Black Sabbath have been called the Godfathers of Metal, Iggy Pop has been dubbed the Godfather of Punk and James Brown was known as the Godfather of Soul, but who is the Godfather of Thrash Metal?

In his 2014 book I'm the ManAnthrax guitarist Scott Ian wrote this about Dave Mustaine: "The guy is arguably the godfather of thrash metal. He wrote a lot of the riffs on Kill ’Em All and even some of Ride the Lightning. Without Dave Mustaine, maybe thrash metal never would have happened. At least in the beginning, he was the driving force, artistically."

So, is Dave Mustaine truly the Godfather of Metal? Who better to ask than the Megadeth frontman himself. We had the opportunity to ask Mustaine that very question when we interviewed him in New York City recently, and at first he was reluctant to answer, only telling us about what a good friend Scott Ian is to him. But after a second attempt on our part, Mustaine did indeed answer the question.

As you'll see in the video above, Mustaine addresses the question by pointing to his early days in Metallica and how that may have shaped the genre of thrash metal. He also praises James Hetfield's guitar skills, but what's his ultimate answer to the "godfather of thrash metal" question? Watch the video above to find out.

Megadeth recently released the critically acclaimed album Dystopia, and they have tour dates scheduled through the summer. Click here to see their current itinerary.

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