This dreaded redhead Dave Mustaine is celebrating his birthday today and we wish him many more years of health and metal !!!
(Photo: Amy Harris)
Let's tell you about 20 interesting facts:
1. His mother was a Jew from Germany, but he grew up as a "Jehovah's Witness".
2. The name of his first band was "Panic".
3. In 1981 he responded to an ad he published for Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper about a band looking for a lead guitarist and left "Panic" to join "Metallica".
4. He was fired from "Metallica" in complete surprise, even before the band's first album "Kill 'Em All" was released in 1983, due to drug, alcohol, and violence issues he took against the band members.
5. Before leaving "Metallica", he managed to record a demo tape from 1982 called "No Life 'Til Leather". In 2015 Lars Ulrich announced that the tape would be released soon, but due to legal issues, it has not been released to this day.
6. Despite being fired from the band he received credit as a songwriter on "Metallica's" first and second albums.
7. He claimed credit for the song "Leper Messiah" from "Metallica's" third album and said it was based on an old "Metallica" song "The Hills Ran Red".
8. After being fired from "Metallica" he worked in telemarketing. At the same time he set up a band called "Fallen Angels" but it did not last long.
9. He met Dave Ellefson and Greg Handevidt by chance. They lived in the apartment below him and played the song "Runnin 'with the Devil" by "Van Halen". After a night of conversations about music, they decided to form a band together, this was "Megadeth".
10. Mustaine and his friends received $ 8,000 from "Combat Records" to produce and release their first album. The members spent most of the money on drugs and alcohol, which meant that they had not enough to pay the producer so they had to produce the album themselves.
11. In 2002 he almost lost his ability to play the guitar due to a strange accident when he fell asleep in an unusual position on his hand. It took him four months to recover from the bizarre accident and during this time he was very close to breaking up "Megadeth".
12. He is highly ranked in three different martial arts, including taekwondo and a black belt in karate.
13. Mustaine believed in "black magic" and even claimed to have used magic. Some of the band's songs were inspired by these beliefs, most notably on the second album "Peace Sells... but Who's Buying". Mustaine does not play these songs today due to a change in his spiritual faith.
14. He got the idea for the album "Rust In Peace" from a sticker that read "May all your warheads rust in peace".
15. In 1998 he "failed" to audition for the comedy show "The Drew Carey Show", see here:
16. After the release of "So Far, So Good... So What!" Following the departure of guitarist Jeff Young, Mustaine auditioned Jeff Loomis as a guitarist. He would later become known for his membership in the bands "Nevermore" and "Arch Enemy". Mustaine did not get him into the band even though he was very impressed with his performance, due to the fact he was only 16 years old.
17. In 1988 he offered none other than Dimebag Darrell the role of Magadan's guitarist. Darrell agreed on one condition, that his brother Vinnie Paul Abbott also join "Megadeth". Mustaine did not agree because he just hired Nick Menza. Mustaine later stated that he should have complied with Dimbag's request and then he had the best band in the world.
18. In 2001 he played a small role in the series "Black Scorpion", see here:
19. In 2014, he and his bandmate Marty Friedman were ranked 19th on "Guitar World" Magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists list.
20. To date he has released 15 studio albums with "Megadeth" and another album as part of the band "MD.45". He was also part of the band "Red Lamb" for a short time.