Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine revealed how he once intervened when members of Armored Saint allegedly got physical with his then-Metallica bandmate, Lars Ulrich, at a party. He shared the account in a new interview with OCKOtv.
The statement focused on Mustaine’s decision to step in after he believed his friend was being targeted. He also explained the reasoning behind his reaction.
“If I’m with one of my friends and my friend can’t take care of himself and somebody bigger is picking on him, f*ck it, man, I’m in it,” Mustaine said. “That’s what happened with Lars one time.”
He went on to describe the scene at the party.
“We were at a party, and the guys from Armored Saint were jumping on Lars, and they were intentionally – I believe – they were doing something called a dog pile, where everybody jumps on top of somebody,” he said.
Mustaine explained that he first asked them to stop before taking action.
“And I told them to stop. They didn’t stop, and I just kicked them,” he said. “And y’know, I’m a trained martial artist. I broke his leg – it was Phil [Sandoval], the guitar player. And that was because I wanted to protect Lars.”
Reflecting on the relationship, Mustaine added that the bond with his former bandmate has since changed.
“We were very close at the time. I mean, I still deep down inside of me, I still care about those guys, but it’s not what it was,” he said. “But when I watched somebody hurting him, I couldn’t not say anything. I had to I had to say something. I had to do something.”
The story is a reminder of how closely connected the early Los Angeles metal scene was. Mustaine’s comments sit at the crossroads of two bands that rose through that circuit in the early 1980s.
Armored Saint formed in Los Angeles in 1982. Brothers Phil Sandoval and Gonzo Sandoval founded the group with John Bush, bassist Joey Vera and guitarist Dave Prichard. The band quickly became a fixture of the city’s heavy metal community.
The group’s path later crossed with Metallica’s. In 1985, Armored Saint spent part of the year on the road in a triple bill. Metallica occupied the middle slot. The shared stage time shows how often these musicians moved in the same circles.
Mustaine’s time with Metallica ended before then. The band fired him on April 11, 1983, in New York. He had spent about a year with the group. His relationship with Ulrich and the rest of Metallica has moved between hostility and reconciliation in the decades since.
The comments come as Mustaine continues to speak publicly about his years alongside Metallica. Further updates may follow.
