A few months back, Ron McGovney took to Twitter, giving a shout-out to Dave Mustaine for his part in Metallica’s ‘No Life ‘Til Leather.’ While talking about that tweet in a recent interview with Consequence, the Megadeth frontman delved into his relationship with the bassist and past resentment toward James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. He said:
“Well, I’ve always loved Ron, and I was pretty vocal about how I felt when we would come home from the Bay Area; James and Lars would always pick on Ron. And it made me resent James [Hetfield] and Lars [Ulrich].”
Painting a picture of what they did, Mustaine went on:
“They’re drinking vodka from a jug with a handle on it and spitting food into each other’s mouth in the back of a truck, and I’m watching this – they take one of Ron’s shoes and throw it out the back of the truck. And they’re expensive high-tops. And even if they weren’t, that’s fucked up.”
He referred to the time he punched Hetfield for kicking his dog and added:
“So, I’ve always liked Ron, and I hated the fact that he got in between trying to protect James when I popped him in the mouth. But we’ve stayed friends ever since.”
The Megadeth vocalist put to bed any rumors of an ongoing drama with his former band and even expressed his wishes for a reunion with them for another Big 4 project in the past. Further into this recent chat, he explained how his ties with the Metallica members changed over time by saying:
“It took a while for James and Lars and I to kind of come around and become friends again, but I would say we’re probably better off now than we’ve been for a long time. And it comes and goes.”
Mentioning the reason behind their feud, he said:
“I think the emotions between all of us, it’s probably understandable for a lot of people who break up with someone, it’s like a marriage, and you part ways, and sometimes you try and justify in your head the decision that you make. And sometimes the facts are all you need, and other times you feel compelled to kinda tell the story, and you don’t really need to.”
Mustaine also reflected on his days in Metallica and continued:
“And then there are people who tell the story and then add little salacious facts – like a tape recorder that has a feature to add stuff that never happened. So, I just look at that whole period with Metallica as something that was really great for me. And I wish them the best.”
As we look forward, both Megadeth and Metallica are touring this year to promote their latest albums, “The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead‘ and ‘72 Seasons.‘
