Megadeth's founder passionate about his music, playing at Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil in Birmingham (video) (2024)

Dave Mustaine, second from right, says Megadeth's records are like snapshots of his life, reflecting the the time they're created. What's the picture listeners might get from the latest album, "Thirteen"? "It's like the look on your face when someone walks in on you when you're doing something naughty," Mustaine says.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Dave Mustaine doesn’t just answer a question; he commits to it.

founder and frontman is passionate about many subjects -- thrash metal is just one of them -- and once he gets going, Mustaine, 50, is inclined to discuss, detail, explain and elaborate.

He talks about his politics. He talks about his faith. He talks about his past as a poor kid in California. He talks about hard rock, tough breaks, health problems and band chemistry.

When he’s about to emphasize a point or sum up his feelings, Mustaine will take a breath and say, “Long story boring ...” Then he concludes.

It’s hard to argue with Mustaine, a cordial yet forceful personality. But he’s definitely wrong about one thing. His long stories never are boring; they offer compelling glimpses into his life and career.

“People like me, we’re used to fighting for what we have,” Mustaine says. “My mom was a maid; I grew up with a key around my neck, so I could get into the house after school while she was at work. I know about hardship. When I started out, I was homeless. I lived on the streets and panhandled.”

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When:

6:45 p.m. May 5.

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With Megadeth’s music, Mustaine has found a way to rage against the machine, combat injustice, struggle against censorship and fight for the rights he holds dear.

“When people in Washington say they’re going to take away my guns,” he says, “they better bring theirs if they’re going to take mine.”

Agree or disagree, Mustaine’s bound to make you think. Conceptually, he’s a heavy guy, known for creating heavy records such as “Countdown to Extinction,” “Youthanasia,” “The System Has Failed” and “Endgame.”

Nuclear war? He condemns the very idea. Christianity? He’s fully embraced it. Drug addiction? He’s been trapped there, and made it through the abyss.

“People oscillate at different rates of speed,” Mustaine says. “When times get tough, when people are stressing a little more, heavy metal becomes more popular. It has the right speed, tempo, vibration and color. When people listen to songs like that, they connect.”

See for yourself on Saturday, when Megadeth performs in Birmingham at the

The band’s 6:45 p.m. set -- its first appearance here in more than a decade -- is part of a tour linked to “Thirteen,” released in November as Megadeth’s 13th studio album.

Megadeth has earned several Grammy nominations, but has yet to take home the trophy. Does leader Dave Mustaine care about awards and ceremonies? "It's relative to where the award comes from," Mustaine says. " I skipped the first seven Grammy Awards. I thought it was kind of hilarious. I went to the eighth. I'd like to win a Grammy, because it's been elusive to me so far. But I don't liken myself to the Susan Lucci of the Grammys. When we win awards and competitions awarded by our peers, that's totally different."

For longtime fans, Mustaine is much more than a frontman; he’s the stubborn heartbeat of the band, and the only constant member since Megadeth was formed in the early 1980s.

Other players have come and gone, and some of them have famously clashed with Mustaine over the signature sound -- dark, fast and complex -- or the band’s apocalyptic themes.

“That’s the problem when you start a band,” he says. “You have to pick the right guys. But things happen. ... We have our lineup and everything’s working, and one guy says, ‘I want more money.’ Or ‘I want to write more songs.’ The truth of the matter is that it’s hard to write songs. You have your whole life to write your first album. After that, it’s hard.”

Difficult, too, is the task of sustaining for about 30 years in the world of thrash and metal. Mustaine, for example, has endured a severe case of spinal stenosis (with herniated discs and bone spurs) and suffered nerve damage in his left arm and hand.

Mustaine jokes that his mom always warned him about the dangers of head-banging, but the physical demands of aggressive rock performances have taken their toll. In 2011, he had emergency surgery when his neck and spine problems became overwhelming, during the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Tour.

“Last summer during the Mayhem Tour, everything just went south,” Mustaine says. “Something had broken in the back of my neck; I had a bone fragment in my spinal column the size of an eraser. The pain when I was moving my neck had me on my knees, sobbing. My son had never seen me this way. My hand went numb. My ring and pinky finger were not communicating with my brain. ... But the surgery was a complete success. I had a disc fused in my neck, and the feeling has returned completely to my left hand. It shows you how God’s with me in everything you do.”

Now that he’s healed, Mustaine says, “I take vitamins and supplements and I pray.” He’s also careful about his stage moves, compensating for the loss of motion -- about 10 percent, he says -- in his neck.

“The act of head-banging, when it started, was to play guitar, stand in a wide posture and move your head up and down,” Mustaine says. “Now I move my torso a little bit more, and get the desired effect. I make the necessary adjustments I need to keep myself healthy. Really, it’s been a blessing in disguise.”

Just as important, Mustaine says, is that drama inside the band is finally over. He’s pleased to share the Megadeth name with a stable lineup of musicians: drummer Shawn Drover, guitarist Chris Broderick and the band’s original bassist, David Ellefson, who rejoined the group in 2010.

“When you have three other guys with the same mindset and vision, it’s like a car with all four tires working,” Mustaine says. “That’s the good thing about being perceived as a band, knowing that it’s not just me.”