MegaDave...

This week, Dave Mustaine was awarded the Golden God award by Metal Hammer in London. 

There are few accolades in the Metal genre, but Metal Hammer has filled the huge void and general disrespect for the world of metal with their annual ceremony. 

Best part of giving Dave the honored title is that they gave it to Dave for his role and contributions in Megadeth, with no mention of his former band.

Prelude story:

When my band Domicile played the 31st Street Tavern in 2005, the guitar player for the support act told me "Youthanasia is my favorite Megadeth LP. It's not their best, but my favorite."

My son told me a few days ago that one of his friends said Coal Chamber was his favorite band. My son (so proud of him) said "Houses of the Holy exists, and Coal Chamber is your favorite band?"

That is exactly how I felt at that moment. With Rust in Peace in existence, how can you even listen to Youthanasia?

Love my son so much. He was raised with this crazy fucker in his ear and on his ass. Lol.

Back to the point:

As a teenager, Dave was my hero. Hands down, he was the guy I looked up to the most and lead the band I held above all others. I found his approach to Thrash to be different and cool. His intelligence and arrangements blew my young mind.

So much of metal was stock at the time. Even some of the best thrash bands were guilty of not thinking outside of the box that the first sub-genre was creating for itself. It was all fresh, but the F chug chug, E chug chug chug chug repetitive patterns became the norm. Insert words about war or satan, and there is your stock thrash tune.

Dave did his fair share of singing about evil and war, but he threw in some comedic value and real world situations as well. Wake Up Dead, although a staple today, was as badass as anything I had ever heard at the time, and the video captured the 80's thrash fan almost perfectly (and even gave a shout out to Metallica via a T-Shirt).

Can you put a price on Peace Sells? It's a classic that holds up to the best of the best, and in my opinion, part of the trifecta of early thrash alongside Hell Awaits and Master of Puppets.

I bought "So Far, So Good, So What" the day it dropped, and memorized "Liar" over the next couple of weeks (which I can recite to this day - I lose breath, but I can do it). I also realized then how important "In My Darkest Hour" was to forwarding the scene to the next level.

"Rust in Peace" is perfect. Every note and every word was amazing. Even the B-Sides broke ground. Lucretia and Five Magics are two of my favorite Mega Moments.

Then Dave rocked the vote and slowed down his playing. The result yielded him massive commercial success, and "Countdown to Extinction" set the tone for Megadeth's next several years.

I was not as invested, but I admired Dave trying to go platinum. 

I lost Megadeth for a number of years after that. I was older, my family took priority and the fire wasn't there. Megadeth became way to commercial and turned its back on its thrash.

I saw them on the Clash of the Titans tour, then again years later on the Risk tour. It was not the same band.

I've seen them several times since, and they have developed into an elder statement band. They aren't afraid to open for bigger names, they understand the game, and are still a viable player in the genre.

But I digress. The point to all of this is that I am proud of Dave and what he has accomplished. These days, I buy his music every time he releases an LP (yes, I still buy music) and I will always hold this man and his band in high regard.

Congrats Dave!

Nago