It is surreal to imagine what Metallica might be like today if Dave Mustaine was still a member of the band. Along with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, Mustaine was one of the original members of Metallica; however, Dave was kicked out of the band (due to issues involving substance abuse).
Much has been said throughout the years regarding Dave being kicked out of Metallica; whether it has been him being salty about the experience, or him saying he is over it, there has been a lot of mixed feelings.
During a recent conversation with Stefan Adika of Artists on Record, ex-Megadeth bassist David Ellefson shared what he thinks about Dave’s time in Metallica. Even though Ellefson has had some not so nice things to say about Mustaine lately, he shares that he always tried to tell Dave to look positively at his time in Metallica.
While Mustaine was ultimately kicked out, David says that Dave was never “forgotten” by the guys in Metallica. Here is what David Ellefson had to say about Dave Mustaine’s time in the band:
“I was always encouraging Dave, going, ‘Dude, don’t look over there. It’s blinders. What we’re doing is cool, man.’ I mean, look, Lars was coming to our shows, paying attention to what we were doing. He was definitely a fan of Dave’s work and he was a friend of Dave. I think it probably bummed him out that he had to let him go. He had to make a choice. But he continued to come to the gigs, he hung out, he was always friends with Dave. So it’s, like, ‘Look, these guys haven’t forgotten you. They used your songs, they put your name on it, and they paid you. I mean, they don’t hate you.’
“There’s a lot of other bands where it’s like, ‘Fuck that guy. We’re gonna steal his songs. We’re not gonna credit him. And we’re not gonna pay him. Fuck you. Sue us.’ That’s how it usually goes in the music business. So the fact that those guys did the right thing every step of the way, I think is awesome. Because otherwise, Dave — using a Beatles analogy — he could have been the Pete Best of Metallica: The most forgotten, never-heard-of-again member of Metallica, had they not put his name on those records. That validated him.
“They gave him a chance for a second chance by putting his name on those records, using those compositions, and then again, paying him.”
Do you think David Ellefson makes fair points? You can check out the full interview with David below.