10 Times Megadeth Did It Better Than Metallica

It is up for debate about which frontman is the better singer. Mustaine’s higher-pitched whine fits a lot of Megadeth songs but would be out of place elsewhere. Whereas Hetfield has one of the most distinctive gruff voices in all music, it is easily parodied and seems to be more of a caricature these days.

However, one area of no contest between the two is the guitar playing ability. Both men are respectable rhythm guitarists who take occasional leads in their tracks. Coincidentally, both men had similar setbacks in their playing and had to relearn their instruments after freak accidents. In 1992, Hetfield caught his arm in a pyrotechnic explosion, receiving severe burns in the process, whereas Mustaine suffered severe nerve damage in his right arm in 2002, which took 17 months for him to recover.

Despite the setbacks, Dave Mustaine still surpasses his Metallica counterpart in the rhythm category. Hetfield’s rhythm is standard, with plenty of downstrokes, and not much technique. However, with Megadeth maintaining their Thrash pace throughout the vast majority of their songs, Mustaine has to be more intricate with his shifts from open barre chords to palm mutes. Both players revolutionised the metal genre, but Mustaine just did it better.