Angeles. After McGovney proved unreliable, the lineup welcomed bassist Cliff Burton, who agreed to participate only on the condition that the band move to San Francisco. With no remaining prospects in L.A., they relocated and quickly built a loyal audience through explosive live performances and the widely traded demo No Life ’Til Leather. The tape secured a contract with the independent Megaforce label, yet the musicians were once again required to relocate—this time to New York.
Soon after arriving, Metallica dismissed Mustaine, determining that his increasingly self-destructive behavior posed a threat to the others.
Crushed by the expulsion, Mustaine boarded a bus for the long journey home. During that nearly week-long trip he conceived both the name and the guiding idea for his next project, Megadeth, intending its lyrics and themes to be more intellectually provocative than those of his prior band and its music to be still more intricate and aggressive. Back in California he befriended a neighbor, bassist Dave Ellefson, who shared his passion for metal and became the first recruit. Drummer Lee Rash and ex-Slayer guitarist Kerry King completed the initial lineup; the group began performing locally, with Mustaine eventually assuming vocal duties alongside guitar. By 1984 Rash had been replaced by Gar Samuelson and King had returned to Slayer, leaving Chris Poland to fill the second guitar slot as Megadeth signed with Combat Records. Their debut, 1985’s Killing Is My Business, stirred underground interest, yet the major-label follow-up for Capitol, Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?, issued a year later and widely regarded as one of the greatest metal albums ever, elevated the band to far greater prominence and eventually attained gold certification.
Throughout the remainder of the 1980s Mustaine’s addictions intensified while he and Ellefson remained the sole stable members amid a rotating cast of supporting musicians. The unfocused So Far So Good So What arrived in 1988; two years later Rust in Peace marked a striking return to form. Although journalists portrayed Mustaine as newly “clean and sober,” the assertion proved premature, and he continued struggling with substance abuse through the 1990s. He also sustained a public feud with his former Metallica bandmates, asserting primary authorship of much of their early material—a claim later validated in part when he received songwriting credits for such tracks as “The Four Horsemen,” “Jump in the Fire,” “Phantom Lord,” “Metal Militia,” “Ride the Lightning,” and “Call of Ktulu,” among others. Meanwhile Megadeth delivered further commercial successes, including 1992’s Countdown to Extinction, 1994’s Youthanasia, and 1997’s Cryptic Writings. Beyond band activities, Mustaine appeared in Penelope Spheeris’s 1988 documentary Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years, covered the 1992 Democratic National Convention for MTV, collaborated with former Fear singer Lee Ving on the one-off project MD.45 (whose sole album, The Craving, appeared in 1996), and created a signature line of instruments for Jackson Guitars.
Following multiple brushes with death, Mustaine achieved lasting sobriety in the late 1990s while Megadeth maintained an active touring and recording schedule, releasing the experimental Risk in 1999 and The World Needs a Hero, their first Sanctuary album, in 2001. The same year VH1 aired a Behind the Music episode devoted to the band and, more broadly, to Mustaine.
Singles
