Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine: No One Else Touches Me, James Hetfield, Malcolm Young + Rudolf Schenker on Rhythm Guitar
Who are your top four rhythm guitar players? We're asking because Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine just revealed his four in a recent interview, counting himself among them.
Speaking with Rock Cellar Magazine, Mustaine opened up about his early days as a guitarist, which of course included his brief but influential stint in Metallica before the band cut their first record, Kill 'Em All. While the axeman rightfully garners attention for his lead work, he's also one of metal's most formidable rhythm players. "I was an arrogant a--hole and playing everything, but I devoted much more of my time to playing rhythm," he began.
Going on to mention "that a good band can be measured by its rhythm," he offered some criticism for some of the genre's more eccentric guitarists. "You’ve got all-guitar hero bands and the solos are excellent but try and hum one of those songs outside of maybe a quick flash lick. There’s nothing very memorable about it unless you’re extremely loaded or you’re out of your mind on speed or coke or something," Mustaine commented.
Calling rhythm "one of the main ingredients" in Megadeth, he stated, "The solos become so much more important because it’s not just self-indulgent pig guitar playing all through the whole song.”
Reverting back to the early Metallica days, Mustaine noted the similarities between himself and James Hetfield based on "the way he acts and moves with his guitar and stuff like that." From there, he went on to call Hetfield "one of the best rhythm guitar players in the world." Continuing, the Megadeth leader added, "As far as rhythm guitar players are concerned, there’s James, there’s me, there’s Malcolm Young [of AC/DC] and there’s Rudolf Schenker [of the Scorpions]. There’s no one else that touches the four of us. We’re the fantastic four.”
Michael Schenker, Rudolf's brother, may disagree here as he's been highly critical of Rudolf's playing in recent years, slamming him in the press a number of times. In one interview, he even said, "Rudolf is the entertainer on a visual level; I’m the artist."
Mustaine will have the opportunity to tour with Rudolf as Megadeth will be providing direct support for the Scorpions on the upcoming 'Crazy World' North American tour. For a full list of stops and more information, click here.
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