THE BEAST

DAVE MUSTAINE Is 'Sure' He Will Be Inducted Into ROCK HALL, Says GRAMMY Would Be 'Better' If It Was Given To Him And Not To MEGADETH

MEGADETH   mainman   Dave Mustaine   says that it's just a matter of time before he is inducted into the   Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame .

Mustaine , who was a member of   METALLICA   for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, before being dismissed and replaced by   Kirk Hammett , was not inducted into the   Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame   with the band during the April 2009 ceremony at Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium. Despite this, he has found some solace in the fact that he is credited on the first two   METALLICA   albums and co-wrote half a dozen or so songs with the band which, inarguably, helped launch their career.

"I'm basically in there with the   METALLICA   thing; that was basically just a diss those guys pulled,"   Dave   told   The Columbus Dispatch   in a new interview. "But it would nice to be in there on my own two feet. I'm sure at some point it will happen. You can't create a whole frickin' music style and not be recognized for it."

After twelve nominations in the past twenty-six years,   MEGADETH   finally won a   Grammy Award   for "Best Metal Performance" earlier this year.

Even so,   Mustaine   told   The Columbus Dispatch   that he won't be fully satisfied until he has a   Grammy   with his own name on it.

"As crazy as I am, I was thinking about the   Grammy   the other day and [how] it was given to   MEGADETH ,"   Mustaine   said. "I was thinking it would surely be a lot better if it was given to   Dave Mustaine   and not to   MEGADETH . I guess you've got to keep the fire burning."

Mustaine   told   Noisey   last year that he was "hoping" to be inducted into the   Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame , but added that "if they don't want me in there, it's okay. I mean, I am in there vis-à-vis   METALLICA , and no matter what those guys say or what anybody believes about their induction ceremony, they wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for me being in the band, because I was there in the beginning, so I have some satisfaction."

METALLICA   drummer   Lars Ulrich   later explained to   The Plain Dealer   that   Mustaine   was not included because "you've got to kind of cap it somewhere.   Dave Mustaine   never played on any   METALLICA   records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days. We thought . . . the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a   METALLICA   record."

He added: " Dave Mustaine   was in the band for 11 months, predominantly in 1982. . . . I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

METALLICA   invited   Mustaine   to attend the   Rock Hall   induction. He declined, citing European tour commitments, but issued a statement congratulating the band. He later explained his absence in an interview, saying: "I'm not gonna sit in the audience and watch the band I started with these two guys get inducted and me not be a part of it."

He added: "There's ten million people that agree [I should have been inducted]. . . You know what [ Lars ] said to me?! He said, [imitating   Lars ' Danish accent] 'Only the people that are on the fucking record can be at the   Hall Of Fame , man.' And I was like, 'Well,   Hooked On Phonics   worked for me; I can read my name; it's all over [the first   METALLICA   album]. [ Laughs ] But you know what?! It's okay, 'cause if I'm gonna get into the   Hall Of Fame , there's nothing he can do to stop me."