Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine recently joined Pandora’s Tales From the Metalverse for an interview and remembered when Gene Simmons teased him with a Metallica joke.
Before forming Megadeth, Dave Mustaine served in Metallica as the band’s original lead guitarist from 1981 to 1983. While he seemed to have good chemistry with the rest of the band on the basis of music, his tenure in Metallica was short-lived. When the band began recording their debut album ‘Kill ‘Em All,’ Mustaine’s battle with alcohol and drug addiction overshadowed his musical talent.
The remaining Metallica members were bothered by Dave’s unpredictable, aggressive behavior, which led the guitarist to have some personal clashes with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich and eventually get fired. In a recent interview, Dave Mustaine recalled the moment Gene Simmons made fun of him over Metallica when he shared the stage with Simmons and Paul Stanley at the 1991 Foundations Forum heavy metal convention in LA.
Mustaine stated that someone asked Simmons about a KISS reunion while they were on stage. Then, the Megadeth founder repeated the same question looking at the KISS icon. Disturbed by this question, the bassist asked Dave Mustaine how he would feel about a Metallica reunion in a sarcastic tone.
The guitarist was annoyed with Simmons’ statement because he thought it was kind of inappropriate considering Cliff Burton’s untimely passing. He was sensitive about it during those times and recalled feeling uncomfortable. However, the musician stressed that it doesn’t bother him anymore.
Dave Mustaine’s words on how Gene Simmons teased him about Metallica:
“And so, I’m up on the stage, one of my guys are up on the stage, and Paul and Gene are up on stage. And somebody says, ‘Hey, Gene, how about a KISS reunion?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, Gene, how about a KISS reunion?’ And he goes, ‘How about a Metallica reunion?‘ And I went [makes a disappointed frown].
Because Cliff had died, you know, and I thought it was just not good form. And I don’t know if it bothered me that much at the time; it doesn’t bother me anymore. But at the time, it was really, really – again – really foreign to know that somebody that you’ve looked up your whole life to as a musician knows who you are. It’s really, really a weird feeling.”
You can watch the rest of the conversation below.
