He's still the leader of one of the hardest, most revered thrash-metal bands of all time, but Dave Mustaine has otherwise turned into quite a softie.
That was pretty clear Monday as the Megadeth frontman avoided controversy and stuck to the positive in a phone interview from Connecticut, where he'd just finished a book-signing gig (he's doing one here from noon to 2 Saturday 8/21 at Borders in Rosedale). "Mustaine: a Heavy Metal Memoir" debuted at No. 15 on the New York Times best seller list last week. In it, the 48-year-old native Californian discusses his firing from a pre-fame Metallica, his struggles with sobriety, his recovery from a nerve injury that threatened his guitar-playing abilities and his prodigal-son conversion to Christianity.
Not discussed in the book are his recent reunion with Megadeth bassist/co-founder Dave Ellefson, nor a recent tour in Europe with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, aka the Big Four.
Q: Any memories stand out from playing the Twin Cities so many times over the years?
A: David Ellefson is from Jackson, Minn., so we've always had fun coming back there and playing. Usually when you go to a city that has family there, it feels a little bit like a homecoming, and I think the audience feels that, too.
Q: The book sets a different tone on your firing from Metallica. You didn't come off so hot in the movie "Some Kind of Monster." Nobody did, really. Was it your intention to set the record straight?
A: No, no, no. We're totally friends now, have been for years.
Q: You also healed your relations with Dave Ellefson. How did that happen?
