Relive Dave Mustaine’s First Interview with Metallica In 1983

The earliest known interview with Metallica’s Dave Mustaine in his official role as the band’s lead guitarist has surfaced online, and it took place in March 1983.

In this brief but hilarious footage, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Dave Mustaine, and Cliff Burton are introduced by interviewer Donna Davies as the “hot new heavy metal band from LA.”

Ulrich and Mustaine join forces to shout, “LA stinks!” in the interview, teasingly confirming that they’ll be heading up to Rochester, New York in May to start recording new songs. Kill ‘Em All, Metallica’s first studio album was recorded during those sessions and forever altered the heavy metal landscape.

Mustaine may be known to many as the co-founder and the only consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth, but he was first introduced as the original lead guitarist for Metallica before being replaced by Kirk Hammett. Mustaine alludes to the April 1983 episode that led to his official dismissal from the band as “no warning, no second chance” due to his drinking, drug usage, unnecessarily aggressive conduct, and personal confrontations with founding members Hetfield and Ulrich.

Watch it below.