MUSTAINE: '10 Million People' Think I Should Have Been Inducted Into ROCK HALL With METALLICA

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine was recently interviewed by Cindy Scull of the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On MEGADETH's new album, "Endgame":

Dave Mustaine: "'Endgame' was a record that we started... Some of the riffs I've had for years, and a lot of the stuff that connected all these riffs were written recently. In fact, even the song 'Headcrusher', that was the last song we wrote on this record. Shawn Drover [MEGADETH's current drummer] had co-wrote it with me and he'd had some stuff that he'd written and he sent it to me and I listened to it and I go, 'I don't like it.' And I was thinking, 'Why don't I like this?' So I picked up the guitar one day and I tried to figure out what he wrote. And the reason I didn't like it was because I had already written it before — he had the beginning of [the MEGADETH track] 'Take No Prisoners' [from the 1990 album 'Rust In Peace'] in his song. I was like, 'Shawn, you can't do that.' So when I was able to listen to the song and get past that first riff, I found a couple of really great segments in the song. But it was weird; when you're hearing something that you can't quite put your finger on, and then you realize it's your stuff. [laughs] It was actually flattering. When I got to the next part in the song, it ended up [being] inspiring enough to help me wanna do a song with him. 'Cause I've been doing this a really long time; it's a little bit easier for me to understand how to put a song together than for most guys. Shawn is such a great bandmember. When Junior [former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson] and I parted ways, I thought, well, even though I don't care for this guy anymore after suing me, I certainly know it's gonna be some big shoes to fill. And when Shawn came in, I had no idea that the ambassador role that Junior filled that Shawn was gonna take over, but he did, and he does it great. And when James Lomenzo [current MEGADETH bassist] came in... I was comparing James MacDonough [Ellefson's initial replacement in MEGADETH] to Junior a lot, and it wasn't working. But when Lomenzo came in, he plays as good as Junior does, and he sings better, because Junior couldn't sing. James was part of that WHITE LION thing way back in the '80s, and he can sing, man — he can sing really good."

On why he didn't attend METALLICA's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in Cleveland, Ohio in April 2009:

Dave Mustaine: "Well, I'm not gonna sit in the audience and watch the band I started with these two guys get inducted and me not be a part of it."

On whether METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was "being a dick" to him when Lars called him to invite him to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony:

Dave Mustaine: "I'm not gonna comment on that, but you can read through the lines. Anybody who heard anything that went down there, if they know Lars, they know that's how he is. I think he did the best that he could with trying to talk to me, because I know that I don't make him comfortable. And I'm sad about that, because I've tried really hard to bury the hatchet with this cat."

On some people's assertion that Mustaine should have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with METALLICA:

Dave Mustaine: "There's ten million people that agree [I should have been inducted]. . . You know what [Lars] said to me?! He said, [imitating Lars' Danish accent] 'Only the people that are on the fucking record can be at the Hall of Fame, man.' And I was like, 'Well, Hooked On Phonics worked for me; I can read my name; it's all over [the first METALLICA album]. [laughs] But you know what?! It's OK, 'cause if I'm gonna get into the Hall of Fame, there's nothing he can do to stop me."

During the interview, Mustaine also confirmed that he is once again single, having split up with his wife of 18 years, Pamela Mustaine.

Cindy Scull's entire 16-minute chat with Dave Mustaine is now available for streaming in two parts below.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Dave and his wife previously filed for divorce twice, according to San Diego Superior Court records — in February 2008 and May 2006 — only to apparently change their minds and withdraw the petitions.

Dave Mustaine married Pamela Anne Casselberry in 1991. They have one son, Justis, born in 1992, and a daughter, Electra, born in 1998. The family has lived in Arizona, but is believed to currently reside in Fallbrook, California.