Dave Mustaine says that it’s a “terrible lie” that he is difficult to work with.
The Megadeth frontman has gained a reputation as one of the most divisive personalities in metal – particularly in the years following his expulsion from Metallica in 1983.
While he admits that their temporary drummer, Lamb Of God’s Chris Adler, might have been afraid to share his own ideas with the frontman at first, he says it’s a “bummer” when strangers approach him and say that they expected him to be an “a-hole.”
He tells Elliot In The Morning: “Let’s not kid ourselves. Unfortunately, there’s a terrible lie out there about me and my reputation, how difficult I am to work with, and Chris will attest now, after working together, that it’s B.S.
“I don’t care about it. I think it’s kind of a bummer, though, sometimes when people, for the first time, come up to you. It’s such a pregnant pause when people will meet you and go, ‘God, you know, I heard you were such an a-hole,’ and you just kind of look at them, like, ‘Uh-huh.’
He continues: “This reminds me of when I was a kid and my first dance. I went up to a girl and I asked her to dance, and she said ‘no,’ and I walked away and I thought, ‘Screw you! You don’t know what you’re missing.’ And I figured I would commence to destroy her reputation in school.
“I’m kidding, of course, but that’s kind of what we do when we get any kind of rejection; we make the other person out to be really horrible.”
Mustaine hints that his mudslinging match with Metallica after they fired him was a case in point.
He adds: “Neither one of us really wanted to tell the absolute truth about what happened; we wanted to make the other party the bad guys.
“And I think that’s what took so long for us to come to the truth that, ‘Hey, we still really love each other a lot. And it was never meant to be, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.’”
Megadeth will kick off a string of US and European festival dates at the end of the month, which includes an appearance at this year’s Download Festival.
Megadeth tour dates 2016
Apr 30: Ft Myers Fort Rock At Jetblue Park, FL
May 01: Jacksonville Rockville At Metropolitan Park, FL
May 07: Concord Carolina Rebellion, NC
May 20: Columbus Rock On The Range, OH
May 22: Schaghticoke Rock ‘n Derby, NY
May 26: Sioux Falls Badlands Pawn, SD
May 27: Pryor Rocklahoma, OK
May 29: San Antonio River City Rockfest, TX
Jun 02: Milan Gods Of Metal, Italy
Jun 03: Bologna Estragon, Italy
Jun 05: Nijmegen FortaRock, The Netherlands
Jun 07: Lodz Power Festival, Poland
Jun 09: Solvesborg Sweden Rock Festival, Sweden
Jun 10: Download Festival, France
Jun 11: Download Festival, UK
Jun 14: Groningen Oosterport, Netherlands
Jun 15: Pratteln Z7 Konzertfabrik, Switzerland
Jun 16: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Jun 17: Dessel Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium
Jun 17-19: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jun 22: Berlin Huxleys Neue Welt, Germany
Jun 23: Hamburg Docks, Germany
Jun 24: Copenhagen Copenhall, Denmark
Jun 25: Halden Tons Of Rock, Norway
Jun 28: Cologne Live Music Hall, Germany
Jun 29: Frankfurt Batschkapp, Germany
Jun 30: Munich Backstage, Germany
Jul 02: Rishon LeZion Live Park Amphitheatre, Israel
Jul 07: Sofia Universiada Hall, Bulgaria
Aug 02: Santiago Teatro Caupolican, Chile
Aug 07: Sao Paulo Espaco Das Americas, Brazil
Aug 12: Brasilia Net Live, Brazil
Aug 13: Fortaleza Siara Hall, Brazil
Aug 20: Ascuncion Independiente, Paraguay
Aug 22: Buenos Aires Luna Park, Argentina
