10 Rock Artists That Ripped Off Other Bands

There's no set formula for how you rip off someone that came before. While some may just take bits and pieces of their influences and wear them like a costume, others might just outright copy every single thing about their favorite bands in the hope that their audience won't spot the difference. However, is it really ripping off when you're stealing from yourself?

In the grand scheme of things, Megadeth has carved out their own identity as one of the Big 4 of Thrash, but their connection with the biggest of the Big 4 can't really be denied. Given that Dave Mustaine was once a member of Metallica, you can definitely find bits and pieces of their classic songs laced throughout Megadeth tunes. While Mustaine is perfectly within his right to use material that he actually wrote, it gets a little awkward when you have two thrash classics with the same exact riffs.

While the initial point may have been to make a harder-edged version of his Metallica material, Mustaine's way of recontextualizing his own licks have led to amazing material all its own. For as much as Hangar 18's main lick may be indebted to Metallica's the Call of Ktulu, you aren't going to mistake one for the other any time soon. Whether it's because of bad blood or just recycling old ideas, Mustaine's penchant for Metallica licks is rarely ever a bad thing.