"You guys are punks!" Watch Dave Mustaine furiously berate security guards for 'bullying' a Megadeth fan at show in Illinois

Dave Mustaine points at a security guard from the stage

(Image credit: Youtube (Resale_therapy))

Dave Mustaine gave a venue's security one hell of a telling off for allegedly mistreating a Megadeth fan at a show in Bloomington, Illinois earlier this week. The incident, which took place at the Grossinger Motor Arena on Wednesday September 27, saw Megadeth cut one of their most famous hits short and the entire concert come to a sudden halt.

Spotting some commotion near the front of the crowd as the thrash icons ploughed through hallmark anthem Symphony Of Destruction, Mustaine ordered his bandmates to pause the song before angrily confronting some security guards in front of him who had seemingly got into an altercation with the aforementioned fan.

"I'm not gonna play anymore until those guys are escorted out of the building, so just hang on a second," said the frontman, before turning his wrath to the security guards directly and adding: "That was so fucking unnecessary. That was so fucking unnecessary, you guys. You're supposed to make…What's on the back of your shirt? Safety? It should say, 'No Fucking Safety', because you guys are punks, and you shouldn't have fucking hit that guy. Four of you on one guy. What a bunch of pussies."

Mustaine refused to continue the set until the security guards in question had left the area, adding: "Get 'em out of here or I'm leaving. I don't wanna fucking hear that they're in the back. I want them out of here."

Megadeth didn't pick up Symphony Of Destruction after the incident, but they did continue the show with final song Holy Wars...The Punishment Due, without any further issues.

Watch a video of Dave giving security both barrels below.

In the latest issue of Metal Hammer magazine, out now, Dave Mustaine looks back at forty years of Megadeth, discussing some of the chaos that used to unfold at the band's earliest shows.

“The shows were out of control because hardly anyone knew what moshing was,” he explains. “They weren’t familiar with crowdsurfing. Kids would just jump up on the stage and there was no stagediving protocol. Some of them would run over to you and grab your mic stand to get some picks off. They’d bang into your guitar or try to scream into the mic. Then someone would shove them off the stage. It was pure balls-to-the-wall metal insanity."

You can pick that issue up in shops across the UK now.

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.