DAVE MUSTAINE Says He Is One Of ‘The Fantastic Four’ Of Hard Rock/Metal Rhythm Guitar Players

In an interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, MEGADETH‘s Dave Mustaine said that he is the best rhythm guitarist in the world, alongside James Hetfield (METALLICA), Malcolm Young (AC/DC) and Rudolf Schenker (SCORPIONS).

Speaking about his dismissal from METALLICA, Mustaine said: “I was a very dysfunctional person and a drunk and a loser and I liked to fight a lot. James one time kicked a puppy that I had and I freaked out. I just said, ‘Man, I’m gonna kick your a—s!’ Ron McGovney [METALLICA‘s original bassist] said, ‘You kick his a—s, you’re gonna have to hit me first.’ I said, ‘You shut up and sit the f*ck down.’ Then James goes, ‘You hit him, you’re gonna have to hit me first.’ And I went, ‘Okay, you win, James.’ He had a mouthful of bloody, baby Chiclets and he was sitting there crying and telling me to get my sh*t out.”

He also talked about his role in METALLICA and the early chemistry between him and Hetfield. He said: “The weirdest thing about it is when I was in the band, James didn’t do any talking in between songs. If you put the two of us together side by side, split a TV monitor in half and had us both hopping around onstage, there’s a lot of similarities. The way he acts and moves with his guitar and stuff like that.”

He added: “I think James is one of the best rhythm guitar players in the world. As far as rhythm guitar players are concerned, there’s James, there’s me, there’s Malcolm Young and there’s Rudolf Schenker. There’s no one else that touches the four of us. We’re the fantastic four.”