Ex-MEGADETH Guitarist CHRIS POLAND Says DAVE MUSTAINE Is 'Still Writing Riffs Today That Are F***ing Good': He's The Riff Master'

In a new interview with the Heavy Metal Mayhem radio show, former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Poland discussed the evolution of his relationship with the band's leader Dave Mustaine. Poland said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Me and Dave lived together in a rehearsal studio [in the early days of MEGADETH]. We took 'bird baths' with cold water in a sink for a year. And then we toured repeatedly. We were together all the time. We were a real band when MEGADETH first started. And once that happens, everybody kind of becomes brothers. And I know Dave said terrible shit about me [in the later years], but I don't hold a grudge. And I understand. I know how Dave is. I know Dave. That's how he is. He says stuff off the top of his head, and I'm sure regrets it later."

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".

"When [Dave] asked me to play on 'The System Has Failed', I was, like, 'Yeah, I'll play on that. Of course I will,'" Poland told Heavy Metal Mayhem. "And then the funny thing was, [it was] the same vibe that I got from the first two records. There's something about when he writes riffs and I play over 'em — there's some kind of weird magic, man."

Asked about the freedom he had to contribute his ideas to MEGADETH's music in the band's early days, Poland said: "The way it was with Dave was if you played something and he didn't tell you not to play it, then you could play it. So when I did the descending harmonies on 'Peace Sells' or I added some kind of minor note in a chord here or there, and he didn't say, 'Hey, don't play that,' then I'd play it. But as far as writing, Dave wrote everything. All I did was play with a note here and there, or a harmony. But that's the thing about Mustaine — I mean, he's still writing riffs today that are fucking good. [Laughs] He's the riff master."

Reflecting on how he joined MEGADETH in the first place, Chris said: "It was kind of [early MEGADETH drummer] Gar [Samuelson] that asked me to join MEGADETH. He was, like, 'You should join, man. This is awesome.' And we had just come out of a fusion band with a pretty high difficulty factor. And Mustaine's music I didn't feel was metal. There was something about it that didn't strike me as it — I know it was heavy, but it wasn't just banging out three-chord metal songs. It was really articulate and really well thought-out. And the arrangements were — I mean, the first two records, that's serious music, man. That's not just metal. So I was totally intrigued. And then, of course, I had to go where Gar went, man, 'cause I had been playing with Gar my whole life."

Poland added: "The way I looked at [MEGADETH's music] was, 'This is fast LED ZEPPELIN.' And that's the way I looked at it. I had a decent idea of how to get a good distorted sound, and so when the pedaling got involved, I just adapted to it. And then, of course, his spider chord thing. I learned a lot from Dave."

Poland previously looked back on his time with MEGADETH during a May 2025 appearance on "The David Ellefson Show" video podcast, hosted by former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. Chris said at the time:  "I have no regrets about everything that's happened — except one. I regret that Mustaine for years would go on stage and call me a liar. I never really thought much about it, but then I did the math and I realized that's why things were so hard for me to try and get deals. I walked into Carvin [guitars] one day and I thought, 'You know what? These guitars aren't bad. I wanna talk to their A&R guy.' So I spoke to the guy and he goes, 'Dude, we don't use people like you on our roster.' So, I was, like, 'Oh, okay.' So I have a feeling that Dave's anger with me about what it was really was like dragging around a fucking 50-pound ball all the time — back then."

Ellefson chimed in: "Well, look, he did it to [another former MEGADETH guitarist] Jeff Young. There was some derogatory comment [Dave made] that kept [Jeff] from getting work for a long time. I could say the same was attempted at me. Fortunately, I just kept moving. I just kept going and was, like, 'All right, I'm just gonna ignore that comment and keep moving.'"

David continued: "It's interesting. There's always been a lot of these 'former MEGADETH members unite' [situations]. And it's not an intentional thing. It's not. In fact, when I was going back to MEGADETH [16 years ago], Jeff was really taking an issue over Dave [saying in interviews that Mustaine was] whistling or singing guitar solos to him [while Jeff was in the band] or something, and it was a public thing. And he is going, 'Come on, we gotta unite.' And I said, 'Hey, Jeff. I just got home from San Diego. I literally just rejoined MEGADETH.' And this was 2010. And I remember Dave came to me about it, and I said, 'I'll handle it. I'll take care of it.' And I made it go away — as I do. Because that's just part of — I don't know — part of the gift I've been given on this planet. It's, like, we're gonna come to peaceful terms, we're gonna make that go away, and we're all gonna just move on."

Added Chris: "It's not sour grapes or anything. It's just it finally dawned on me just how much damage that really did."

Four years ago, Poland 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?'"

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."

Photo credit: Melody Myers (courtesy of O'Donnell Media Group)