In yet another twist in the never-ending saga of Dave Mustaine vs. Metallica — a feud now legally old enough to rent a car — the Megadeth frontman has dropped a bombshell in a new interview: he says he wrote the lyrics to Metallica’s “Orion.”
Let that sink in.
“Yeah, man. I wrote the lyrics to Orion,” Mustaine said, totally deadpan, while tuning a guitar string that didn’t ask for this. “I remember it clear as day. It was this really personal, spacey kind of thing — pain, isolation, betrayal among the stars. It was heavy. Deep.”
They cut me out. Again. No credit, no royalties, nothing. And now they act like they created it? Please. That song wouldn’t have even existed without my lyrical vision. I was the Orion in Orion, man.”
He added, with visible frustration:
“Lars told me ‘the vibe didn’t match,’ which is rich coming from a guy who thought St. Anger had groove. And James — he just kind of grunted and said ‘we’re going a different direction.’ Which apparently meant the direction of pretending I wasn’t even there.”
While Mustaine didn’t quote any lines directly, he hinted that the chorus contained “some of the most soul-wrenching stuff I’ve ever written,” allegedly involving metaphors about solar eclipses, betrayal, and a riff-shaped spaceship called Vengeance Hawk.
In response, Lars Ulrich reportedly blinked three times, laughed into a silk handkerchief, and said: “Sure, man. I’m pretty sure Dave also thinks he invented outer space.”
Meanwhile, Kirk Hammett politely declined to comment, though sources say he quietly Googled, “Orion lyrics???” just to make sure he wasn’t going insane.
At press time, Mustaine was rumored to be working on a spoken word version of Orion with himself on vocals, cello, and what he describes as “galactic fury.”
