Ex-MEGADETH Guitarist CHRIS POLAND On Working With DAVE MUSTAINE In The Studio: 'He Never Told Anybody What To Do'

In a new interview with Greg Prato of Ultimate Guitar, former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Poland was asked what it was like to work with Dave Mustaine in the studio and whether the MEGADETH leader demanded very specific solos of him. Chris responded: "[Dave] never told anybody what to do, really. I mean, sometimes he would say, 'Can you go in an upper register?' after I'd maybe try to solo three or four times. And he's like, 'Can you go up there?' But it was never, like, 'Okay, you're gonna start here and then you're gonna do this.' It was never like that. And then with 'The System Has Failed', it was fun. I'm pretty sure he was sober. It was a good experience. Except — I don't want to get into what happened, but he was remixing all the records, and we all know the story. But anyway, I had a lot of fun. It was really great working with [engineer] Ralph Patlan. He's just a consummate pro, man."

As for what it was like playing on MEGADETH's "The System Has Failed" albums compared to the band's first two LPs, Poland said: "Well, first of all, I was sober. And second of all, I was in an environment with a really good studio and a really good producer. Not that Randy Burns wasn't really good, but this was all next level, you know? And in my own stuff, I have to record my stuff in my studio with whatever I got. So being in that environment, I was, like, 'Wow, this is awesome.' Got this great console. Ralph Patlan had a 50-watt '60s Plexi Head Marshall with a matching cabinet. It was perfect."

Nearly three years ago, Poland has 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 the past couple of decades, Poland's main musical focus has been the fusion band OHM:, which has released several full-length studio albums to date.