Dave Mustaine says Kirk Hammett is “honourable” for taking on his Metallica guitar solos
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine, the former guitarist of Metallica between 1981 and 1983, has discussed his old band’s new album, 72 Seasons, and the fact that his replacement Kirk Hammett took his guitar solos and “did his best to play them as I did”.
The comments came as part of a discussion with Guitar World, and at one point, the conversation turned to Metallica. Asked if he has heard 72 Seasons, Mustaine said: “No, I have not heard Metallica’s latest record. But there was a time around 20 years ago when we were not being friendly toward each other when I couldn’t listen to their music when it came on the radio. But none of that bothers me anymore, and it’s not why I haven’t heard the record, especially after the Big Four thing that we did. I really think we should do that again.”
Asked if the recent criticism Hammett has received for taking his guitar solos is fair, the Megadeth leader responded: “It depends on which solos you’re talking about. [Laughs] Jokes aside, I’ve always kind of poked fun at Kirk. And unfairly so, as he never did anything to me. Whenever I felt singled out, picked on, or antagonised by James (Hetfield) or Lars (Ulrich), it was really easy to pick on Kirk.”
He continued: “But the truth is Kirk did me an honour by trying to play my solos on those early songs the way he did… Well, I think that some people would have just started over again. So, I thought it was honourable that Kirk took my solos and did his best to play them as I did. That couldn’t have been easy. But as far as his new solos on the new Metallica album, I haven’t heard them, so I can’t comment. But I will say that I think it’s sad how quickly some people can turn on people.”
“There was a time when Kirk won every guitar contest in the world, and I don’t think he’s gotten any better or worse as a player. He’s always been really good. Kirk was a good player when he was in Exodus. And he’s been steady the entire time he’s been in Metallica. But does that mean Kirk Hammett is Dave Mustaine? No. And is Dave Mustaine Kirk Hammett? Also, no.”
Elsewhere, in May this year, former Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson claimed that Mustaine is still lamenting his dismissal from Metallica 40 years after the event, labelling it as “fucking pathetic”.
He said: “I’ve watched how he’s treated his dismissal from Metallica, still bitching about it 40 years later, and I think it looks fucking pathetic. And it’s, like, ‘You know what? Fix you(r) shit and move on.’ And that’s how I’ve chosen to deal with it: fix your shit and move on.”
Watch Metallica perform with Dave Mustaine below.
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