“We figured we needed to do it as good or better than the original”: Dave Mustaine on Megadeth’s Ride the Lightning cover
One of the biggest headlines in the leadup to the release of Megadeth’s final album was the announcement that a cover of Metallica’s Ride the Lightning was set to appear.
As the story goes, Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine co-wrote the track when he was still a member of Metallica in the early ‘80s, alongside James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Cliff Burton. Mustaine ended up being fired in 1983 before the release of the band’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All, and Ride the Lightning first appeared as the title track of Metallica’s second album the following year.
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When Megadeth’s cover of Ride the Lightning was confirmed, Dave Mustaine described his intention to make it a full-circle moment, saying: “I wanted to pay my respects to where my career first started.”
And while Mustaine says he “put [his feud with Metallica] to sleep many years ago” in a new interview with Brazil’s Ibagenscast [via Blabbermouth], it seems there was at least a small competitive streak to Ride the Lightning cover.
“I’ve always thought that James was an excellent guitar player, so when we set out to do the song, we figured we needed to do it as good or better than the original,” he says. “And we figured, how are we gonna do that? Metallica’s an amazing group.
“So we sped it up just a little bit, made it a little bit more frantic, and then we kind of spiced up the solo a little bit. And then, at the end, there’s some drum fills that the Metallica guys had played, and I told Dirk [Verbeuren, Megadeth drummer], I said, ‘Have fun there. Just have fun.’
“So he did a drum fill at the end in the four spots that there’s drum fills. And I think that they’re really stunning drum fills. They may be similar to the original stuff, but I’m not sure how similar. And he recorded his parts, and I love it.”
Also in the interview, Mustaine touches again on his desire to complete the circle of his career, so to speak.
“Going back to why we did that song,” he explains, “it’s kind of closing the circle, paying my respects to the band that I was a founding member in. And love me or hate me, they’ll never be able to erase me.
“And I think that when people can look with acceptance and fondness of the two bands and not try and keep something that I don’t wanna keep going. I don’t wanna have a feud. I’ve put that to sleep so many years ago.
“So, yeah, I wanted to do something that was — just show some respect, ’cause it doesn’t matter to me if he cares, if he likes it; it matters what I do and that I show respect and close the circle.”
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