CHRIS POLAND Says Being Publicly Called A 'Liar' By DAVE MUSTAINE Did A Lot Of Damage To His Post-MEGADETH Career

For the latest episode of "The David Ellefson Show" video podcast, former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Poland joined ex-MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and podcast co-host Joshua Toomey to share stories about life after MEGADETH, challenges of recovery, industry politics and the lasting brotherhood forged through decades of music. Reflecting on his time with the Dave Mustaine-led outfit, Poland said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I have no regrets about everything that's happened — except one. I regret that Mustaine for years would go on stage and call me a liar. I never really thought much about it, but then I did the math and I realized that's why things were so hard for me to try and get deals. I walked into Carvin [guitars] one day and I thought, 'You know what? These guitars aren't bad. I wanna talk to their A&R guy.' So I spoke to the guy and he goes, 'Dude, we don't use people like you on our roster.' So, I was, like, 'Oh, okay.' So I have a feeling that Dave's anger with me about what it was really was like dragging around a fucking 50-pound ball all the time — back then."

Ellefson chimed in: "Well, look, he did it to [another former MEGADETH guitarist] Jeff Young. There was some derogatory comment [Dave made] that kept [Jeff] from getting work for a long time. I could say the same was attempted at me. Fortunately, I just kept moving. I just kept going and was, like, 'All right, I'm just gonna ignore that comment and keep moving.'"

David continued: "It's interesting. There's always been a lot of these 'former MEGADETH members unite' [situations]. And it's not an intentional thing. It's not. In fact, when I was going back to MEGADETH [15 years ago], Jeff was really taking an issue over Dave [saying in interviews that Mustaine was] whistling or singing guitar solos to him [while Jeff was in the band] or something, and it was a public thing. And he is going, 'Come on, we gotta unite.' And I said, 'Hey, Jeff. I just got home from San Diego. I literally just rejoined MEGADETH.' And this was 2010. And I remember Dave came to me about it, and I said, 'I'll handle it. I'll take care of it.' And I made it go away — as I do. Because that's just part of — I don't know — part of the gift I've been given on this planet. It's, like, we're gonna come to peaceful terms, we're gonna make that go away, and we're all gonna just move on."

Added Chris: "It's not sour grapes or anything. It's just it finally dawned on me just how much damage that really did."

A little over three years ago, Poland confirmed to Sofa King Cool that the song "Liar" from MEGADETH's 1988 album "So Far, So Good... So What?" was written by Mustaine about him. He said: "Oh, yeah. Obviously, Dave was very upset with me when I left the band — when he fired me, basically."

Asked if he was angry when he first heard he was the lyrical inspiration for the song, Poland said: "No, man. It's like the pot calling the kettle black, man. When you point your finger, man, there's three pointing back at you. I just rolled my eyes and was, like, 'Really?'"

Poland was a member of MEGADETH from 1984 to 1987, during which time he performed on the band's classic albums "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" and "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" He is also a featured soloist on the group's 2004 album, "The System Has Failed".

Back in 2004, Poland and/or his management and attorney filed a lawsuit against Mustaine regarding the use of the three "Rust In Peace" demos on the album's reissue without Chris's permission. According to MEGADETH's webmaster, Mustaine included the demos because he thought Chris would be "thankful for the promotion, the tipping of the hat, and showing the fans how Marty [Friedman, MEGADETH's guitarist during some of the post-Poland years] had actually been influenced by some of Chris's solo selections for those songs." Chris also allegedly tried to sue Dave for defamation of character because Dave called him a "thief," but Chris's attorney "dropped that after he found out that Chris had actually taken the band's gear and sold it for drugs," according to MEGADETH's webmaster. "Remember, there is a confession in the VH1 'Behind the Music' on MEGADETH," the webmaster said. Chris eventually settled for $9,500 and thereby ended a professional relationship with Dave and MEGADETH.

In a September 2020 interview with Darren Paltrowitz (host of the "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" podcast),Mustaine singled out Poland, saying: "Chris Poland, as much as I don't really like the guy, he was a great guitar player, and I wanted to give him a shot when we did the 2004 reissues for 'Peace Sells' and 'Rust In Peace', and I wanted to put that song out on the 'Rust In Peace' reissue. He got involved in a nuisance lawsuit, I think it was, and we just ended our friendship. And I thought, 'God, that was such a waste.'

"There was a little teeny mountain that was right out by where we live, and I said I could have just as soon bought that piece of dirt there than sell Chris's friendship, and I'm so bummed that this happened," Mustaine added. "'Cause I thought it would have been terrific to have him on the record. [When] people say, 'Hey, this sounds like Marty Friedman.' No, Marty Friedman sounded like this, because Chris played it first."

Poland previously discussed the legal issues surrounding the 2004 reissue of "Rust In Peace" in a 2018 interview with the As The Story Grows podcast. He said: "When I did 'The System Has Failed', [Dave] was working on adding the demos to a re-release of 'Rust In Peace'. And I wasn't going to get paid, but I didn't realize that until it came out. I was like, 'Wait a minute — I'm not getting paid for this.' And I tried to call Dave at least a dozen times, and I never heard back from him. Then I called Dave's manager a dozen times, and he wouldn't get back to me. The last time I called him, I said, 'Hey, man. If you don't call me back, I'm going to call [my lawyer], and we're going to have to get into it.' [The manager] calls me back and totally insults me, saying, 'You played a couple solos. So what?' And I'm like, 'What do you mean, 'So what?'' 'Well, Dave thought that you would do it for the fans.' I said, 'Okay. Is everybody else that played on that demo doing it for the fans? Are they getting paid?' He said, 'Chris, that's not the point.' I said, 'Listen, man, we have to do something here. I'm not just going to walk away. I love the fans, but I'm just not going to do it. If everybody else is getting a performance royalty for this, I want one.' I want everybody to know that it wasn't a nuisance suit, it wasn't anything like that. I made every attempt to work it out, and they just ignored me."

For more than two and a half decades, Poland's main musical focus has been the fusion band OHM:, which has released several full-length studio albums to date.

Ellefson and Young are currently playing together in a band called KINGS OF THRASH. Earlier this month, the band released a new single called "Lockdown", featuring a guest appearance by Poland.

Photo credit: Melody Myers (courtesy of O'Donnell Media Group)