When DAVE MUSTAINE Was Surprised By METALLICA's JAMES HETFIELD: 'I Didn't Think He Knew How to Play'

Dave Mustaine didn’t always see James Hetfield as a guitarist. In fact, the first time he saw Hetfield pick up a guitar, he was genuinely surprised.

The Megadeth frontman shared this moment in a 2023 interview with Metal Hammer, reflecting on the early days of Metallica, long before either band became a household name in heavy metal.

Early rehearsals

In the early 1980s, Metallica was just getting started. The lineup was still unstable, and the band was figuring out its sound. Hetfield, best known today as Metallica’s frontman and rhythm guitarist, was at the time mostly focused on singing.

Mustaine explained that during those early rehearsals, Hetfield wasn’t even playing guitar regularly.

“Watching James play guitar for the first time was kind of shocking,” Mustaine said. “I didn’t know he knew how to play guitar.”

According to him, they had spent too much time auditioning rhythm guitarists without success. Eventually, Hetfield picked up a guitar out of frustration, and that’s when Mustaine had his moment of realization.

“He picked up this guitar and started playing, and inside I’m going, ‘Get the @#$% out of here. How can you possibly be satisfied being a singer when you play like that? Why not be both?’ I’ve always thought he was a really talented guitarist.”

Playing to Lars’s level

Mustaine also commented on his own musicianship during his time in Metallica. He described himself as still developing as a player and said his performances were shaped by Lars Ulrich’s drumming, which he considered a work in progress.

“When I was in Metallica, I was kind of playing at Lars’s level,” Mustaine said. “Because Lars was still learning to play drums back then.”

This wasn’t an insult, just a reflection of where the band was creatively and technically at the time. Everyone was still learning, still finding their place in the group.

No hard feelings

The history between Mustaine and Metallica is well documented and, at times, has been anything but friendly. Mustaine was famously kicked out of Metallica in 1983, which led him to form Megadeth. The split was filled with tension and rivalry, but more recently, Mustaine has softened his tone when talking about his former bandmates.

In the same Metal Hammer interview, he praised Hetfield’s rhythm guitar skills. And in a separate June 2023 interview with Guitar World, he even had kind words for Kirk Hammett, the guitarist who replaced him in Metallica.

Mustaine was asked what he thought of Hammett’s lead work on Metallica’s 2023 album 72 Seasons. Instead of criticizing it, he acknowledged Hammett’s consistency and the pressure that comes with being a high-profile guitarist.

“There was a time when Kirk won every guitar contest in the world,” Mustaine said. “And I don’t think he’s gotten any better or worse as a player. He’s always been really good… he’s been steady the entire time he’s been in Metallica.”

Cliff Burton’s early impact

Scott Ian of Anthrax also weighed in on those early Metallica days in a separate memory. He recalled a time when Mustaine was still in the band and they were working on the material that would later become the album Kill ‘Em All.

Ian said he was blown away by the energy and tightness of the band, even in such an early stage.

“This is when Mustaine was still in the band,” Ian recalled, “and they started playing the songs that were going to be on Kill ‘Em All. The energy was just insane, I had never heard songs like that and a band that tight.”

He also singled out the late bassist Cliff Burton for his intensity during rehearsals.

“There’s Cliff banging his head like he’s playing for 10,000 people in an arena,” Ian said, “and it’s just them and three of us sitting on the floor drinking beer. And he was going for it like it was the last show he was ever going to play or something.”

Looking back

Digging up these old stories shows how much of early Metallica was trial, error, and dumb luck. One minute they’re stuck auditioning nobodies, the next Hetfield picks up a guitar and flips the script.

Daves’s beef with the band has cooled, at least in public (I think…Maybe?!). He’s still Dave, but lately he’s been more into tipping the hat than throwing punches. Perhaps it’s just easier than rehashing old fights.

That one surprise, Hetfield turning out to be a proper guitarist, didn’t feel like a turning point then, but it ended up being one. No drama, no big reveal. Just one more puzzle piece snapping into place before the real chaos started. 🤘

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