DAVE MUSTAINE: METALLICA Documentary Proves LARS ULRICH Is 'Mental'
April 14, 2005MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine recently spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald about his ongoing "feud" with METALLICA, the nerve injury to his arm that brought his career to a halt, and the band's most recent album, "The System Has Failed". A few excerpts from the interview follow:
On METALLICA's "Some Kind of Monster" documentary, in which he makes an appearance:
"If you see that METALLICA movie you can't walk away without thinking Lars is mental. I am over [Ulrich]. He's ancient history."
"Hey, what about what METALLICA and Lars did to [Internet file-sharing company] Napster and the kids? Took them to court. You see the reaction.
"That just shows what kind of people they are, when the kids start deserting them."
On the nerve injury to his arm that brought his career, and that of the-then 19-year-old MEGADETH, to a halt:
"I'm a fighter. I don't quit. I'm probably going to record when I'm dead 'Live from his coffin'."
"I really did fall asleep on [my arm]. I had my arm hanging over the back of a chair and just dozed off. When I went to get up I found the nerve had been pinched off, like a drinking straw being compressed. It was one millimetre at that moment and it had to grow back to four millimetres. I had a specialist tell me that because of the associated electrical problems I would never play guitar again and only regain 80 per cent use of of my arm.
"So the band broke up. But I just said to myself, 'I'm going to play again.' When I was better I realised I owed the previous record company a record, so I thought, 'Hmm, I'll dust off MEGADETH.'
"If you want to know what Dave Mustaine 'solo' sounds and feels like, just dust off MEGADETH. I mean, I've always been MEGADETH."
On reverting to his original approach to music on "The System Has Failed".
"I could do 'Rust in Peace' again, but I don't want to. I could have followed that formula but, God, why? I would have to have done so much heroin and cocaine — and I wasn't going to. Not if I'm paying for it!"
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