MEGADETH's Outspoken DAVE MUSTAINE Spreads 'Abomination'

Dave Wedge of BostonHerald.com recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. A couple of excerpts follow:

On the fact that he's waged high-profile verbal warfare with a who's who of heavy metal, including members of METALLICA, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, PANTERA and SLAYER:

"It isn't neccessarily always comfortable, but it's a right I have as an American to say what I think."

On his bizarre arm injury in 2002 that left Mustaine unable to play guitar:

"Having my arm get injured and coming back through the therapy was exciting for me. When I couldn't play guitar, I was like 'What do I do?' It was difficult."

On his latest CD, "United Abominations", an anti-war opus that builds on the politically tinged metal of 'DETH classics "Peace Sells . . . But Who's Buying?" and "Countdown to Extinction":

"A lot of the ideas came from the news, surfing between CNN and Fox. We can make a difference. We totally can, by being a voice for a generation and encouraging (fans) to be a part of the solution, not part of the problem.

"It's really easy to go around with bumper stickers and slogans, but what are you really doing? What are you doing to make things better?"

On the recently fired radio shock jock Don Imus:

"You can't make statements like that when you're an announcer. What (Imus) said was just mean-spirited. The bottom line is, if you treat people the way they want to be treated, we wouldn't be dealing with this stuff."

On being considered one of metal's true pioneers:

"As I go out there and play, there's a period where I can almost detach myself from what I'm doing and look around the audience and see how people are doing. When I see how they're smiling and getting off, that excites me."