DAVE MUSTAINE: JAMES HETFIELD And I 'Made A Really Good Team'

In a new interview with Chile's La Tercera, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine spoke about his decision to embark on a farewell tour following his Dupuytren's contracture diagnosis which has made it "really painful" for him to play the guitar. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I have an injury to my hand here… And it's gonna get worse so that it eventually pulls my finger like this, and I won't be able to play like that. So at some point I'm gonna have to face doing a procedure, and if it doesn't turn out, then I can't play anymore anyway. I've thought about having somebody else play guitar and me just sing in MEGADETH, but I would never be happy. I think part of the magic is me playing guitar."

Mustaine also once again spoke about his decision to include his version of "Ride The Lightning", the title track of METALLICA's 1984 album for which he got a co-writing credit following his 1983 departure from the band, on the final MEGADETH album, simply titled "Megadeth". Dave said: "We decided to do that song, and I wanted to make it my own. Of course, I wrote that with James [Hetfield, METALLICA guitarist/vocalist]. So, it's mine. I just wanted to make MEGADETH's version different. So we sped it up — it's a little faster and we improved... Well, we didn't… wrong word. We modified the drums at the end, and we added a little bit more playing. And same thing with the [guitar] solo. We modified the solo and had there a little bit more playing in the solo section. So, it is ours. And, of course, James and I sing differently, but you can tell when either one of us is singing."

Asked if he has received any comments or reaction from the guys in METALLICA to his version of "Ride The Lightning", Dave said: "I wasn't looking for it. And they may have said something. I don't know. I was concerned what the fans were gonna say, and I was more concerned about our songs than what I wrote 40-plus years ago when I was a kid. I mean, the funny thing is I was so young when I wrote that song, and to try and understand that somebody that young could write something like that, it just shows you how talented a guitar player that James and I were. And we made a really good team."

Regarding how he plans to spend his time after the completion of MEGADETH's farewell tour, Dave said: "Probably just be a happy grandpa. 'Cause I love my family. It's the most important thing in the world to me. And I think when I stop, I'll still be involved in the music business. Who knows? I may wake up tomorrow morning and my hand will be miraculously healed and I have my career back. Who knows? But for now, I'm gonna make the best of it."

Dupuytren's contracture is often referred to as Viking Disease due to its commonality in Northern European populations. It sees tissue under the skin thicken to the point it pulls fingers into a bent position, as if the hand were clutching an imaginary axe.

In a separate interview with Jorge Lagás of Chile's Radio Futuro, Mustaine spoke about the name of MEGADETH's ongoing Latin American tour, "This Was Our Life", which will hit Mexico later this week. Asked if there will be a "farewell" portion of the tour to follow the current leg of the trek, Mustaine said: "I didn't plan it that way. All this stuff happened. We had already had the tour booked while we were still recording the album. And the time came where we had to come up with a name for the tour. But that was before I announced I was gonna have my career end. Because I have this [hand condition] that's gonna keep me from playing eventually… This is called Dupuytren's contraction. And it's progressive."

Regarding how he feels about the fact that MEGADETH's farewell tour will eventually come to an end, Mustaine said: "It's bittersweet. I'm glad we're touring as much as we're gonna tour right now. I'm sad because it's going to come to an end at some point. So, I call it bittersweet."

MEGADETH played its version of "Ride The Lightning" live for the first time during its headlining concert on April 26 at Movistar Arena in Bogota, Colombia.

Mustaine co-wrote the song "Ride The Lightning" with Hetfield, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich and then-METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton.

Mustaine was a member of METALLICA for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, before being dismissed and replaced by Kirk Hammett.

Mustaine was not inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with METALLICA during the April 2009 ceremony at Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium.

MEGADETH's final, self-titled album arrived in January via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

"Megadeth" debuted at the top of the U.S. album chart after earning 73,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending January 29, according to Luminate. The bulk of that sum was driven by pure album sales (purchases of physical and digital copies of the album),totaling 69,000.

MEGADETH also claimed the top spot in Australia (highest previous position No. 2) and Austria (highest previous position No. 8). Other top five spots included No. 2 in Finland (and No. 1 physical),Sweden (plus No. 1 physical; highest previous position No. 9),and Belgium (highest previous position: No. 6); No. 3 in both the U.K. and Germany (highest previous position No. 6); No. 4 in the Netherlands (highest previous position No. 7); and No. 5 in both Italy (highest previous position No. 15) and New Zealand (highest chart position ever).