Dave Mustaine recalls his Megadeth offer to Dimebag Darrell

Dave Mustiane and Dimebag (Image credit: Joseph Branston/Total Guitar Magazine / James Cumpsty/Redferns - Getty)

Dave Mustaine has recalled the time he offered Dimebag Darrell Abbott a job in Megadeth.

Mustaine was speaking recently with the Tampa Bay Times when he was asked if he and the late guitarist ever talked about their gear or shared the same philosophy when it came to playing.

And after praising Dimebag’s talents, Mustaine revealed that both Dimebag and his brother Vinnie Paul could both have joined Megadeth, but it just wasn't to be.

Mustaine says: “I actually called him up and asked him to play in Megadeth. Fate would have completely changed if I would have called him before I called Nick Menza. 

“I said, ‘Hey, Darrell – I’m looking for a guitar player.’ And he goes, ‘Can I bring my brother?’ I went, 'Who’s your brother?’ and he goes, ‘Vinnie Paul. Don’t you know Vinnie Paul?’

“He wanted to bring his brother and have him play with us, and I go, ‘Oh, man, I just hired Nick Menza.’

“Can you imagine what Vinnie and Darrell would have been with me and bassist Dave Ellefson? It would have been pretty cool.”

Megadeth are preparing to release their new anthology titled Warheads On Foreheads on March 22.

They’ve also been working on the highly anticipated follow-up to 2016’s Dystopia, which is expected to launch in the coming months.

Megadeth: Warheads On Foreheads

<a href="https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=38569&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.co.uk%2FWarheads-Foreheads-VINYL-Megadeth%2Fdp%2FB07MWQRP97%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-21%26ascsubtag%3Dhawk-custom-tracking-21" data-link-merchant="Amazon UK"" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Megadeth: Warheads On Foreheads
Megadeth look back on the 35 years of thrash with this 35-track anthology, featuring tracks including Mechanix, Wake Up Dead, Hangar 18 and The Threat Is Real.

Megadeth: Warheads On Foreheads

1. Rattlehead
2. Mechanix
3. Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good!
4. The Conjuring
5. Wake Up Dead
6. Devils Island
7. Good Mourning / Black Friday
8. Set The World Afire
9. In My Darkest Hour
10. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
11. Hangar 18
12. Tornado Of Souls
13. Rust In Peace…Polaris
14. Five Magics
15. Take No Prisoners
16. Skin O' My Teeth
17. Angry Again
18. Symphony Of Destruction
19. Sweating Bullets
20. A Tout Le Monde
21. Train Of Consequences
22. Reckoning Day
23. Trust
24. She-Wolf
25. Wanderlust
26. Dread and the Fugitive Mind
27. Blackmail The Universe
28. Washington Is Next!
29. Head Crusher
30. Public Enemy No. 1
31. Kingmaker
32. The Threat Is Real
33. Poisonous Shadows
34. Death From Within
35. Dystopia

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.