The dismissal of Dave Mustaine from Metallica due to his struggles with drug/alcohol abuse and violent behavior prior to the ‘Kill ‘Em All’ recording sessions marked a turning point for the band. In need of a new guitarist, Metallica enlisted Kirk Hammett, triggering a prolonged feud between Mustaine and Hammett. Mustaine asserted that Hammett gained recognition by performing music he had originally composed.

Expressing his disdain for Hammett over the years, the Megadeth vocalist accused the Metallica guitarist of taking his position and appropriating his guitar leads. In an interview on Dave Navarro’s Spread TV, Mustaine revealed his intentions of retaliating against his successor:

“James and I had planned on firing Lars so many times. I like James more than Lars. I don’t really like Kirk ’cause he got my job, but you know, I nailed his girlfriend before I left.”

Despite the animosity, the relationship between Hammett and Mustaine underwent a gradual transformation, notably after their bands shared the stage at the ‘Big Four’ shows in 2010. The following year, a significant shift occurred when Mustaine disclosed that Hammett invited him to perform guitar solos on stage during a rendition of Diamond Head’s ‘Helpless.’

Reflecting on the experience in an interview with Artisan News, Mustaine recalled the interaction:

“He said, ‘Do you wanna take the solo?’ and I said, ‘Yeah.’ [Laughs] But we forgot to tell anybody on the stage or [running] the sound out front that I was gonna do the solo, so Kirk’s playing rhythm full blast, and I’m sitting there going you can’t hear what I’m doing.”

In response to this unexpected collaboration, Mustaine commented on the symbolic significance:

“At least we knew what had happened. It was kind of a symbolic passing of the torch back to me, and it was a nice gesture. I think that that helped Kirk and my relationship improve a bit.”