Claims he saved lives first, back in ’83, and wants retroactive credit
Just days after Metallica unveiled their new film Metallica Saved My Life, former member and eternal grudge-holder Dave Mustaine has filed a lawsuit claiming the band “stole his legacy of therapeutic heavy metal healing.”
In a handwritten legal complaint (scrawled on the back of a Rust in Peace tour laminate), Mustaine accuses Metallica of “spiritual plagiarism,” alleging that he was the first metal musician to save lives by channeling rage, trauma, and at least four different guitar solos into every song.
“They didn’t save anyone’s life,” Dave growled during a surprise press conference held outside a Cracker Barrel in Topeka, Kansas. “If anyone saved lives with riffs and emotional suffering, it was me. I cried on Countdown to Extinction. Literally. Tears on the fretboard.”
Mustaine is demanding that Metallica Saved My Life be rebranded as Metallica Saved a Few Lives, But Honestly, It Was Mostly Dave Mustaine, and that he be retroactively added to all past Metallica documentaries, t-shirts, and 85% of the Black Album royalties.
Lars Ulrich responded to the lawsuit in an official statement: “Dave’s lawsuit is adorable. We’re thinking of turning it into a short film, possibly animated. James already wrote a ballad about it called Whine Eternal.”
In response, Mustaine has promised to release a counter-documentary titled Megadave: The First Responder, detailing the time he “emotionally resuscitated an entire crowd in 1992 with a single pick slide.”
The case is expected to go to court sometime in 2026, unless both parties agree to settle via a guitar solo duel judged by Kerry King and that one angry guy from Slayer forums.
#Dave Mustaine the Savior, #fake news, #stop Metallica, #sue everyone
