DAVE MUSTAINE On His Acrimonious Relationship With Some Ex-MEGADETH Members: 'People That Get Fired Are Very Rarely Happy That They Got Fired'

In a new interview with Riff X's "Metal XS", MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine spoke about the acrimonious relationship that exists between him and some of the former members of the band, including musicians who have not played with him for decades. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think you've gotta look at the whole story. People that get fired are very rarely happy that they got fired. Sometimes they're happy they got fired because they didn't want to have to quit but they don't wanna work there anymore and they needed a reason to quit.

"We've had a lot of people that have been playing with us over the years and we've maintained our friendships, and there are a couple that are very bitter, and usually the story has been played out in the press from when it happens in reality and then how long a person will keep bringing up those old stories," he continued. "Usually, they bring up stuff about me or about MEGADETH whenever they've got a new project or they've got some concerts coming up or a new record, they'll try and pick a fight with me. And I just figure, a dog with no teeth barks the loudest. So, I don't really let people that complain about us or talk shit about our performance abilities or the songs that we write matter.

"The guys that we've been able to maintain friendships with, and there's a lot of them, we've been able to discuss why things happened the way that they did. I miss Gar [Samuelson], I miss Nick [Menza]. Chris Poland and I, we settled things and there's no problems there. The second lineup with Jeff [Young] and Chuck [Behler], Chuck and I are really close, and I've always said I thought that Jeff Young was a good performer. The ultimate lineup that everybody likes is the 'Rust In Peace' lineup with Nick and Marty [Friedman]. And you see how Marty and I [are]; we just played together. So, you have to look at the guys that are talking badly about me and say, 'Okay, there's more to this story.' 'Cause if you go up to Jimmy DeGrasso or to Al Pitrelli or any of those guys, I'm sure they'd say the same thing, that we had a good run together. I got a get-well message from Shawn Drover when I had made the announcement that I had cancer. I only know of maybe one or two people from our past that have any problems with our band. And usually they won't say anything about the other guys; they'll say it about me. And believe it or not, there are more people in the press that have a problem with me than any bands out there.

"We just did a show recently, and I just got done saying that I had bronchitis," Mustaine added. "And we got a review, and the guy did a pretty fair review; I think that he gave us three and a half stars, and I think I probably should have got less for how my voice sounded because I was sick. Now, that wasn't fair to the band, 'cause the band, they played great. And I think that was kind of one of the sheep that follows the other band, that just don't like me because of who I played with before MEGADETH, you know? And that's sad sometimes because I don't think it's fair for the band guys to have to experience other people's bitterness because they follow the other band. 'Cause there's a lot of people that don't like MEGADETH or don't like me, and they don't even know me. And that's kind of funny to me, but it's also sad 'cause I would hate to miss out on really great music.

"I heard a band today on TV, and it was on a French channel. I would not normally have ever watched it, and I'd seen their name a lot. And I never realized how fucking cool they were. I'm not gonna say their name because I wanna make sure it's more than just one song, because I'd hate for them to have a song about, you know, going out and killing baby seals or something. [Laughs]"

MEGADETH has already played more than half a dozen concerts with new touring guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari (WINTERSUN, SMACKBOUND). Teemu is filling in for the band's longtime axeman Kiko Loureiro, who announced earlier this month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland.

MEGADETH played its first show with Mäntysaari on September 6 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The 36-year-old Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

In April 2015, it was announced that Loureiro had joined MEGADETH, replacing Chris Broderick, who had left the band five months earlier.

In addition to Mustaine andLoureiro, MEGADETH's current lineup includes former SOILWORK drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.