Biography - Dave Mustaine

Who is Dave Mustaine?

Dave Mustaine is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor, and author by profession, and American by nationality. He is best known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of Megadeth and the original lead guitarist of Metallica.

Dave Mustaine – Bio, Age, Parents, Siblings

Dave Mustaine’s birth took place on September 13, 1961, in La Mesa, California, USA. He was born David Scott Mustaine to his mother Emily Mustaine and his father John Mustaine. He is not the only child of his parents and has three older siblings- sisters Michelle Mustaine, Suzanne Mustaine, and Debbie Mustaine.

Education, Ethnicity

For education, he attended Marina High School.

His ethnicity includes English, German, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, French, Dutch, and Ashkenazi-Jewish.

Dave Mustaine – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce

Dave Mustaine married his longtime girlfriend Pamela Anne Casselberry on 3 March 1991. The couple is living happily without rumors of extra-marital affairs or divorce.

He and his wife have welcomed two children together- son Justis David Mustaine (born February 11, 1992) and daughter Electra Nicole Mustaine (born January 28, 1998). Their son is also a guitarist while their daughter is a model, singer, actress, and songwriter.

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Dave Mustaine – Career

Panic, Metallica, Fallen Angels

Mustaine started his career in 1978 with the band Panic. It had Mike Leftwych on drums, Bob Evans on bass, Tom Quecke on rhythm guitar, Pat Voeks as a vocalist, and Dave Mustaine as the lead guitarist. 

But after Panic’s second show, Leftwych and a sound man were killed in a car crash and the band started to fall apart in 1981.  Rhythm guitarist Tom Quecke also passed away. 

In 1981, Mustaine joined Metallica as the lead guitarist after its drummer Lars Ulrich had placed an ad in a local newspaper. But his membership with Metallica ended in 1983 before recording their debut album. He had however worked with the band in several demos and co-wrote 6 tracks.

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The primary cause of his early release was due to his struggle with alcohol and drug abuse, overly aggressive behavior, and personality clashes. After his departure, he worked as a telemarketer. In April 1983, Dave Mustaine founded the band Fallen Angels alongside Robbie McKinney, Matt Kisselstein, and later Dave Ellefson, Greg Handevidt, and Lawrence Renna ('Lor' Kane). The band was later renamed Megadeth.

Megadeth

In 1985, Megadeth released their first album, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!. Since then they have released 15 Studio albums, 5 Live albums, 6 Compilation albums, 10 Video albums, 44 Music videos, 1 EP, and 49 Singles. 

Some of their albums include So Far, So Good... So What! (1988), Cryptic Writings (1997), The System Has Failed (2004), Endgame (2009), Dystopia (2016).

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Dave Mustaine – Awards, Nominations

With Megadeth, Mustaine received many awards. He earned 12 Grammy nominations and a Grammy Award in 2017.

Dave Mustaine – Cancer

In June 2019 Mustaine announced that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer and the band will have to cancel most of their 2019 tour dates. He underwent chemotherapy treatment.

Also read: Megadeth Guitarist Dave Mustaine on his throat cancer: 'Treatment Has Already Begun'

Dave Mustaine – Net Worth, Salary

His net worth is estimated to be around $14 million while there have been no estimates on his salary.

Dave Mustaine – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

On social media, Dave Mustaine is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and has over 522k subscribers on their YouTube channel. Megadeth also has an official webpage. 

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