Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Dave Mustaine, the leader of Megadeth, discussed his choice to go on a farewell tour after being diagnosed with Dupuytren’s contracture, which has made playing the guitar “really painful” in a recent interview with Chile’s La Tercera, as per Blabbermouth.
I have an injury to my hand here… And it’s gonna get worse so that it eventually pulls my finger like this, and I won’t be able to play like that. So at some point I’m gonna have to face doing a procedure, and if it doesn’t turn out, then I can’t play anymore anyway. I’ve thought about having somebody else play guitar and me just sing in Megadeth, but I would never be happy. I think part of the magic is me playing guitar.
Mustaine also discussed his choice to put his rendition of “Ride The Lightning,” the title track of Metallica’s 1984 album for which he received a co-writing credit after leaving the band in 1983, on the band’s final album, simply titled “Megadeth.” This is what Dave stated.
We decided to do that song, and I wanted to make it my own. Of course, I wrote that with James. So, it’s mine. I just wanted to make Megadeth’s version different. So we sped it up — it’s a little faster and we improved… Well, we didn’t… wrong word. We modified the drums at the end, and we added a little bit more playing. And same thing with the [guitar] solo. We modified the solo and had there a little bit more playing in the solo section. So, it is ours. And, of course, James and I sing differently, but you can tell when either one of us is singing.
When asked if he had heard back from the guys in Metallica regarding his rendition of “Ride the Lightning,” Dave responded as follows.
I wasn’t looking for it. And they may have said something. I don’t know. I was concerned what the fans were gonna say, and I was more concerned about our songs than what I wrote 40-plus years ago when I was a kid. I mean, the funny thing is I was so young when I wrote that song, and to try and understand that somebody that young could write something like that, it just shows you how talented a guitar player that James and I were. And we made a really good team.
Dave made this statement on his plans for his time when Megadeth’s farewell tour is over.
Probably just be a happy grandpa. ‘Cause I love my family. It’s the most important thing in the world to me. And I think when I stop, I’ll still be involved in the music business. Who knows? I may wake up tomorrow morning and my hand will be miraculously healed and I have my career back. Who knows? But for now, I’m gonna make the best of it.
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