Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir – The New York Times Bestselling Rock Biography of Firing, Founding, and Survival

No doubt that Dave Mustaine is one of the most famous (and infamous) men in metal and in the music industry. He's got some amazing stories to tell. Of course you'd expect that, given he invented a whole genre of music. In his book he certainly delivers great stories and history. What's really refreshing is that this book provides a great deal of candid introspection along with those stories. He even goes so far as to point out his *own* mistakes that precipitated his own exit from a band he helped create - Metallica. Those of you who are hoping for ammunition to defend Metallica in this book will be sorely disappointed. If anything, people will probably have a renewed level of contempt for Lars Ulrich after reading this it (and in my opinion, rightfully so). Dave provides amazing detail of his upbringing, his life as a child, his discovering music.. and discovering various forms of self-medication to cope with his upbringing and childhood. These all paint a picture that - while at times bleak - also explains the drive behind his creative process and the source of inspiration for his lyrics. Now at this point you could say that the book sounds like another "don't let this happen to you" story. Well, maybe in some ways - and I'm sure Dave would be glad if it kept at least ONE person from going down the path he did. I think the difference is that, at the core of all of the insanity around him, there was still a basic sense of decency that was instilled in him. So as he grew personally and spiritually, and learned to be more introspective, you see the person who continues to deliver in the music business time and time again. Dave talks also very candidly about his conversion to Christianity - very much a 'full circle' story given his beginning as Lutheran-baptized Jehovah's Witness (ugh.. talk about craziness). He acknowledges that this, along with his wife, Pam, and his family, gave him the strength to find in himself the will to fight and get over addiction once and for all. Without her I seriously do not think he would have survived as long as he has. Talk about a woman with amazing strength. A great read that I couldn't put down once I started. And Dave, don't worry about the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Seriously.. you WANT to be in a place that they let Lars Ulrich into??!

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. You see, I grew up a Megadeth fan only to lose track of them along the way. Their first 5 records were albums that shaped my high school and college years, but I fell off the bus sometime around the "Crush 'em" era. Those first 5 records defined a genre! And, as a fan, nobody likes to see interchangeable parts within their favorite "band." You draw close to the guys that make up the band, not just the guy up front. I dug into "So Far, So Good..." thinking maybe Megadeth finally solidified the lineup. Then was duped again thinking, ok, finally, the "Rust In Peace" lineup IS Megadeth. I was trying to hang in there and cling to this band. But, for all intents and purposes, it was some 8 or 10 band members later that I realized, this isn't a band! Megadeth is Mustaine, and should have just been called Mustaine from "Killing is my Business.." on. What ticks me off further is that Mustaine alludes to all the pent up anger and animosity towards Metallica's business decision to dismiss him from the band, yet he acknowledges what makes bands stay together: camaraderie and PARTNERSHIP! He cites the longevity of U2; I'll add Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters to the list of bands that form a partnership, share publishing royalties (even disproportionately), and become a band. How could Dave Ellefson dedicate 25 years of his life to a band and not become a partner? I've seen lawyers give 1/5 of the sweat equity at national firms and earn partner status. For as candid of a journey as this book is, I got exponentially more ticked with Mustaine's bullheaded-ness.. Regardless, the book was great. It was well written, a fascinating read, and for some reason, after seeing Megadeth (ahem, Mustaine) over the last 5 years, I've grown very fond of them again. I just saw the "Big 4" in Indio, and Dave just seems to be grateful, content, and smug in a "this-band-kicks-a..' way. "Endgame" is a great record and I'm proud to be a fan again. The book details in depth Dave's upbringing and drug problems, to the point where you just can't fathom him riding the same rollercoaster over and over. His deep rooted Metallica-angst is thorough, the inner-band squabbling is revealing, and the personal life of Dave's high and low points with his family is candid to be sure. Finally, Dave's ultimate (seemingly) happiness is attributed to finding god and resolving conflicts with former band members, friends, and his wife. So as tragic as this could have turned out, I found myself even more thrilled to be a Mustaine fan.. and to know that he's healthy and alive. I'm proud of the guy, and frankly, when I dug up the "No Life Til Leather" EP on You Tube, it is very obvious that Dave helped shape the genesis of Metallica, and a genre as well. As Metallica gets sloppier (Lars is unbearable these days), Megadeth gets tighter. Now, if he could welcome Junior as a parter, give the current guys a vested interest, then "Mustaine" becomes "Megadeth".. and we embrace Megadeth with Peace Sells-like fervor for years to come.

Originally posted here: [...]. I've never considered myself a huge fan of Megadeth. Their earlier albums always seemed to be very inconsistent in terms of quality, and their mid-era commercial attempts were mostly terrible. There are exceptions of course, Rust in Peace is easily one of the best thrash albums of all time and Endgame is just about equal (and sometimes better, depending on my mood) - but this isn't about me and isn't really about Megadeth either. This is about Dave Mustaine; the man that has had the great fortune of being part of two of the biggest metal bands of the last thirty years. He's also the man that everyone has loved to hate due to his tendency to speak his mind and treat fellow band mates as if they were totally expendable (in hindsight one could argue that they really have been). If anyone in the metal community has lived a life that is worthy of having a book written about him, it is Dave Mustaine. The man has dealt with drug use, the stigma of being dropped from Metallica, the total rise to prominence in Megadeth, accidents, multiple member changes and a slew of other things that the average person would never even know about - that is until now. Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir is a very entertaining trip through Dave Mustaine's turbulent life beginning with his childhood and ending shortly before the release of their latest album Endgame. The book is very well-written in the sarcastic, crass - yet generally intelligent - style that Dave Mustaine is known for. He rarely holds anything back and tells things exactly the way he sees them; which will often elicit a chuckle due to the dry humor that he injects into every facet of his life. He also seems to be keenly aware of his target audience because he never strays too far from the musical aspects of his life. To that end, one need not worry about being subjected to an overly-long therapy session about how Dave Mustaine wasn't hugged enough as a child. In fact, the brief portions about his childhood are basically just used to present the few experiences that stuck with Dave throughout his life before quickly moving into his teen years and the beginning of his musical and spiritual journey. I make sure to include "spiritual" because every fan should know by now that it took Dave Mustaine finding god in order to finally kick the multitude of addictions that he has carried with him throughout his life. Due to this, God and religion come up fairly often over the course of the book - from his complete opposition to religion in the beginning to his eventual "awakening" later in life. What he never does, though, is use his book as a pulpit to preach of God or religion; an element that could have turned a lot of his fans off if it had been overdone. In fact, he doesn't try to push any morals on his readers at all. When he speaks of his drug use or his other indiscretions, he includes the bad with the good and leaves it to the reader to make a final judgment. He will occasionally use hindsight to reflect on his past, but the judgments he makes are his own and he never tries to apply them in any kind of broad manner. For those that are interested in the man behind the music, this book will not disappoint. It presents, along with all of the gory details, Dave's time with Metallica, the various member changes within Megadeth, his drug use, family problems, religious struggles, label struggles as well as random amusing stories that simply demonstrate the crazy life that he has lead. There are great stories involving his days dealing drugs after being kicked from his mom's house, and his few attempts to get "real" jobs that never really panned out. Of course, his time with Metallica is meticulously detailed, and there is actually quite a good build-up to his eventual dismissal. It's also quite cool to learn about where the band name came from and how certain songs/events came to pass. Most interesting, though, is the fact that Dave Mustaine never misses an opportunity to specifically mention those people that have helped him throughout his life including Danny Lilker (ex-Anthrax). There are actually only a few minor complaints that I have with this book. In the beginning, the circumstances surrounding every album are presented in quite a bit of detail but by the time of Youthanasia things start to be condensed considerably. By the time we get to The System has Failed it almost feels like more of a footnote than any kind of actual album history. Granted, by that point the debauchery had pretty much faded and this is a book about Dave Mustaine the man not Dave Mustaine's band, but it still felt a bit lacking. To that same end, I also wish that he would have maybe given a bit of additional information about what happened to his various band mates after being removed - but, again, it is a book about Dave Mustaine not the various footnotes in his life. The only other issue I had was with a few omissions involving Chris Poland. Chris Poland was a big part of Dave's early life and had more influence over him than most might be aware of, but he isn't even mentioned during the Rust in Peace sessions, and barely mentioned during The World Needs a Hero era. I would have been interested to read about how it was Chris came back for those two albums and why it was he eventually left again. Overall, Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir is everything that I hoped it could be. It details all of the major events of Dave Mustaine's life without holding back the gory details. When something is Dave's fault he owns up to it and when it's someone else's fault he doesn't hesitate to point it out. Even for those that don't really care to read about Dave Mustaine's life, quite a bit of the book is actually devoted to the events surrounding the creation of Megadeth's first six albums. I'm willing to bet that more than a few fans would be interested to read about the thought process behind Risk[ or the whirlwind of events surrounding the band's original line-up. Basically, Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir has something for even the most apathetic of Megadeth fans and is written in a very entertaining manner thanks to the dry humor and no-holds-barred attitude of Dave Mustaine.

I found this book totally engaging and a great read. Not just a great rock bio, simply a top biography. Some context: I never listened to Megadeth. I heard of them, of course. Frankly, when Metallica got big, I didn't like the music much and wrote off the whole genre (sorry, Dave). On the upside, I have three decades of music to "binge listen" to, so it's not all bad.** The point is, I bring no biases to this. I have no dog in the fight of Mustaine v. Metallica or Mustaine v. ... well, everyone else. I'm not mad about this or that musician that left or got kicked out of the band. I found the book on a list of top rock biographies, and it sounded interesting. It is insightful and honest. It's got the gory details of rock life and plenty of behind the scenes with the band. The writing is insightful, honest, sometimes funny, sometimes crude -- but always very real and very fast-paced. With other rock bios I've read, I've skipped large portions of boringness. There's none of that here. The narrator -- which is Mustaine in middle age -- is likable and honest. The younger, often substance-addicted, always intense Mustaine can be quite the bad guy. He cops to that. But the book tells it like it was. So when he relates the tale of another musician, it's not gossipy or mean-spirited. It's just his honest observations and thoughts at the time and the simple truth. In any case, I came away liking the guy. Put this on your list of bios to read. You won't be disappointed. ** I've now got at least six songs on my Megadeth playlist. Still no Metallica.

I have been a long time fan of Megadeth, and particularly Dave Mustaine. But have no fear; this review is without bias. I have a great respect for Dave Mustaine in a way that only guitar players can have respect for a man who plays chops like he does. I believe what Dave allowed the public to learn about him through his memoir was as honest and heartfelt as a person can get. While reading his memoir, I wondered a few times if Dave questioned whether or not he should delete certain scenes, because they may be too ebarrassing or invite too much criticism. I can't tell you how happy I am that so many long awaited questions have been answered. The author did a great job of not only writing a rich presentation, worthy of keeping my interest from front to back, but was able to amazingly convey Dave's personality through the narative and dialogue. While reading, all kinds of emotions surfaced. I laughed (at times hysterically), I felt anger, I felt enthused, and most of all...relieved. You have to read it to understand. I remember the day I read the article that revealed Dave's unfortunate ailment with his left arm. I slumped in my chair and thought, "No, this cannot be happening!" I knew there was so much more that this man had to offer us, me. I have been playing guitar for twenty years, and there are still rythems I cannot play the way he does, not lead solos, but rythems. That should be a testement to Dave's pure talent. All of this is conveyed in the book. I wish that Metallica fans would read this book for a better understanding of what went down. As I read, I felt like I was reliving the last twenty years. I remember many specific instances wrote about. With this, I have a better sense of clarity. Kudos to the author colaborating with Dave for accuracy and timeline of events that took place. Just when I thought there was nothing more I could learn about Dave Mustaine, I learned I was very wrong. There was only one snafu I saw in the kindle edition. There was one picture where dave was holding his Jackson flying V, but the caption read that he was holding his Angel Wings model. It was incorrect, but nothing to lose sleep over. Dave's Jackson V's are too well known to Megadeth fans to be missed. Dean now sponsors him. P.S. Keep rocking Dave!

Love the book, Dave is such a talent, well written and a must read

I picked up this book mainly because I saw Dave M. on TV talking about how he went from putting spells on people and the dark side to becoming Christian. I was fascinated. Then, when my son told me that Megadeth was his favorite band and he happened to have just read the book, that's all I needed and downloaded it onto my Kindle. Well, I must say, that Dave M, has been a very angry person for most of his life. He really had difficulty getting over the fact that Metallica dumped him. Throughout the book reflects his bitter resentment toward Metallica. I can see how this would be tied in with the abandonment of his Father. Also, 90 percent of the book is only about all the drugs, the sex, and the rock and roll. I found it redundant, most of it and skimmed through most of the pages. Only near the end does the book finally get real for me. I believe his wife is the real hero here. To live with an addict and go through what must have been a living 'hell' for her and her children. I was so happy to read that she took some steps and had the bank accounts frozen and threw him out. Only then was Dave able to finally get sober and come to terms with his own demons. I applaud both of them for working together to maintain their marriage because most of these marriages do NOT make it. It takes REAL work. And I was so happy about Dave finally accepting God and turning his life around. Imagine, how powerful and great he would have been with God on his side long ago, but for many addicts, who knows what will be the final bottom that they must reach for them to finally change. For Dave, it was losing his beautiful family. An addict thinks like this: Me First, Me Next, YOU NEVER. And to live with that........like I said, his wife is the real hero here! One thing I did not like was his denegrating his band mates when he shared some not so nice 'habit's' of theirs. Some things are just meant to stay confidential. THEY know what they did and how they were. By sharing these not so nice characteristics, only breeds more resentment. I felt some of the book Dave was making himself the hero, the victim in most parts, and the best guitar player. I am happy, however, that this story has a great ending and God will continue to be first in his life. Also, this illness of addiction runs in families and I do hope the parents educate their children. And Dave, giving back is part of the healing. Please stop seeing yourself as a victim and think more along these lines: Great Adversity Builds Great Character! Because it does!

An engrossing read, and one I found hard to put down. Naturally, if you're a Mustaine/Megadeth fan, some of the information in this book will be familiar to you but there's a lot of "fill in the blanks" information you will appreciate - specifically, information about Mustaine's upbringing, some of the personnel changes within Megadeth and why they happened, and of course, the seemingly endless substance-abuse roller coaster. You don't have to have a background in psychology to figure out that Dave's childhood contributed to they way he handled certain situations in adulthood, but I also came away with a huge appreciation for his sheer grit and determination to make something of himself. Anger is an amazing motivator, and Dave clearly used his rage to propel him to enormous success. He didn't have to turn out the way he did - there are many, many failed musicians and Dave could have easily been a one-hit-wonder washout. Clearly, the talent and need to be heard was there. I always have the same reaction when I discover just how messed up on drugs my favorite musicians were when they recorded the music I adore - a bit ripped off, and wondering just how much better the end product would have been had they not been so blitzed. Interestingly, Dave pondered the opposite - he worried that he would not be as prolific sober! The only thing missing from this book is an index. It would be nice for future reference to go back and look up certain individuals or events. Unlike some reviewers, I do not believe Dave came across as whiny or blaming others for his misfortunes, misdeeds or mistakes. To the contrary, I think he takes full responsibility for all of the above. The Metallica thing, well, it is what it is. No, I don't think he deserved to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with them. I agree with his decision not to attend the ceremony. I would like to see Megadeth inducted. I have separate opinions on that whole charade that have nothing to do with the review of this book. If you have any appreciation for Dave Mustaine and the music he created for over 25 years, you will not be disappointed with this book.