Dave MustaineBy Whitney McNeil

Dave

• Born David Scott Mustaine • Birthday is September 13,

1961• Originally from La Mesa,

California• Youngest of four children• Parents divorced when he was

4 years old• Lived in poverty and moved

often

• His early influences include the Beatles, the Righteous Brothers and Elton John

• He received his first guitar in elementary school• 1974-He started his first real band, called Panic

1974-1981

• “Panic In Detroit” by David Bowie was the first song he learned to play

• 1981-Dave met Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield (Metallica)

1983

• Dave became heavily involved in drugs, promiscuous sex, and alcohol

• He was kicked out of Metallica • He came up with his future band name “Megadeth” • Dave met David Ellefson and founded Megadeth

1984-1988

• 1984-Megadeth released their first album, “Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!”

• Went on their first tour throughout the U.S. and Canada• 1985-Signed on with a new record label

• Released second album “Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?”

• 1987-First world tour• 1988-Released third album,

“So Far So Good… So What?”• Played with big bands such as

Dio, Iron Maiden, KISS and Guns ‘N Roses

1990-1991

• Megadeth went through several band member changes

• Dave was known for his bad temper and habit of picking fights

• 1990-Released their fourth album, “Rust In Peace”

• 1991-Megadeth headlined for their own tour

• Dave married his wife, Pamela Casselburry

1992-1993

• 1992-Dave’s son, Justis, was born • Megadeth released their fifth

album, Countdown To Extinction”

• 1993-A tour was cancelled due to Dave’s drug and alcohol addiction

• Megadeth was kicked off of Aerosmith’s tour, also because of his addictions

1994-1998

• 1994-Megadeth’s sixth album was released, “Youthanasia”

• “Youthanasia broke records in Canada for the fastest album to go golden

• 1997-Their seventh album was released, “Cryptic Writings”

• Megadeth launched their website, www.megadeth.com

• 1998-Dave’s daughter, Electra, was born

1999-2002

• 1999-Megadeth released their eighth album, “Risk”• “Risk” was not as successful for Megadeth• 2001-Their ninth album, “The World Needs A Hero” was

released• 2002-They released a live

album, “Rude Awakening”• Their compilation album,

“Still Alive… And Well?” was also released

2002-2004

• 2002-Dave suffered nerve damage in his left arm and was told he’d never play guitar again

• Megadeth dismembered• 2004-After two years of therapy, Dave regained feeling

in his arm• Dave sought out religion and became a Christian• Megedeth released their tenth album, “The System Has Failed”

2005-2011

• 2005-Megadeth released, “Greatest Hits: Back To The Start”

• 2007-Their eleventh album, “United Abominations” was released

• 2009-”Endgame” was their twelfth album to be released

• 2011-Their thirteenth and most meaningful album, “Th1RT3EN” was released

Today

• Megadeth has sold many multiplatinum albums• Dave has appeared on several television shows and had

music featured on many soundtracks• After numerous trips to rehab, Dave remains happy and

sober

Musical Composition

“Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”

• Track from album, “Rust In Peace”

• Music and lyrics written by Dave Mustaine

• Album was produced in October 1990

• Originally performed by Dave Mustaine (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Marty Friedman (lead guitar, backing vocals), David Ellefson (bass, backing vocals), and Nick Menza (drums, backing vocals)

• Total song length is 6:32

• 0:00-Electric guitar starts with fast paced tempo-This gives the listener a feeling of speed and excitement. The reader is being built up to the story line; the rise and fall of the musical cords helps the listener feel hooked into the journey.

• 0:06-Drums join in-Adding to the excitement and deepening the depth of the beat.

• 0:11-Tempo becomes faster-This prepares the listener for what is to come.

• 0:45-Lead guitar comes in with chords-This gives the listener a feeling of stability while taking the ride to the story line

• 1:27-Vocals 1-An introduction to the meaning of the song, different than the other verses; right away the listener feels the tension in the lyrics; the vocals and lyrics give the listener a feeling of being distraught.

• 2:15-Acoustic Guitar Bridge-This helps the listener feel like they are either cooling off or building up to something big.

• 2:26-Vocals 2-Guitar gets heavier; vocals sound more like fast talking and have an angry feeling, different than the other verses; the tone in the vocals and the heaviness of the guitar make the listener feel like they are taking revenge; the vocals end at a high point, leaving the listener feeling unresolved.

• 2:41-Lead guitar with percussion and guitar-The tone in the chords help the listener feel a little more relaxed with an underlying sad feeling coming from the musical descent.

• 2:56-Verse 1-Vocals sound worried; the listener is hooked into the story line, becoming interested in the sad story the vocalist is telling.

• 3:27-Lead guitar with percussion and guitar-The listener is taken along with the rise and fall of the chords and rhythm; the listener is prepared for the mental ride the lead guitar is about to take them on.

• 3:46-Lead guitar drops out-This lets the listener know that the vocals are about to continue on.

• 3:50-Verse 2-With the vocals sounding worried, the listener is engaged with the sad story being described by the vocalist; the listener ends up feeling angry as the lyrics turn revengeful.

• 4:21-Lead guitar with percussion and guitar-Preparing the listener for the change in speed.

• 4:37-Speed picks up-This takes the listener along, leaving a fast and confusing impression.

• 4:48-Lead guitar with percussion and guitar continue-High dissonance is felt as the guitar ascends

• 5:40-Vocals 3-Vocals are similar in sound, but are different than any other verse; the vocals give the listener the final piece to the story; the listener feels a little incomplete, sad, and angry.

• 6:21-Coda-Short pause; the song ends abruptly with vocals; this finalizes the story and gives the listener closure.

“Sweating Bullets”

• A track from “Countdown To Extinction”

• Music and lyrics were written by Dave Mustaine

• Album was produced in June 1992

• Originally performed by Dave Mustaine (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Chris Broderick (lead guitar, backing vocals), David Ellefson (bass, backing vocals), and Shawn Drover (drums, backing vocals)

• Total song length is 5:27

• 0:00-Tempo is slow with electric guitar solo entrance; this gives the listener a feeling of anticipation.

• 0:22-Drums enter-This gives the listener a deeper beat to connect with, and gives them even more anticipation of what is to come.

• 0:46-Verse 1-Intro with guitar and drums, melody has three beats with short pauses; vocals are angry and sound like fast talking; the listener immediately gets an angry feeling and anticipation builds for the story to continue. • 1:08- Chorus-The tempo picks up; the

listener feels like they are vicariously going through the troubling story the vocalist is describing; the music has a smooth, catchy beat that is easy to follow along with.

• 1:35-Verse 2-vocals slow down to angry talking again; the same feelings as the first verse run through the listener as the story is continued; the story is easy to follow along with because the vocals are only a little faster than talking speed.

• 1:59- Chorus -The tempo picks back up; the listener returns to story mode but this time with a sense of knowledge; the listener has a better idea of what is to come and is able to just ride along with the chords.

• 2:25-Guitar and drum enters-This leaves the listener to really get into the musical part of the song, even getting carried away with the lead guitar’s movements.

• 3:23-Tempo slows-Alerting the listener to change and leading them toward completion.

• 3:33-Talking in the background-This helps the listener get more into the storyline by adding more content to the story.

• 3:58-The tempo gets faster-Alerting the listener that change is coming.

• 4:10-Verse 3-Similar to the other verses-The listener is kept interested as the same feelings rise and the storyline is continued through angry fast-talk by the vocalist.

• 4:33-Chorus-The listener is very comfortable with the song by now. They are able to just enjoy the ride as the same rhythm is kept going.

• 4:57-Verse 4 –Similar to other verses-New lyrics that gives the listener a sense of completion; this verse is the shortest which contributes to the coda.

• 5:23-Coda-Ends abruptly with vocals-The song is finalized with a sense of completion given to the listener through the abruptness.

“Symphony Of Destruction”

• From the album, “Countdown To Extinction”

• Music and lyrics written by Dave Mustaine

• Album was produced June 1992• Total song length is 4:06• Originally performed by Dave Mustaine (lead vocals,

rhythm guitar), Chris Broderick (lead guitar, backing vocals), David Ellefson (bass, backing vocals), and Shawn Drover (drums, backing vocals)

• 0:00-Starts out with a symphony sound (strings, chorus vocals)-This is a little confusing to the listener because the music is a completely different genre than expected.

• 0:14- Verse 1-Moderate tempo, electrical guitar, drums-The rhythm is easy to follow along with; the story is also easy to follow along with due to the fast-talking vocals.

• 0:57-Chorus-The chorus is very catchy and easy to follow along with, giving the listener a sense of security and knowledge.

• 1:14-Verse 2-Vocals are angry with a background of continuous chords from the guitar and drums; the listener is able to clearly listen to the musical story description; the description hooks the listener in.

• 1:52-Chorus-The listener easily falls into singing along with this predictable chorus; the listener feels comfortable with the story line and just follows along.

• 2:24-Lead guitar solo with guitar and drums playing continuous chord-The listener is taken on a musical rollercoaster with fast-paced ascending and descending movements made by the lead guitar.

• 2:54-Verse 3- Moderate tempo with angry voice-The listener is able to continue to easily follow along while hearing the rest of the story.

• 3:31-Chorus-The listener finds the rhythm and tone to be familiar; they continue to follow along until the song slows down indicating the end is near.

• 4:03-Coda-The song ends abruptly after a powerful ascending burst of the last lyric.

References:• Mustaine, Dave, and Joe Layden.

Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir. New York: It, 2010. Print.

• Megadeth. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. <http://www.megadeth.com>.