Dave Mustaine is a world-renowned guitar player, but if you aren’t into heavy metal music, you may not be very familiar with him — or his platinum-selling band, Megadeth.
Mustaine has done it all in the rock world, and over a career that has spanned nearly three decades, he has earned his status and a legend and a warrior of rock. It seems fitting that Activision tapped Mustaine and Megadeth to compose an original exclusive track for their latest title in the Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
After speaking with Mustaine, it’s clear his genuine passion for all things rock, including video games, has driven him throughout his incredible career and has now found its way into millions of homes worldwide in the form of “Sudden Death,” the featured track in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
Mustaine and the other members of the band came into the project looking to bring their own flair and style to the Guitar Hero franchise, and they soon discovered the game has a lot more to offer than people think.
“The goal when we went to the studio was to bring something to the game and we also wound up getting something out of the game while supporting the hugely-popular franchise,” Mustaine said.
Mustaine’s involvement with the franchise not only adds to the experience, it also opens a whole new door to a generation that may not be familiar with the shredding ways of Megadeth and other similar bands.
“Oh yeah, I definitely think Guitar Hero has opened the music world to a new group of people, musicians and non-musicians alike. No matter what your experience is, it’s not that difficult to just pick up and play,” Mustaine said.
Even if your music tastes are more geared towards softer rock, Mustaine says Guitar Hero can turn you on to the band and amp things to a whole new level, like only a rock star like Mustaine could do.
“The truth is, if you’re a music fan and you don’t like Megadeth, which I find hard to imagine, ‘Sudden Death’ can take things to a higher level for you,” he said.
Mustaine’s work on the game was widely approved by the developers, who he said came with him to the studio and when he offered “this part and that part,” that they ate it up and said they wanted it all.
But how does a rock star the caliber of Mustaine get to this level of superstardom? It wasn’t the easiest of roads. In his new book, “Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir,” Mustaine details the highs and lows of his career, which began in the early 1980s with Metallica and has culminated in the creation of one of the most influential and successful metal bands in the world.
Mustaine has battled through substance abuse, alcoholism, feuds with fellow rock stars, a debilitating arm injury and the normal stresses of being a rock star and has come out on top, with God by his side.
“I don’t know if we ever get over it (substance abuse problems), for someone who has flirted with life and death and flirted with drug abuse and alcoholism, something gets broken and you never really recover from that. I was in Texas when I looked up and saw a cross and said to myself, ‘What have I got to lose,’ those six little words were magic and they changed me,” he said.
After overcoming all of those hardships and experiencing success, Mustaine remains grounded in his family life and is happy to be working with some heavy metal legends from his past.
He said he is blessed for all he’s achieved and that his crowning achievement was becoming a father. He is happy to be working with his old friends on the upcoming release of the Big 4 DVD set, featuring Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. He even said that Lars Ulrich, the drummer for Metallica, sent him a text and the reviews for the set have been all good so far.
As far as what’s next for Megadeth, the band will start touring in New Zealand and Australia alongside NOFX and Dropkick Murphys as part of the “No Sleep Til” tour, and they will continue to pump out new music for the fans.
“We want to continue to put out quality stuff. Think of Megadeth as the Ferrari franchise, each year they put out the same car, but you never know what it’s going to look like and you’re just along for the ride,” Mustaine said.
In terms of what he would like to do before it is all said and done, Mustaine has some pretty lofty goals.
“I don’t know, what haven’t I done, walk on the moon? Actually, I hear Richard Branson has this new jet that can punch a hole in the atmosphere and do atmospheric travel. If it gets me to Sydney in two hours, sign me up!”
Some may think those are crazy aspirations, but what else would you expect from a rockstar?