Dave Mustaine, of course, was famously fired from Metallica decades ago. However, the Megadeth frontman has hopes of one day collaborating with James Hetfield again.
Mustaine touched on this in a new interview via VWMusicRocks.com when asked about his longevity in the music world. He said, “Well, I have to think that my longevity might just be stubbornness. I have been secretly hoping there’d be a day where James [Hetfield] and I can write together again.”
He continued, “I think the world really does want us to do that, and I think there is a pretty good possibility of it happening down the line. I do think that it’s possible that one day James is going to come around and that he and I are going to be able to do something together again.”
He concluded, “I guess that’s one of the things that has always kept me pushing forward. I think it’d be good for Megadeth, and it could be great for Metallica too.”
Mustaine and Hetfield certainly aren’t complete out of touch from one another. Back in 2019 when Mustaine was battling cancer, he shared Hetfield reached out to him during treatment.
“It came as quite a surprise. A lot came from people that I knew but I didn’t know cared,” said Mustaine of the outpouring of support from his contemporaries. “Most notably, I got a text message back from my old brother, James Hetfield, and I was so, so happy to hear from him. Contrary to what anybody says and contrary to any of the act that we put on, I love James and I know that James loves me and cares about me. You can see that when the moment of truth is here and I’m telling the world that I’ve got a life-threatening disease. Who comes to stand next to me? James.”