Dave Mustaine Addresses Megadeth’s Many Lineup Changes: ‘With Every One, There Was Legitimate Reason’

Dave Mustaine reflected on the course of his and Megadeth’s career, stressing that the band went through each lineup change for a good reason.

Over the years, the iconic thrash metal band has seen many lineups that left an indelible mark on heavy rock history. From the early days with David Ellefson on bass, Gar Samuelson on drums and Chris Poland on guitars, through the “classic” period featuring world-known virtuoso Marty Friedman and the late drummer Nick Menza, all the way to the current, post-David Ellefson and post-Kiko Loureiro era with Teemu Mäntysaari as his successor and James LoMenzo & Dirk Verbeuren as the rhythm section, each period was marked by plenty of bangers, and plenty of uniquely talented players.

However, Dave Mustaine, the band’s leader and only member who’s been through every bit of it, suggested in a recent interview with The Big Takeover that persisting for over four decades in the business wasn’t even on his mind when Megadeth was only starting out, let alone the success it would eventually come to enjoy:

“In my heart, I had hoped that I could continue playing for as long as I live. The question was, how long was I going to live? We were all in this [L.A.] scene at the time that everybody was living super fast and dangerous. People like [Mötley Crüe singer] Vince Neil getting in a car crash and the drummer for Hanoi Rocks losing his life, that whole period around then — everybody was just dangerous. We had to get away from that. All I wanted to do was just play my guitar. I didn’t want to hang. I was not one of those guys that would go over to people’s houses and party all night. If I was doing anything, I would do it by myself in the house and play guitar. Not that I was alone in my house, but you know.”

He added: