Though Dave Mustaine's time in Metallica ended rather abruptly, the guitarist still has a fan in one of his former bandmates. Bassist Ron McGovney took to social media on Sunday (May 28) to praise Mustaine's work on the band's No Life Til Leather demo that helped to launch their career.
McGovney, the bassist who preceded Cliff Burton in Metallica, recently revisited the No Life Til Leather demo and came out of the experience singing the praises of the future Megadeth leader.
"No Life Til Leather still is the best metal demo ever," proclaimed McGovney, while sharing a link to the original music. He then added, "@DaveMustaine just kills it on this tape. He leaves the rest of us in the dust. I am just listening to it for the first time in 10 years. Wow!"
When one commenter on his tweet suggested that the bassist was just looking for a way to talk bad about Metallica's two original members that were still with the band, McGovney shot down that notion explaining, "Roger....I am not talking bad about James and Lars or even me for that matter. Dave was just so far ahead of us as musicians at that point. I have a huge amount of respect for James, Lars, and Dave for what they have accomplished in the music industry."
READ MORE: Ron McGovney Responds to Dave Mustaine's ''Alpha-Male' Claim
As has been well documented over the years, Metallica parted ways with Mustaine in 1983 over his drinking, which could become volatile and unhinged at times. They eventually replaced him with Kirk Hammett, though Mustaine remains credited for some of the songwriting on their Kill 'Em All debut.
While many of Metallica's records have received reissues over the years, No Life Til' Leather has remained held up due to a disagreement between Mustaine and Metallica. In a 2017 tweet, Mustaine blamed Lars Ulrich for the breakdown of a proposed reissue, noting, "James contacted me 2 years ago. We were going to officially release the "No Life Till Leather" demo as a record, w/27 tracks, pics, the whole enchilada, and the talks broke down because Lars wanted credit on two songs I wrote every note and word to. I have the texts. I passed."
As for McGovney, he also had a short tenure with Metallica. The bassist exited in December 1982 amidst tensions with other band members, eventually to be replaced by Burton before the recording of Kill 'Em All.
These days you can catch both Metallica and Mustaine's longtime band Megadeth both out on tour. Get your Metallica tickets here and get tickets for a Megadeth show here.
Metallica's No Life 'Til Leather Full Demo + Bonus Track
