10 Most Unsung Heroes In Rock History
6. Dave Mustaine - Metallica
In the grand scheme of things, there's nothing about Dave Mustaine that seems underrated in the thrash metal sphere. I mean, the man has basically built a thrash metal empire by himself in Megadeth, with albums like Rust in Peace and Peace Sells becoming classics in their own right. However, there's a good chance Mustaine would have traded them all away if it meant him staying in one of the greatest metal bands of all time.
Even with the amount of classics Megadeth have to their name, Mustaine was originally slated to be one of the legends of thrash metal as the lead guitarist for Metallica. Mustaine wasn't some hired gun either, with him having a hand in writing a good chunk of the material on the band's first few demos. On the other hand, the amount of drinking and erratic behavior he had on the road led to him being fired just as the band was going into the studio to record their first record.
Though many just see this as the birth of Megadeth, a lot of diehard Metallica fans forget the massive hand Mustaine had on the first few records, as he was given a co-writing credit on half of Kill Em All and even re-adopting his original riff for the Call of Ktulu for Hangar 18 years later. It's not like the accolades aren't there for Mustaine, but it stings that much more once you realize what could have been.