Dave Mustaine has divulged the details of his last conversation with James Hetfield — and why it didn’t go well.
The Megadeth bandleader told Classic Rock that the last discussion he had with his ex-Metallica bandmate dealt with a publishing dispute over Metallica’s No Life ‘Til Leather demo, which featured Mustaine, Hetfied, Lars Ulrich and Ron McGovney.
Mustaine reportedly couldn’t reach an agreement with Hetfield and Ulrich over the 1982 demo’s songwriting credits, causing the planned 2015 reissue to be delayed indefinitely.
READ MORE: Metallica Songs Co-Written by Dave Mustaine Ranked
Why Did Dave Mustaine Object to the ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ Reissue?
The No Life ‘Til Leather demo featured seven songs, six of which were re-recorded for Metallica’s 1983 debut album Kill ‘Em All. The seventh, “The Mechanix,” got a musical facelift and appeared on Kill ‘Em All as “The Four Horsemen.”
Mustaine believed he deserved more songwriting credit than Hetfield and Ulrich were willing to concede.
“I wrote all the music on ‘Phantom Lord,’ all the music on ‘Metal Militia,’ all the music on ‘Jump in the Fire’ and ‘The Mechanix,” Mustaine told Classic Rock. “And I wrote the lyrics for ‘Jump in the Fire’ and ‘The Mechanix.’ So do the math: If I wrote the music and James wrote the lyrics, then the credit is 50 percent me and 50 percent James. Well, that’s not what went down when I left. James and Lars figured out that they were going to give Lars some percentage of the songs he didn’t write anything on, and that happened on all four songs.”
He continued: “This was a bone of contention for me going forward with Metallica on anything because, you know, it just wasn’t fair. You guys got more money than God, why do you have to take my money?”
Dave Mustaine Says James Hetfield ‘Took Offense’ to His Objections
This disagreement prompted Hetfield to reach out to Mustaine. The conversation didn’t end well.
“So James called me up, and he says, ‘Hey, man, we want to release this No Life ‘Til Leather thing, and we want to get all this publishing stuff straight, and, you know, we really don’t remember what went down,'” Mustaine added. “And I said, ‘Well, that’s good, because I do. I remember what went down, and I can help with that.’
“And then the conversation took a turn. James goes, ‘Well, that’s not the way that we remember it.’ And I went, ‘Well, James, honestly, there’s three ways to look at this: There’s your way, my way and the truth, which is some combination of the two.’ And that was the end of the conversation. He took offense to that, and we hung up, and I don’t remember speaking to him since then.”
READ MORE: 50 Best Metal + Hard Rock Debut Albums (Ranked)
Was That Really the Last Time Dave Mustaine Talked to James Hetfield?
Although Mustaine cited this publishing dispute as the last proper conversation he had with Hetfield, he’s mentioned a few other instances of communication in the intervening years.
In 2019, Mustaine said Hetfield reached out to him after Mustaine publicly revealed his cancer diagnosis.
“I got a text message back from my old brother, James Hetfield, and I was so, so happy to hear from him,” Mustaine said. “Contrary to what anybody says, and contrary to any of the act that we put on, I love James and I know that James loves me and cares about me. You can see that when the moment of truth is here and I’m telling the world that I’ve got a life-threatening disease. Who comes to stand next to me? James.”
READ MORE: The 75 Best Hard Rock + Metal Guitarists of All Time
Mustaine said he also texted Hetfield in 2022 after the Metallica frontman admitted to feeling insecure while performing in Brazil.
“I love those guys [in Metallica],” he said. “I sent a text message to James just a couple of days ago after he admitted onstage that he was insecure about his guitar playing. I said, ‘James, I love you and I really like your playing.’ He didn’t answer. Of course not. Why would he? The point is I wanted him to know.”
It remains to be seen whether the members of Metallica will respond to Mustaine’s recent overtures for both bands to tour together, or if they’ll respond to Megadeth’s rendition of “Ride the Lightning,” which they included on their self-titled final album.
Dave Mustaine is nothing if not adaptable. See some of his greatest achievements in our list of the best song off every Megadeth album:
The Best Song Off Every Megadeth Album
From hyper-speed thrash to melodic hard rock, Dave Mustaine and Co. delivered countless classics.
Gallery Credit: Bryan Rolli
