DAVE MUSTAINE: Why I Turned Down METALLICA's ROCK HALL Invitation

April 3, 2009

In an interview conducted by Daniel Josefsson of Sweden's Close-Up magazine on February 28, 2009 at the Stockholm stop on MEGADETH's "Priest Feast" tour (with JUDAS PRIEST and TESTAMENT),the band's mainman Dave Mustaine revealed some of the details of his upcoming autobiography, which is tentatively scheduled for release in late 2010. The book is being co-written by New York Times journalist Joe Layden who also wrote "The Last Great Fight", which takes readers behind the scenes of what is considered by many to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing: James "Buster" Douglas' tenth-round knockout win over Mike Tyson in 1990.

When asked about the difficulty of writing a 100% honest autobiography, Mustaine replied, "If you're going to write an autobiography, everything has to be included — the good and happy moments, as well as the hard times. You can't leave anything out. As of right now, we have covered everything up until halfway through the METALLICA years, so I guess now is when the more delicate stuff will come. On the other hand, if a musician writes an autobiography and it doesn't include any sexual perversion or debauchery, then it's not an honest story. I think a lot of people are going to by shocked by some of the chapters. But I have no choice — either I write about everything, or nothing at all. This is basically a story of human interest, it's much more than just 'Dave from MEGADETH.' There has been a lot of people that have tried to stop me, but they can't. Over the years, I have learned to cherish both my friends and my enemies. So it's a story about a guy that has been lifted up and then kicked down again, and I think it will show very clearly that I never give up."

In the Close-Up interview — which was one of the very few that the MEGADETH frontman gave during the recently completed European tour — Mustaine also offered the real reason he decided to turn down METALICA's invitation to their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony (which is being held tomorrow at Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium).

"I think Lars [Ulrich] and James [Hetfield] handled it very well, and I'm glad I was invited," Mustaine said. "But I turned it down partly because I'm on tour and partly because if I'm going to be there, I would like to be inducted along with them. I don't want to go there just as an invited guest. You know, anyone can be invited to these things."

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