In a new interview with Guitar World magazine, Dave Mustaine was asked how he views the perceived competition between MEGADETH and his former band METALLICA. The MEGADETH leader responded: “In my mind, there is no competition between MEGADETH and METALLICA. We’re different bands, and I believe MEGADETH has been more consistent. But the sad thing is that the drama between us has been more popular than the music ever was. And remember, METALLICA got a big head start, and they did so on the back of what I helped create. They became one of the biggest bands in the world, and here’s one of the biggest bands wasting their breath trying to discredit me by saying, ‘Dave’s not a good guitar player.’ Excuse me, what the fuck did you say? [Laughs] I think I wrote many of the songs that made you famous, so you probably should recheck that bullshit statement. But this is the shit those guys say, and you’ve got the sheep who follow them around believing it.”
Asked who he thinks is at fault for perpetuating the issues, Mustaine said: “The issue is that people don’t know their history and take sides. I never wanted to take sides; I wanted things to be reconciled and to be friends, but for whatever reason, they didn’t. And METALLICA is represented by the same agent as MEGADETH, and I’ve asked our agent, ‘You’re METALLICA’s agent, too; why won’t those guys play with us? What are they afraid of?’ And they’ve confirmed they’re going out [this summer] with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and the PANTERA thing, so it’s clearly about the money. The fact is simple: the world wants to see MEGADETH and METALLICA play together. And in case anyone is wondering: there’s fucking money in that. The fans want to see METALLICA and MEGADETH share the stage. Does MEGADETH need METALLICA? No. But METALLICA talks about their fans, but they don’t give them what they’ve been asking for. What are they afraid of? I don’t know. It’s not me; it’s them.”
Mustaine also talked about his influence over METALLICA, saying: “In the early days, I was the only guitar player in the band and wrote some of the songs that ended up on their earlier records. So, for a guy who ‘couldn’t play guitar,’ I sure did fucking influence things. The only reason James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] even played guitar early on was that we couldn’t find anyone else. So who was it that couldn’t play guitar? We had one guy named Brad Parker, whose real name was Damian Phillips. He showed up and had an oversized feather earring; we did one show, and that was the end of him. And that was why we ended up having James play guitar. There was no other reason. Also, early on, James was terrified to talk to the crowd, and I would look at him and say, ‘Talk, man. Get up there and fucking talk,’ but James didn’t do it; he stayed in the background, and he’s the fucking singer. So, I — the guy who can’t play guitar — went up to the mic and started talking. That’s how it was until I left; James only started talking to the audience after I left; he had no choice. You can hear it on the tapes from the shows we did in San Francisco at the Waldorf and the Stone; I did all the talking. And most of what I said on stage was things James would then copy after I left. So how do I view my influence on METALLICA? It’s pretty fucking deep.”
Mustaine touched upon the possibility of further “Big Four” shows in a November 2022 interview with Greg Prato of Songfacts. He said: “I really think it’s time for the guys in METALLICA to step up and us do one last round, see if we can get SLAYER to come out of retirement and do a ‘Big Four’ passing of the torch to the new ‘Big Four’. It would remain to be seen who they are.
Mustaine added: “I would love to see it done in a way where we all got treated fairly and we all played together, same amount of time, same kind of stage situation, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. And it’s cool, because SLAYER’s gonna down in history, and they don’t need the ‘Big Four’ to make them any more legendary than they already are. Nor do I.”
Hammett said in 2017 that he believed that the “Big Four” idea would be revisited again. He explained: “I see those shows as kind of like a celebration — a real celebration of each other, and a real celebration of the music that we all make, and a real celebration of the audience embracing [what] we’ve done. And why not have more of that?”
