DAVE MUSTAINE Says He 'Forgave' METALLICA A Long Time Ago

Mark Voger of the Asbury Park Press recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. A few excerpts follow:

On his 2002 arm injury:

"That changed things. I really started to do some introspection. I was brought up in the church. I just decided to recommit myself and straighten the way I do business and handle myself as a husband and a parent — to enjoy my career a bit more than just walking around with a chip on my shoulder."

On whether he's forgiven METALLICA, from which he was fired in 1983:

"A long time ago. It's just like anything in life. We ebb and flow and we grow, and sometimes we regress. I think it's really cheap journalism when people bring up the feud to try and goad me into saying something."

Are you accusing us of cheap journalism, Dave?

"No, no, no. You didn't say it like a punk, so it's OK. Your question is really relevant. I find it's hardest to forgive the people who you love the most, or on the flip-side, have hurt you the most."

On whether he is still clean and sober:

"The answer is no. Am I a drug addict? Am I loaded right now? No. Am I still in AA? No, I'm not. But it worked for me, to get me to a place of enlightenment where I realized I needed to go much deeper inside myself and really confront a lot of the things that I was doing."
On the band's new album, "United Abominations":

"The lyrical content is going to be misinterpreted immediately, because it always is. Some of the songs are pretty acerbic, but it's fiction. Like, 'Sleepwalker'. How many people get to go around exacting revenge on people while they're asleep? We all have girlfriends and people that do stupid stuff to us. As soon as you get into that realm of sleep, it's like: We're all equal."

On touring with HEAVEN AND HELL (a reunited lineup of BLACK SABBATH):

"I respect them, but I grew up more on LED ZEPPELIN than BLACK SABBATH. But for me, it's fun to be there to be respectful to these legends. Being around these guys is kind of nostalgic. They were making records when I was just a kid. In order to go from being a headliner like MEGADETH to being a support group — it's gotta be for the right reasons."