Dave Mustaine recently shared his perspective on James Hetfield and their shared history in an interview featured on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk.
Mustaine reflected on Hetfield’s evolution as a musician and the early days of their collaboration. He recalled a pivotal moment when he first witnessed Hetfield’s guitar abilities, which left a lasting impression on him.
“I think [James is] an exceptional guitar player,” Mustaine said. “I remember the day that I saw him play guitar for the first time. We were playing at the Whisky [A Go Go in West Hollywood, California]. We had a guitar player with us named Brad Parker. The night of the show, he changed it to Damian Phillips. He showed up at the Whisky in mid-1980s Rudy Sarzo garb. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s not gonna go down.'”
Mustaine continued describing his initial skepticism about the new guitarist’s appearance and stage presence.
“I looked at him and he had a giant feather earring. I thought to myself, ‘This guy’s not gonna be here very long.’ So I go to rehearsal after the show. The next rehearsal I attend, there’s no Brad, there’s no Damian, nobody. It was just James playing guitar—like a motherfucker. I thought, ‘How did this happen? How did this guy go from singer to a great guitar player like this?’ I was excited for me. I was excited for the band. We started playing then.”
Mustaine’s remarks underscore his respect for Hetfield’s musical development and their early partnership in what would become one of metal’s most influential bands.
Mustaine’s recollection of those formative years takes on deeper significance when viewed through the lens of Metallica’s early history. Ultimate Metallica notes that Mustaine joined Metallica in 1981 after leaving his previous band Panic. He answered an advertisement placed in a local newspaper by Lars Ulrich. During this period, both Mustaine and Hetfield worked together to establish the foundational sound that would define the band’s early material.
The Whisky a Go Go was a crucial venue in Metallica’s rise. Arrow Lords of Metal documents that Metallica played the Whisky a Go Go frequently during their formative years in the early 1980s on the Los Angeles metal scene. Mustaine was an integral part of the group during this time. This venue became a launching pad for the emerging thrash metal movement.
However, Mustaine’s tenure with Metallica proved to be short-lived. Loudwire reports that on April 11, 1983—just two years after joining—Metallica fired Mustaine due to his substance abuse problems and volatile behavior. The band members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Cliff Burton woke him up that morning to inform him he was out of the band. Kirk Hammett was subsequently brought in as the new lead guitarist. The guitar solos on Metallica’s debut album Kill ‘Em All were re-recorded by Hammett, though Mustaine had contributed significantly to the songwriting and guitar work on the early material.
Despite his dismissal, Mustaine channeled his energy into forming his own band, originally called Fallen Angels, which soon became Megadeth. Real Life Stories reveals that Mustaine wrote influential thrash metal songs during the bus ride following his expulsion from Metallica. “Set The World Afire” was among these compositions and would later appear on Megadeth’s So Far, So Good, So What! album. This moment of adversity became the catalyst for one of metal’s most successful alternative careers.
Mustaine’s recent comments about Hetfield suggest a reconciliation of sorts. He recognizes his former bandmate’s exceptional talent and their shared role in shaping metal history. While their partnership was brief, its impact on the genre remains immeasurable.
