10 Times Megadeth Did It Better Than Metallica
1. Metal
In 1983, when being interviewed, Metallica was asked if they had anything else to say to their fans. A young, soon-to-be-fired Dave Mustaine shouts, ‘Metal up your ass!’ These four words spat with playful venom sum up the appeal of Metal music. It’s fun, it’s cocky, it doesn’t give a sh*t.
Fusing the skills from classic rock bands, with the careless attitude of the Punk era, 80s Metal was supposed to be counterculture. It didn’t want to be accepted by the mainstream, and it just wanted to have fun, play well, and fuel the desire for simple pleasures.
Metallica are now a household brand and far removed from trying to counter culture. While success is not to be scorned, presenting themselves in a way that hearkens back to the time before they had that amount of celebrity comes across as one of the most un-metal things a band could do.
From countless media appearances to several movie releases, the inner turmoil of Metallica has been well documented. This open window approach, as well as their use of a therapist to keep things afloat, has been criticised as ‘weak’ by their former bassist, Jason Newsted.
On the other hand, Megadeth just seems to keep carrying on. There is no doubt the band has had their issues over the years, but it has still managed to continue. Not only that, but it did so in a way which didn’t seem to capitalise on voyeurism. Metallica became mainstream moguls whereas Megadeth just stayed metal.