Dave Mustaine would be honoured if Metallica asked him to rejoin the band – but he’d refuse the invitation.
The Megadeth mainman formed his own quarter of thrash’s Big 4 after being fired in 1983. They finally resolved their differences in time to appear on stage together in 2010, and on a handful of occasions afterwards.
Mustaine was asked on Twitter: “Would you come back to Metallica if James asked you to do it?”
He replied: “I would be honoured, but I would not.”
Asked whether he’d consider co-writing a song with Metallica’s James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, he said: “Nice try.”
And asked to describe Ulrich in one word he responded: “Friend.”
Megadeth are poised to release their 15th album in the coming months, featuring new guitarist Kiko Loureiro and guest drummer Chris Adler. Mustaine said of Loureiro: “Kiko is going to rise to the top of Megadeth alumni in the fans’ hearts very quickly. They just have to hear him.”
And on Adler’s commitment to main band Lamb Of God, he said: “I’ll have to clone him.”
The band have just released their first official picture together and they hit the road in China on October 8, with UK and European dates in November.