¨You’re out of the band, Dave!¨  Metallica band leader James Hetfield delivered the news to Dave Mustaine on April 11, 1983.  They already hired his replacement, who still plays with them to this day. Dave had been a member of the band since 1981 when they formed.  But why was he released? Keep reading to find out.

The heavy metal band Metallica was formed in 1981. The original group consisted of vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, bassist Cliff Burton, and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. However, Mustaine’s tenure in Metallica would not last long. They replaced him with current guitarist, Kirk Hammett. And although Mustaine helped write a few songs for the band, Hammett is considered an original, because he is featured on all of the albums.

But just why was Dave Mustaine fired? Well, all the band members liked to party, and would drink smaller amounts of alcohol.  Mustaine, on the other hand, had a ¨problem¨, so to speak. See, it was not only the quantity he consumed, but also what happened when he drank. While the others would misbehave a bit, Dave became unhinged after drinking. ¨If somebody refuted something I said, it was war¨  Mustaine once stated.

This went on for a little while, and one day, Cliff, Lars, and James decided that that it was enough. They told Mustaine, and he was most likely unhappy, also that they hired  Kirk Hammett,the replacement, already. Now that Dave was out of work, he formed a new band. One to compete with his former. His new band, Megadeth, he formed along with bassist David Ellefson. Although not as popular as Metallica, Megadeth (spelled incorrectly on purpose, I assume) became big as well, selling 38 million records worldwide, platinum certification on six of fifteen albums, and twelve Grammy Award nominations. They won their first Grammy in 2017, for ¨Dystopia¨, in the best metal song category.

So, being fired turned out to not be the end, but a new beginning for Mustaine. Dave made the best out of the situation, and Megadeth had many hits. He and his new bandmates made Megadeth a success. Decades later, Metallica and Megadeth are the biggest metal bands. But, where would Dave be if Metallica never fired him?