Age, Biography, and Wiki
Dave Mustaine was born on September 13, 1961. He is a guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist, famous for his work with Megadeth and as the original lead guitarist for Metallica. Mustaine's musical career spans over four decades, with significant contributions to the thrash metal genre. He formed Megadeth in 1983 after being dismissed from Metallica, driven by a desire to create a band that could rival his former group.
| Occupation | Autobiographer |
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| Date of Birth | 13 September 1961 |
| Age | 63 Years |
| Birth Place | La Mesa, California, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Virgo |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
There is limited information available about Dave Mustaine's current height and weight. However, like many musicians, he has maintained a lifestyle that supports his active career.
On one occasion, Mustaine brought his dog to rehearsal; the dog jumped onto the car of Metallica bassist Ron McGovney and scratched the paint. Hetfield allegedly yelled at Mustaine's dog and kicked it in a fit of rage, which provoked Mustaine into physically attacking Hetfield. Mustaine was fired following the altercation, but the next day, Mustaine asked to be allowed back in the band and was granted his request. Another incident occurred when Mustaine, who had been drinking, poured a can of beer down the neck and into the pickups of McGovney's bass, resulting in electrical damage. McGovney claimed that he was unaware of the damage and that he received an electric shock upon plugging it into an amplifier.
In January 2002, Mustaine was admitted to the hospital to have a kidney stone removed. While undergoing treatment, he was administered pain medication that triggered a relapse. Following his hospital stay, he immediately checked himself into a treatment center in Texas. While at rehab, Mustaine suffered an injury causing severe nerve damage to his left arm. The injury, induced by falling asleep with his left arm over the back of a chair caused compression of the radial nerve. He was diagnosed with radial neuropathy, also known as Saturday Night Palsy, which left him unable to grasp or even make a fist with his left hand.
On April 3, 2002, Mustaine announced in a press release that he was disbanding Megadeth, officially due to his arm injury. For the next four months, Mustaine underwent intense physical therapy five days a week. Slowly, Mustaine began to play again, but was forced to "re-teach" his left hand.
Mustaine himself gave what he called "the Reader's Digest version" of the whole matter during an interview for SuicideGirls: "I went into retirement because my arm got hurt really bad. I broke up the band which at the time was Al Pitrelli, Dave Ellefson, Jimmy DeGrasso, and myself. I was having problems with Al because he liked to drink, and we didn't want to show up at places with him drunk. Al also got married to a nice woman, but he wanted to spend time with her. After a few years, most married men are willing to die, so I figured if we got a couple years into the marriage that might have changed. But the fact was, Al wasn't fitting. DeGrasso was really hard to be around because he was so negative all the time with his complaining about money and wanting things. Ellefson was all about 'play my songs, play my songs.' I hated being around these guys so when the arm injury happened, it was a welcome relief and an indication that I had to stop." Mustaine went through physical therapy for his arm injury. During his recovery, he explored other areas of the music industry, including production. Contrary to what doctors had predicted, within a short time he fully recovered. However, all was mostly quiet on the Megadeth front for the better part of 2003. Mustaine left Jackson guitars, did a solo acoustic performance at a benefit show, unveiled his new ESP model at the NAMM convention, and oversaw the release of Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? as an audio DVD presented in Dolby 5.1 surround sound.
After switching to Jackson Guitars he helped to re-design the guitar maker's version of the King V model (at the time, it was a "double Rhoads size" meaning it had two of the longer fins from the RR). The reshaped Mustaine KV1 model had slightly shorter fins, Kahler bridge and Seymour Duncan TB-5 bridge and SH-4 neck pickups. He also specified 24 frets rather than the original King V's 22, a tradition that Jackson still keeps on its King V models today, and the KV1, as have all of Mustaine's signature models, also featured a smaller, medium fretwire compared to the extra jumbos featured on most Jacksons.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Dave Mustaine has been married to Pamela Anne Casselberry since 1991. The couple has two children together.
His father was of French, German, Irish, and Finnish descent, while his mother was of German Jewish ancestry. The Mustaine family were Jehovah's Witnesses.
Due to the significant age difference between Mustaine and his sisters, as a child he often thought of them as his aunts rather than sisters. Mustaine has described his father as "a very smart and successful man, good with his hands and head" who was a branch manager for Bank of America before moving to NCR, where the corporation's transition from mechanical to electrical technology ultimately made him expendable and cost him his job. A longtime problem drinker, John Mustaine's issues with alcohol only grew worse from then on, and he left his four-year-old son permanently after Emily divorced him in 1965.
Fallen Angels was the name of the short-lived band that Mustaine founded after his departure from Metallica. In April 1983, after returning to California to live with his mother, he landed what he calls his first real job with the aid of Robbie McKinney. McKinney and a friend, Matt Kisselstein, worked with Mustaine as telemarketers. Mustaine quit his job after earning enough money to move to an apartment in Hollywood, and recruited McKinney, who played guitar, and Kisselstein, who played bass, for his band Fallen Angels. In his biography, Mustaine describes that "We lacked the chemistry, the energy, the spark—or whatever you want to call it—that gives a band life in its infancy." The partnership did not last.
Chuck Behler, who had been Samuelson's drum tech, became Megadeth's new drummer with guitarist Jeff Young replacing Poland. Megadeth released their third studio album, So Far, So Good... So What!, in January 1988. The album contains the song "In My Darkest Hour", which, according to the liner notes of So Far, So Good... So What!, was composed after the death of Metallica's bass player Cliff Burton. "Hook in Mouth" attacked the Parents Music Resource Center with gusto, although their cover of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK", despite a guest appearance from ex-Pistol Steve Jones, was ill-advised in the eyes of Allmusic's critic.
Later that year, Megadeth opened for Dio and then Iron Maiden on tour before playing the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in the U.K. with Kiss, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses, David Lee Roth, and Helloween. Shortly after, Mustaine fired Behler and Young, accusing Young of having thoughts of a relationship with Mustaine's then-girlfriend. Around this period, Mustaine produced the debut album from Seattle thrash band Sanctuary, called Refuge Denied.
Also in 1991, Mustaine collaborated with Sean Harris from Diamond Head on the track "Crown of Worms". Mustaine would later appear on Diamond Head's reformation album Death and Progress. Mustaine's wife, Pamela, gave birth to their son Justis in 1992. July of that year saw the release of Megadeth's most commercially successful record: Countdown to Extinction, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and boasted some of the band's most commercially successful songs, including "Symphony of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets" and "Skin o' My Teeth". The original version of the "Symphony of Destruction" video was edited due to its depiction of a political leader being assassinated; "Skin o' My Teeth" was aired on MTV with a disclaimer from Mustaine insisting that the song did not endorse suicide. Ellefson contributed lyrics to the family-farm ballad "Foreclosure of a Dream", and Menza wrote the lyrics about canned hunting for the title track.
On August 3, 2010, Mustaine released his autobiography in the United States, titled Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir. The book covers Mustaine's life from childhood until the release of the 2009 Megadeth album Endgame. The book was released in the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand under the title Mustaine: A Life in Metal. In December 2011, Mustaine appeared at Metallica's 30th-anniversary celebration at the Fillmore Theater and performed five songs from Metallica's debut album. On October 4, 2014, Mustaine's Alzheimer's-afflicted mother-in-law went missing from a campground. Her remains were discovered on November 26. Following the release of Megadeth's 14th studio album, Super Collider in 2013, Megadeth began working on their next album, Dystopia in 2015. David Ellefson commented that work would commence "after the first [day] of the year". Lineup changes included the departure of lead guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover, both of whom departed the band in late November 2014, both citing creative differences. Chris Adler of Lamb of God was announced in March 2015 to replace Drover, and Kiko Loureiro of Angra replaced Broderick on lead guitar.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Dave Mustaine's net worth is estimated between $14 million and $20 million. His income comes from his extensive music career, including album sales, touring with Megadeth, royalties, real estate investments, and merchandise sales. Despite discrepancies in reported figures, Mustaine's wealth is undoubtedly substantial, reflecting his enduring influence in the music industry.
An acoustic tour sponsored by radio stations, a press tour, and a video shoot for the song "Moto Psycho" all preceded the May 2001 release of The World Needs A Hero. The summer was filled with festival appearances supporting AC/DC. In September, Megadeth set out across North America with Endo and Iced Earth. VH1's "Behind the Music" special on Megadeth aired that year and was later released on DVD. At the end of the year, the band filmed two shows in Arizona, which were released as the 2CD and DVD Rude Awakening. The early part of 2002 saw the release of a remixed and re-mastered Killing Is My Business... with bonus tracks and expanded packaging, followed by Rude Awakening.
In 2004 Mustaine oversaw the remixing and re-mastering of Megadeth's entire Capitol Records catalog. All albums were re-released with bonus tracks and full liner notes. With one album remaining in his contract to Sanctuary Records, Mustaine began recording what he intended to be his first solo album with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Jimmy Sloas. Complete with guest solos from old friend Chris Poland, this project became a new Megadeth album, The System Has Failed, released on September 14, 2004. One month before, Mustaine announced a new touring lineup for Megadeth: Glen Drover (King Diamond/Eidolon) and James MacDonough (Iced Earth). Nick Menza had briefly been a part of the new band before differences once again caused his departure. One week before a new US tour with Exodus supporting, new drummer (and Glen's brother) Shawn Drover (Eidolon) joined Megadeth.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Musical Career: Mustaine's music career began in the early 1980s with Metallica. Following his departure, he founded Megadeth, which became one of the "Big Four" of thrash metal alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Megadeth has released numerous successful albums, including "Rust in Peace" and "Dystopia," the latter earning a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
- Business Ventures: Beyond music, Mustaine has invested in real estate and runs a wine label called House of Mustaine. He has also been involved in various merchandise ventures.
- Personal Challenges: Mustaine has faced significant personal challenges, including addiction and health issues. He overcame throat cancer, announcing he was cancer-free in early 2020.
David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Metallica. Mustaine has released sixteen studio albums with Megadeth, sold over 50 million records worldwide, with six albums platinum-certified, and won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2017 at the 59th Grammy Awards, for the title track of their fifteenth studio album, Dystopia.
In 1981, Mustaine disbanded Panic and joined Metallica as the lead guitarist. Metallica's drummer Lars Ulrich had posted an ad in a local newspaper, The Recycler, looking for a lead guitarist. In his own words, Mustaine remembers his first meeting with James Hetfield and Ulrich: "I was in the room warming up and I walked out and asked, 'Well, am I gonna audition or what?', and they said, 'No, you've got the job.' I couldn't believe how easy it had been and suggested that we get some beer to celebrate."
In June 1985, Megadeth released their first album, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!, via Combat Records. That summer, the band toured the U.S. and Canada with Exciter. Guitarist Mike Albert replaced Chris Poland when he was incarcerated for possession of heroin. After Poland was released, he rejoined the band in October and the band then began recording their second studio album for Combat. On New Year's Eve of that year, Megadeth played in San Francisco with Exodus and Metal Church. Metallica was the headliner. This was the only time Megadeth and Metallica were on the same card, until 1991.
In 1986, a year after releasing their debut album, Mustaine approached Jackson Guitars for a custom-built guitar. Jackson modified their existing Jackson King V model for Mustaine by adding two more frets to the standard 22 fret King V. In the 1990s, the company began mass-producing a Dave Mustaine signature series Jackson King V, which continued into the early 2000s.
Following Cacophony's disbanding in 1989, Marty Friedman was auditioned the same year to fill in the vacant lead-guitar position, and joined the band in February 1990. In September of that year, the band joined the "Clash of the Titans" tour overseas with Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and Testament. The tour began one month before Megadeth released Rust in Peace (1990), which was cited as one of the best thrash metal records of all time by publications such as Decibel and Kerrang! and continued their commercial success. They then went back on the road to promote the new album, this time as support for Judas Priest.
The 2008 installment of the tour featured Megadeth, Children of Bodom, In Flames, High on Fire, and Job for a Cowboy (and Evile for the UK and Scandinavia tour).
Mustaine used B.C. Rich guitars early in his career (and for his entire duration with Metallica), most notably a B.C. Rich Bich 10 string with just the regular six strings. First the guitar started in a natural finish, but Mustaine painted it black around the time 'Peace Sells' was released. In 1987, he switched to Jackson Guitars. In March 2009, while he was guest hosting Bruce Dickinson's Friday night radio show, Mustaine attributed his choice of the Flying V guitar to being a fan of UFO's Michael Schenker when he was growing up.
Mustaine later switched to ESP Guitars. The company released the DV8 signature model in the 2004 NAMM convention also at which time Mustaine announced his ESP endorsement deal. In 2005, Mustaine and ESP teamed up to release the ESP Axxion, (pronounced Action), in order to celebrate Megadeth's 20th anniversary. The ESP Axxion and ESP DV8 were both successful and cheaper models such as the LTD-DV8 R, LTD DV200 and the LTD Axxion were released to target a bigger market.
"After two successful years, I have decided to leave ESP guitars. This was a business decision and had nothing to do with the guitars or the manufacturing of the guitars, and I wish the staff of ESP, both in the USA and in Japan and Korea the very best of health and prosperity. Meanwhile, I am taking my Classic Metal V known formerly as a Jackson King V1 or an ESP DV8, and my new guitar design presently known as an Axxion, which was the recipient of the Gold Award from Guitar World Magazine for 2005 for new guitar designs with me. I will also be re-introducing through my new endorsement many special models, including re-issues of my old models from over the span of my career, as well as some retro V shapes, similar to the formerly known Jackson Y2KV or a Gibson Flying V. I will make my announcement and be attending the 2007 NAMM show to meet Megadeth fans and all metal fans, musicians of all styles-especially guitarists."
The Dean Zero debuted in 2010 with Dean guitars was a unique new shape for Mustaine, resembling the Gibson Explorer with sharper points. Mustaine has made a few appearances with this guitar, performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and on shows during the Australian tour with Slayer. He had also used the guitar in the later dates of the 2009 Endgame tour. He says he primarily still used his VMNT's so he can grab on to the lower horn with his legs for certain songs. He had also used Ovation acoustic guitars for most of his career. However, he stopped endorsing the company after receiving a signature acoustic from Dean, dubbed the Mako.
Mustaine is known for popularizing the "spider chord" technique for playing power chords, a method streamlining hand position changes and reducing string noise.
In 2009, Mustaine was named the No. 1 player in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. As he told Classic Rock magazine in September 2009: "It was especially sweet when I found out that Joel has written books on Metallica. Every page I turned, I became more excited. I get to Number 5 and it's Kirk Hammett, and I thought, 'Thank you, God'. At that point it didn't matter [which position I was]. To be better than both of them [James Hetfield and Hammett] meant so much – it's been one of the pet peeves of my career and I've never known how to deal with it. All I thought was – I win!"
Mustaine married Pamela Anne Casselberry in 1991. They have two children together: Justis Mustaine (born 1992), who also plays the guitar and has appeared in several local theatrical productions, and Electra Mustaine (born 1998), who is pursuing a career in country music. As of 2014, they live in Nashville, Tennessee.
Over his career, Mustaine has made numerous comments about both American and international politics, criticizing both politicians and political issues. In addition, Mustaine covered the 1992 Democratic National Convention for MTV.
In 2009, Mustaine was interviewed by far-right conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones for InfoWars, in which Mustaine stated that the album Endgame was inspired by his Christian beliefs and belief in an upcoming New World Order. In a 2016 Fox Business interview, Mustaine stated that he does not align himself with any established political party, describing himself as an Independent.
Social Network
Dave Mustaine maintains a strong presence on social media platforms, where he engages with fans and promotes his music and business ventures.
Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies opened for Megadeth on the Countdown to Extinction tour, and MTV News also invited Mustaine to cover the Democratic National Convention for them that summer. In November, the "Exposure of a Dream" home video was released. In 1993, Mustaine guested on a new album by one of the bands who had influenced his own sound: Diamond Head, and also began a U.S. tour with Stone Temple Pilots as their opening act. The tour with Stone Temple Pilots which included a planned appearance at Budokan, was ultimately canceled due to Mustaine's continuing struggles with addiction. In June, Megadeth played Milton Keynes Bowl with Diamond Head and Metallica and later opened for Metallica on a handful of European Stadium dates. Megadeth was kicked off Aerosmith's U.S. tour after just seven dates because a comment made by Mustaine ("We don't have much time to play because Aerosmith don't have much time left to live") was deemed extraordinarily offensive to Aerosmith. "Angry Again" was featured on the soundtrack to the 1993 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Last Action Hero, while "99 Ways To Die" was featured on The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience compilation album.
Cryptic Writings (1997) included thrashing songs like "Vortex" and "FFF", which were reminiscent of Megadeth's older material, alongside radio-friendly fare like "Trust", which reached the 5th spot on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. In June, Misfits opened for the band on tour. Chaos Comics released "The Cryptic Writings of Megadeth" comic books in August, and a remix of "Almost Honest" showed up on the "Mortal Kombat Annihilation" soundtrack.
While touring after Cryptic Writings, Mustaine told interviewers that songs like "She-Wolf" and "Vortex" had reinvigorated his love for classic music by bands like Iron Maiden and Motörhead, and that he intended to write an album that was "1/2 Peace Sells, 1/2 Cryptic Writings"; however, after hearing about a comment that Lars Ulrich had made in the press in which he said he wished Mustaine would take more "risks", intentions changed. Managers and producers had more input. The song "Crush 'Em" was written with the express purpose of being played in wrestling arenas. In later years, Mustaine would blame much of this period on Friedman's desire to go in a more "pop" direction. Recorded with producer Dann Huff, again in Nashville, Risk was released on August 31, 1999. "Crush 'Em" made it onto the Universal Soldier: The Return soundtrack and into WCW wrestling events (notably played live on Monday Nitro). In July, the band covered "Never Say Die" for a second Black Sabbath tribute. They closed the Woodstock '99 music festival and again opened for Iron Maiden in Europe. The year ended with Marty Friedman announcing his departure from the band.
On June 16, "The Big Four" thrash metal bands (Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer) shared the stage in Warsaw, Poland. The event happened in various other countries like Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, the United States, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Sweden and ended at the Yankee Stadium of New York City on September 14, 2011. "The Big Four" show in Sofia, Bulgaria was recorded and released on Blu-ray and DVD. In 2016, Mustaine expressed interest in doing more Big 4 shows, although this is unlikely due to the breakup of Slayer.
At the end of March, Mustaine announced via Twitter that he was "almost done with the writing", and that recording would begin next week. Megadeth finished recording the album in July of that year, with the track listing was also revealed in a meeting between Mustaine and Megadeth's official fan club, the Cyber Army. Mustaine commented in an interview in June that fans are "gonna be happy", because the album is "really aggressive again", and that nothing in the record was too out of the ordinary, apart from small changes in Mustaine's playing due to his brief tenure with the San Diego Symphony. The first single from the new album, Fatal Illusion, was released on October the 1st, which was followed by the release of the title of the album and its release date via Twitter on October the 2nd. The Dystopia World Tour was announced in support of the album, with Children of Bodom, Suicidal Tendencies, and Havok as supporting acts. The next two singles, The Threat Is Real and Dystopia, were released on November 25 and January 7, 2016, respectively.
Mustaine endorses Seymour Duncan and has his own Signature Live Wire pickups and uses Cleartone strings (.011 – .054 for D tuning, .010 – .052 for E tuning ). The Seymour Duncan Dave Mustaine Signature Live Wire pickups were announced at NAMM 2015 and the official product video was performed by Danny Young on the Seymour Duncan YouTube channel.
Mustaine was raised as a Jehovah's Witness and is now a born again Christian. In 1988, in response to the British government's Section 28, Mustaine said: "More power to them. It says in the Bible that men should not lay with men like they lay with women. I mean I don't wanna fuck up and not go to heaven." In an answer to a question about Judas Priest having an overt homosexual image, Mustaine stated "I don't wanna talk about this." In 2012, on KIRO-FM he was asked if he supports gay marriage and replied: "Well, since I'm not gay, the answer to that would be no." He was then asked if he would support legislation to make gay marriage legal and said, "I'm Christian. The answer to that would be no."
In an August 2012 Singapore performance on the tour to support the band's then-new album Thirteen, Mustaine expressed his views of President Obama and recent gun violence in the United States, making an accusation that Obama had staged the shootings at Aurora, Colorado, and a Wisconsin Sikh temple in order to push a gun control agenda, while engaging the audience during onstage banter in between songs. Mustaine also criticized the 'Fast and Furious' arms scandal and said that the country looked like it was turning into "Nazi America".
* Mustaine and Megadeth appeared in promotional videos for the NHL team Philadelphia Flyers in response to an inflammatory comment by Mike Wise in The Washington Post that suggested that some of the Flyers' fans could work security for Megadeth. Mustaine invited them to do so in a video address, sporting the jersey of team captain Jason Smith.
Education
There is limited information available about Dave Mustaine's formal education. However, his musical talents were evident from an early age, and he pursued a career in music at a young age.
Conclusion: Dave Mustaine is a veteran musician with a legacy that continues to shape the metal genre. His life and career are marked by both musical achievements and personal resilience, making him one of the most iconic figures in heavy metal.
Metallica began recording their first album titled Kill 'Em All in 1983 but Mustaine's tenure with Metallica was short-lived. Brian Slagel, owner of Metal Blade Records, recalled in an interview: "Dave was an incredibly talented guy but he also had an incredibly large problem with alcohol and drugs. He'd get wasted and become a real crazy person, a raging megalomaniac, and the other guys just couldn't deal with that after a while. I mean, they all drank of course, but Dave drank more… much more. I could see they were beginning to get fed up of seeing Dave drunk out of his mind all the time."
During his time in Metallica, Mustaine toured with the band, co-wrote four songs that appeared on Kill 'Em All, and co-wrote two songs that eventually appeared on the 1984 album Ride the Lightning. Mustaine has also made unverified claims to have written parts of "Leper Messiah" from Master of Puppets.
