When Dave Mustaine and James Hetfield came to blows: “It was even dumber to punch him”
Dave Mustaine’s short time with Metallica was a hell-raising affair destined for disaster. Although his musicianship was never an issue, Mustaine’s personality was a clash from the outset, and it was only going to end in a physical altercation.
Mustaine joined the group in 1981 after responding to an ad placed by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper. There was no honeymoon period, and his stint with the band was doomed from the start. At the time, Mustaine was consumed by drug and alcohol addiction, which made him difficult for his bandmates to be around.
The guitarist never played on a single Metallica album, given that he was booted out shortly after joining the band. Despite his brief time as a member, four songs he co-wrote appeared on their debut, Kill ’Em All, with two more featuring on the follow-up, Ride the Lightning.
Tensions were building from the beginning, and one day, things came to a head, which led to Mustaine becoming persona non-grata within Metallica’s camp. It started when he brought his dog to rehearsals, and it proceeded to cause utter mayhem by damaging bassist Ron McGerveney’s car.
James Hetfield was said to be enraged by Mustaine’s canine friend and allegedly kicked the animal, which caused the guitarist to attack him. Speaking to Guitar, Mustaine expressed remorse about the incident and said he should have done things differently.
“It was a dumb thing that I did by taking my dog up to practice, and it was even dumber to punch him,” Mustaine said. “I really respect him, and I respect his playing, and I hope he knows that there are a lot of people out there, like me, that like him as a person and don’t give two fucks about him being in Metallica.”
In 2021, Mustaine spoke to Kerrang about his dismissal from Metallica and shed some light on his “love-hate relationship” with Hetfield. “I saw the thing with James on stage where he was saying that he was going through a rough patch,” he explained. “I was sad to see that because it’s been one of those really weird love-hate relationships. And the whole reason that I ever even pursued any of this was I really liked those guys.”
Mustaine added: “If I didn’t like them I would just say, ‘Fucking flush the toilet and be done with it.’ He’s always been somebody that I really liked playing with. I wished things wouldn’t have ended the way that they did, but que será, será.”
Although Mustaine went on to have a successful career with Megadeth, judging by his comments, his departure from Metallica is still a sour note for him. The guitarist had the opportunity to be part of a rock institution, but his problems stopped him from pursuing his dream, and understandably, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.
