Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has criticized how the music industry changed when genres started to blend together, with an apparent dig at nu-metal bands like Linkin Park. He discussed the topic with Chris Jericho.
Mustaine was asked what makes metal music resonate across generations. He explained his view that earlier metal was more genuine and that things shifted when bands in the Linkin Park era emerged.
Question: “What do you think that is about this music that resonates for so many generations?”
“Our generation of metal… I think that the music was more genuine,” Mustaine said. “I think that there came a time, not saying that any of these bands were responsible for it, but when bands around the Linkin Park era came out, a lot of bands were coming out and and doing metal with keyboards and stuff like that.”
“And I believe that started to do the same thing that morphing the Billboard top 200 charts with the country chart. It ruined the charts in my opinion.”
Mustaine then drew a parallel to his own chart history. “The first time I had a record come out once the country music and and rock music merged was when Billy Ray Cyrus got to number one record and I got a number two record and I would have had a number one if it wasn’t for those two charts merging. So is it a pet peeve of mine? Is it a you know a bone of contention? Yeah, I guess so. Do I like Billy Ray Cyrus? No. Do I think that it was a good record? Apparently, it’s the number one record and I can appreciate that.”
“So, you know, hopefully one day you know, I’ll get to meet him and and watch him do his thing and and sing, you know, it’s got to be a good record if it’s number one.”
Mustaine made these comments while discussing how the music industry has evolved over time.
Mustaine’s critique reflects a longer pattern of his criticism toward nu-metal as a genre. In 2025, the thrash metal legend expressed his view that 2000s nu-metal bands lacked musical skill, claiming they relied on keyboards and rapping to hide their limitations and did not perform guitar solos because they could not. He stated that he was grateful the genre faded away and that musicians began to focus on technical abilities once again.
Nu-metal reached its commercial peak in the early 2000s, with Linkin Park’s debut album Hybrid Theory becoming one of the most successful releases of that era. Between 2000 and 2003, bands like Limp Bizkit, System Of A Down, Papa Roach and Disturbed joined Linkin Park in producing multiple platinum-selling albums that dominated the music industry and defined a generation’s sound.
Megadeth’s own chart success came from their 1992 album Countdown to Extinction, which reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart and became the band’s first platinum-certified release in its debut year. Mustaine’s reference to chart mergers points to a specific moment in music industry history when country and rock charts combined, affecting how commercial success was measured and recorded across genres.
