Dave Mustaine: Metallica Stole 'Enter Sandman' Riff from Another Band
The post Dave Mustaine: Metallica Stole 'Enter Sandman' Riff from Another Band appeared first on Consequence.
Dave Mustaine has once again asserted that Metallica stole their most famous riff from a song by another band.
In a new interview on 'The Shawn Ryan Show,' Mustaine accused his former band of lifting the 'Enter Sandman' riff from crossover thrash band Excel and their 1989 song 'Tapping Into the Emotional Void.'
Get Metallica Tickets Here
Comparisons between the songs have been made over the years — even by Mustaine himself some 20 years ago — and members of Excel once considered taking legal action against Metallica, per a report in 2003. The riffs do bare similarities, as does the tom-drum buildup in both songs, and Mustaine felt the need to remind people when he began discussing Metallica in the interview.
'I made sure not to ever say that I quit, because I wanted people to know that I was unfairly dismissed and that I didn't give a shit,' the Megadeth mastermind said of his tenure with Metallica. 'Because we may not be as big as they are. Hell, their biggest song, 'Enter Sandman' — go look up the band Excel right now. Look up their song, I think it's something 'Into the Unknown.' Pretty similar,' referring to 'Tapping Into the Emotional Void.'
Mustaine ended up discussing Metallica at length during the three-plus-hour conversation with Shawn Ryan, and elsewhere, took digs at the band and his replacement Kirk Hammett for using material he'd written.
'At the time, I was really mad and I didn't wanna forgive them for what they did,' Mustaine said of his ousting from Metallica. 'And I told them when I left, 'Do not use my music. And of course they used it. 'Ride the Lightning,' I wrote. 'The Call of Ktulu' I wrote. Let's see, what else? There's 'Phantom Lord,' 'Metal Militia,' 'Jump in the Fire', 'The Four Horsemen.' And I wrote a bunch of 'Leper Messiah,' too. They didn't give me credit on that. You listen to the riffs, you know they're my riffs.
He continued, 'It's, like, you think I'm gonna all of a sudden hear my riff and say, 'That's not me.' So, yeah, I wrote a lot of their music that made them, and all the solos on that first record were mine — the best Kirk could try and copy them.'
For what it's worth, Mustaine, Hammett, and James Hetfield all made Consequence's list of the 100 Best Guitarists of All Time.
Fans can catch Metallica performing 'Enter Sandman' and other classics on the current North American leg of their 'M72 World Tour' (pick up tickets here).
You can listen to the full interview below, as well as the Excel song 'Tapping Into the Emotional Void,' along with Metallica's 'Enter Sandman.'
Popular Posts
Billy Joel Diagnosed with Brain Disorder, Cancels All Upcoming Tour Dates
Man Wearing Nazi T-Shirt Gets a Beatdown from Fans at Punk Rock Bowling Fest
Freddie Mercury's Alleged Child Revealed in New Biography
David Lynch's Personal Archive Going Up for Auction
The 30 Best Action Movie Stars of All Time, Ranked
Is The Who's Farewell Tour in Turmoil?
Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
King of the Hill Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Was Victim of Hate Crime, Husband Says
The post King of the Hill Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Was Victim of Hate Crime, Husband Says appeared first on Consequence. Earlier today, it was reported that Jonathan Joss, the voice actor known for his role in King of the Hill, was tragically shot and killed on Sunday following a dispute with his neighbor. Now, Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, has issued a statement revealing that the incident was, in fact, a hate crime: My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done. Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic. When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw. While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired. Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life. Jonathan is my husband. He gave me more love in our time together than most people ever get. We were newlyweds. We picked Valentines Day. We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future. He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other. The alleged suspect, identified as Sigfredo Alvarez-Cega, was arrested and charged with murder shortly after the shooting. Joss voiced Redcorn on King of the Hill from seasons 2 to 13, and had recorded lines for the series' upcoming revival set to air on Hulu this summer. He also notably played Chief Ken Hotate on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. Popular Posts King of the Hill Revival Gets Hulu Release Date, New Opening Sequence Man Wearing Nazi T-Shirt Gets a Beatdown from Fans at Punk Rock Bowling Fest Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence Are Now In-Laws David Lynch's Personal Archive Going Up for Auction Dave Mustaine: Metallica Stole "Enter Sandman" Riff from Another Band Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening Announces Summer 2025 North American Tour Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘80s Metal Band Icon Shocks Crowd with Powerful Closing Statement at Concert
'80s Metal Band Icon Shocks Crowd with Powerful Closing Statement at Concert originally appeared on Parade. Arguably the biggest metal band of the past forty years is Metallica. The band came to prominence in the mid-80s for their album "Master of Puppets," whose title track has become one of the most iconic metal songs ever written. The band exploded into the mainstream in the next decade with their black album, which made them a household name. The band has seen consistent touring throughout the career, selling out stadiums and playing massive shows to millions of fans around the world. Songs like "Enter Sandman," "For Whom The Bell Tolls," and "One" have cemented the band as one of the most successful representatives of the metal genre. At a recent concert, lead singer of the band James Hetfield got on the mic to give a message out to all the fans at the end of the show, and people are pretty moved by his words. Take a look. Fans left their reactions to the kind words in the comments, showing how affected they were by the care shown by the singer. "He's so sweet. ❤️" "METAL GODS!" "He truly is Papa Het to us all. ♥️" It's always nice to see the humanity in the musicians we idolize, especially when they're giving back to an audience that has given them so much.🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 '80s Metal Band Icon Shocks Crowd with Powerful Closing Statement at Concert first appeared on Parade on May 29, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Legendary Hard Rock Band Racks Up the Heavy Metal as Iconic Album Hits Sales of 20 Million
Metallica is one of the biggest hard-rock acts in history. They're currently slaying fans on tour and their classic records continue to shift units, as two of their classic titles just reached new certification heights by the Recording Industry Assn. of America. The band has announced through their press representatives that their self-titled 1991 album, known as The Black Album, has been certified 20 times platinum for sales in excess of 20 million copies. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 That's big enough news, but in typical Metallica style, there's more. Masters of Puppets, the band's third album, has been certified eight times platinum for over 8 million in sales. The Black Album is seen as Metallica's mainstream breakthrough as it went to No. 1 in 10 different countries, including the U.S., where it spent four weeks atop the Billboard 200 beginning the chart week of Aug. 31, 1991. 'We had come off the …And Justice for All album and tour. For me, it was pretty obvious that we had taken the progressive, complicated side of Metallica as far as we could take it,' drummer, who writes the bulk of the band's songs with singer/guitarist , said in an interview for The Billboard Book of Number One Albums. 'The songs kept getting longer and more and more sideways. When we took those songs out on the road, we realized that was it. We really needed to make a major change — not so much for commercial reasons, but creatively we had exhausted that route.'During that same period, Ulrich had begun to rediscover his hard-rock roots by listening to classic sides by the Rolling Stones and AC/DC. 'The one thing in Metallica that we had not done was to really sit down and try to write a bunch of short and more to-the-point songs,' he said. 'We decided to take what we do in Metallica and make it a little more straightforward and not be so concerned about trying to show our musicianship.' The plan worked. The first song that Ulrich and Hetfield wrote for the new album was 'Enter Sandman,' which Ulrich said, 'That was the most straightforward, simplest song we had ever written. We did that in two days. That kind of set the tone for the whole record.' With producer Bob Rock, known for such classics as Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood, on board, Metallica went on to write and record such classics as 'The Unforgiven,' 'Wherever I May Roam,' 'Nothing Else Matters' and more. 'Everyone has one album when everything comes together,' said Ulrich. 'This was ours.' Metallica is currently on the third year of its M72 World Tour, which has set attendance records at venues ranging from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. The band's next gig is Wednesday, May 28 at Northwest Stadium in Washington, D.C. Legendary Hard Rock Band Racks Up the Heavy Metal as Iconic Album Hits Sales of 20 Million first appeared on Parade on May 28, 2025
