LOS ANGELES — Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine suggested starting a “supergroup” with Metallica members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo, sources report.
“I haven’t heard back from them in three weeks. They must be so excited that they forgot to send confirmation,” said Mustaine. “Our respective bands are both very established, so for members of each to join forces in a supergroup would be a match made in Hell. After all, I’ve known James, Lars and Robert for decades now, and we play a similar type of metal. It’s just a perfect fit, and who knows? Maybe we can do some covers of some classic Metallica songs as a goof, or something more serious like the entire Megadeth discography. Just spit-balling here. I certainly wouldn’t want this to interfere with our primary projects. We’d just play it by ear and have some fun with it.”
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich was not receptive to Mustaine’s suggestion.
“This is clearly just Dave trying to get back into the band,” Ulrich sighed. “He’s been doing this for the past 40 years. It started shortly after we released ‘Ride the Lightning’ when he would try to double-book Megadeth at the same venues as Metallica. Then there was that time he dyed his hair black and impersonated Kirk before our 2011 Big Four of Thrash show at Yankee Stadium. I keep trying to tell him to give it up, especially because Megadeth is one of the best thrash acts of all time. He can totally be happy if he just lets himself feel content in his own band.”
Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett did not seem to take issue with the proposition.
“I think it’s a great idea!” Hammett said. “Ever since our documented therapy sessions during the recording of ‘St. Anger,’ I’ve known that we need to place emphasis on time away from Metallica. I have my horror memorabilia and surfing, so if James, Lars and Robert want to start a side project, I’m all for it. It would be super cool for them to play with Dave, too. He’s a hilarious guy who’s always calling me funny nicknames like ‘The Usurper’ and ‘Shitty Replacement’ while joking about how I’m not a good enough guitarist for the band. He just cracks me up. It’d be awesome to see what kind of music the guys would make with him.”
At press time, Mustaine had sent Hetfield, Ulrich and Trujillo some “song ideas” composed entirely of “Kill ‘Em All” riffs.