Dave Mustaine Takes A Savage Shot At Metallica’s Lars Ulrich After A Fan Makes An Interesting Discovery
(L) Dmitry Savostyanov / Kommersant Photo via Getty Images, (R) Mike Coppola / Getty Images
Ouch!
Lars Ulrich is going to need some ice for the burn leveled at him by way of Dave Mustaine. Today a fan revealed on Twitter that he’d somehow gotten his hands on a copy of Metallica’s No Life ‘Til Leather demo that featured Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney. As he and another fan asked whether Mustaine sang background vocals and noted that McGovney wasn’t credited on the demo, Mustaine fired off a savage shot at former bandmate Lars Ulrich and asking in return, “Why on earth would Lars ever credit anyone properly?”
To understand the issue, let’s back up a little. Recorded on July 6, 1982, No Life ‘Til Leather is Metallica’s most widely circulated demo, featuring early versions of the tracks that would later appear on the band’s debut album Kill ‘Em All. Keeping with recent tradition of bands and artists releasing expanded reissues, the initial plan was to officially release No Life ‘Til Leather as a record – that is, until, Lars Ulrich wanted credit on two songs he didn’t write.
Mustaine explains:
“James contacted me 2 years ago. We were going to officially release the “No Life Till Leather” demo as a record, w/27 tracks, pics, the whole enchilada, and the talks broke down because Lars wanted credit on two songs I wrote every note and word to. I have the texts. I passed,” the tweet reads.
Unsurprisingly, this set off a firestorm of comments from fans – some who understand Mustaine’s position on the matter, and some who feel that after this many years the entire issue should be put to bed finally.
https://twitter.com/rphtx/status/936239995249152005
To Mustaine’s credit, he refused to allow anyone to bash his former bandmates, immediately shutting down any debates that turned into heated arguments as to the level of talent within Metallica.
Will No Life ‘Til Leather see the light of day as initially planned, or will this be another issue that neither side can seem to agree on? No idea, but stay tuned to I Love Classic Rock for more updates on the situation as they become available.
