Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine once walked out of emergency neck surgery because Metallica’s manager had insulted him.
The singer and guitarist shared the story during an appearance on Steve-O‘s Wild Ride! podcast, revealing that the situation arose during the 2010-2011 ‘Big Four’ tour that included the two bands, as well as Anthrax and Slayer.
“I remember we were scheduled to play Yankee Stadium [in New York] with the Big Four concert the day that they found out I needed my neck to be fused together,” Mustaine explained.
“And so I’m laying on the emergency table and my manager says, ‘Oh, Metallica’s manager called you a pussy because you’re going to get your neck fused together and you’re not going to come out here and play instead.’”
Describing the comment as “a gutless thing to say”, Mustaine sat up from the surgeon’s table at the last possible moment, asked to be injected with “steroids and shit”, and went to play the show. “But it turned out great as far as healing is concerned,” he added.
Mustaine required the surgery on two vertebrae after sustaining stenosis, which he attributes to decades of headbanging. “I don’t plan on headbanging for another 30 years,” he said. “I’m already 63, so I figure, you know, if I play another five to 10 years, 15 years, whatever, then that’s a good run.”
Mustaine was in fact the original lead guitarist of Metallica, but left before they recorded their debut album ‘Kill ‘Em All’ in 1983 after being fired for behaviour while intoxicated.
In other news, Mustaine must reportedly pay his own former manager Corey Brennan over $1.4million (£1.1million) in a new legal settlement after he allegedly “unexpectedly and unceremoniously terminated” a contract, “stating no reason for the termination”.
The frontman also recently said Peter Frampton was “talking out of his ass” when he blamed Megadeth for one of his recent shows being cancelled. They had pulled a show in Richmond, Virginia in September “due to unexpected and unpredictable circumstances” and Frampton also axed his concert in the same venue two days later.
In August, Megadeth performed their song ‘Liar’ live for the first time since 2006 during a show in California.
Over the summer, the band’s newest bassist James LoMenzo also revealed that Megadeth were “actively” working on new music. It came after Megadeth split with longtime bassist David Ellefson in light of allegations against him.
Metallica, meanwhile, will extend their M72 tour into 2025 with a run of US shows with Pantera and Limp Bizkit. They will also play the Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas next April.
