This episode of Epic Rock Tales stars Megadeth legend Dave Mustaine! In the frontman’s own words, he describes how a hostile night in Northern Ireland led to the creation of Megadeth’s magnum opus, “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due.”

Dave Mustaine told us this story during Part 2 of his ‘Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?’ segment. Megadeth was on tour in Antrim, Northern Ireland, on May 11, 1988. This was back when Dave was still a heavy drinker, so this incident was fueled by a few too many Guinness beers.

A fan in the audience threw a British pound onstage hitting Mustaine and his guitar. After putting his axe down and making a speech which he thought was pro-Ireland as a whole, Mustaine mentioned “the cause” not knowing this was a term which referenced the IRA. Suddenly, the half-Protestant, half-Catholic crowd split in half and police were called in to keep the peace.

Waking up the next morning, Mustaine had no collection of what had occured, thanks to a few too many Guinness’. It was bassist David Ellefson’s unfortunate duty to inform Mustaine they had been escorted out of Northern Ireland in a bulletproof bus. This incident inspired Mustaine to pen the phenomenal, “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due,” one of the most perfect thrash songs in the genre’s rich history.

Check out our exclusive animation of Dave Mustaine’s recollection in the episode of Epic Rock Tales above!

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