Metal Anarchy

During a recent interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Dave Mustaine revealed that he actually contacted Dimebag Darrell (Pantera) about joining Megadeth in the late 80’s. However, things didn’t end up working out because Mustaine had just hired drummer Nick Menza and the guitarist said he would only join if his brother Vinnie Paul (Pantera) could join too.

Here’s an exchange from the interview:

Were you and Dimebag Darrell into each other’s gear? Did you have different philosophies on the instruments you played?

“I did not. He may have, because he was a better guitar player than I am, and he was much more into that stuff. Being a bandleader/guitar player/rhythm player/lead player/blah blah blah, I don’t have the availability to spend as much time working on my solos as I’d like to. But I’m also very satiated with what I’ve done with my career.

“And with Darrell, when you look at his playing, he’s a monster. He’s one of those guys that in trios, with the bottom dropping out, he was really able to keep that going. Of course, on the studio releases, there was an additional track going, but live, that’s the real litmus test, right? And he was a spectacle to watch.

“I actually called him up and asked him to play in Megadeth. Fate would have completely changed if I would have called him before I called Nick Menza. I said, ‘Hey, Darrell, I’m looking for a guitar player.’ And he goes, ‘Can I bring my brother?’ And I went, ‘Who’s your brother?’ He goes, ‘Vinnie Paul! Don’t you know Vinnie Paul?’ He wanted to bring his brother and have him play with us, and I go, ‘Oh, man, I just hired Nick Menza.’ Can you imagine what Vinnie and Darrell would have been with me and Junior [David Ellefson]? Would’ve been pretty cool.”