Dave Mustaine on Current Relationship With Ex-Metallica Bandmates

While it’s safe to say Dave Mustaine‘s relationship with his former band Metallica has been a big talking point for many years, as the Megadeth leader approaches his final album and touring he’s now speaking about how that relationship has and continues to evolve at this stage in their respective careers.

Though Mustaine’s “covering” of Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning” on Megadeth’s final album may have raised a few eyebrows, the singer-guitarist has shared that it was done out of respect and as a way to bring his career full circle. He’s also repeatedly brought up his admiration for James Hetfield‘s playing in promoting the song that appears as a bonus track on Megadeth’s self-titled album.

So where do things stand with Mustaine and his former Metallica bandmates at this stage in their careers?

What Dave Mustaine Said About James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich

Within a Spin interview about their final album, Mustaine described the relationship between himself and onetime Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich as one that is continually evolving.

He recalled, “James and I were talking about something, and I said, ‘Well, there’s your version, there’s my version, and then there’s the truth. I believe that the truth is the only one that’s accurate, because I don’t really remember everything.’ And he had said, ‘We don’t remember stuff and we’d like to go over it.'”

“We’re constantly working on improving our relationship, me and James and Lars,” continued Mustaine. “I really do love those guys. That’s why we fought so much—it was that I missed them. And the idea of leaving the band, it was just hard to fathom.”

The Megadeth leader added, “You try and put things into perspective as you get a little bit older. I think about where I am at in my journey: I’m on the backside of the mountain and I want to make sure that every day counts and that the people that I encounter, that I’m not obnoxious to them if they don’t deserve it. If they deserve it, man, you got it coming and here it comes.”

What Dave Mustaine Said About Megadeth’s Take on ‘Ride the Lightning’

Part of what led to the discussion of Hetfield and Ulrich was talk of the “Ride the Lightning” “cover” on Megadeth’s final album.

Once again, Mustaine reiterated, “It was to complete the circle and pay respect to my partners, James and Lars, and make clear that, to anybody that has any doubts, I believe that James is an exceptional guitar player and that Lars is an exceptional songwriter. I’ve always thought that.”

READ MORE: All 6 Metallica Songs Co-Written by Dave Mustaine (Ranked)

“It wasn’t doing a cover song, because I wrote it with James and it was our creation,” he added. “One thing I’ve always believed is when you do a song from someone else—even if it’s your band from an earlier time period—do it as good or better. We were thinking of songs we were going to do, and our management said, ‘Why don’t you do ‘Ride the Lightning’?’ At first, I thought, people will think that’s kind of strange for me to do that. We talked about it a little bit and it just became clearer that it was a good idea. We sped it up just a teeny bit and we made sure that we beefed up a couple of the parts.”

Megadeth in 2026

Megadeth are now just days away from delivering their final album. The self-titled set is due Jan. 23 and after releasing “Tipping Point,” “I Don’t Care” and “Let There Be Shred,” the band just dropped a fourth new song from the album titled “Puppet Parade.” Check out the track below. Pre-orders for the eponymous Megadeth album are currently underway.

Megadeth, “Puppet Parade”

The group is also ramping up to the start of their next tour leg, which will kick off Feb. 15 in Victoria, British Columbia. The Canadian run of shows will continue through March 6 in Quebec City, before the band takes a month off and resumes touring in South American starting April 23 in Lima, Peru.

The month of May will see the start of a European tour that carries over into late June before the band returns stateside for a North American tour run in August and September.

You can find all of Megadeth’s tour dates and get ticketing information through their website.

As for Dave Mustaine’s work with Megadeth, you can see how we ranked Megadeth’s albums from worst to best below.