Dave Mustaine - Rust in Peace

T HERE WAS THIS WHOLE UNDERGROUND METAL THING happening in the early 80s, with a handful of bands circulating demos and appearing on indie compilations. It was a small scene, but the people who knew about it went nuts over it. I knew about Metallica back then, before they had a record deal, but I didnt actually meet those guys for a few more years.

I have no idea about the dynamics or details that led to the split between Dave Mustaine and Metallica, but all things considered, it was meant to be. We are all better off for it. Because otherwise, we wouldnt have had the focus on Dave that came with him leading his own band.

We wouldnt have had Megadeth.

Steven Adler and I loved Peace Sells But Whos Buying? It was our favorite record. I was in love with everything about the album, but I liked the guitar playing especially, of course. Chris Poland remains, to this day, one of my favorite lead guitar players that Dave has had in Megadeth.

Guns N Roses was kind of laying low, in a holding pattern, around that time. We had become a pretty well-known band in LA, but after we signed with Geffen Records, we went sort of under the radar for a while. The record company didnt want us doing many gigs around then.

I could be wrong, but I think it was Steven who introduced me to David Ellefson. Junior is a very sincere, friendly, and outgoing person. There are no airs with him. Mustaine was a bit more serious, much more sort of reserved socially, but we all got along really well together.

Steven and Izzy Stradlin were renting this, like, guest house just south of Sunset. I was hanging out at some chicks place; I didnt actually live anywhere, technically. Mustaine had an apartment just around the corner from where I was staying, maybe a couple of blocks away.

I started hanging around over there a lot and became really good friends with Junior and Dave. We did a lot of partying, but it wasnt partying in the traditional sense. We werent at the bar. In fact, partying isnt even really the right word, as far as what that connotates for most people. Its quite the opposite, actually. It was very insular. We stayed inside, did drugs, and made music. We jammed quite a bit. We wrote some pretty dark, heavy, drug-fueled shit together.

I never became a metal guy, but I related to something about the way both Dave Mustaine and James Hetfield approached guitar. There were a lot of thrash bands, but those two created a sound unique unto themselves. There are bits and pieces in my playing that came from listening to those guys and especially from jamming with Dave. It definitely had some influence on me. I really dug playing with him. Im a riff guy and he has a certain way of riffing that appeals to me.

Daves style of guitar playing is so uniquely his own; its difficult to put into words. His fingering style, his overall approach. Its instantly recognizable. I know its him, immediately.

I talked about this a little bit in my book, but there was a point when all of us were temporarily frustrated with our existing bands and so we briefly talked about maybe teaming up together, though we never pursued it in earnest. I loved Megadeth, but my heart was in Guns.

Guns made Appetite with producer Mike Clink. Not long before we geared up to go back into the studio to make the Use Your Illusion records, Mike told me he was working with Megadeth. Hows it going? Id ask. What are you guys doing? Hed share anecdotal info, like, theyd just finished vocals, or they were doing overdubs, but I didnt have many details.

Then I heard the record.

Rust in Peace is a great album.

Its a great sounding album, too.

Im a pretty big Megadeth fan. I cant think of a Megadeth album that I would consider not worthy. Theres something cool and memorable on pretty much every record. Peace Sells was clearly a milestone for them, but Rust in Peace put the band on the map on a bigger scale. It broadened their audience. It made Megadeth a household name, by metal standards. It has really fucking cool songs on it. Hangar 18 is awesome. Marty Friedman is great, obviously. I mean, theres just a bunch of cool shit on that record. I certainly understand why every important Rust in Peace anniversary is celebrated as a pivotal moment for both Megadeth and for heavy metal.