Dave Mustaine, founder of Megadeth and original guitarist for Metallica, is once again stirring controversy — this time accusing his former bandmates of musical theft on one of their biggest hits, Enter Sandman.

In a newly surfaced interview, Mustaine claims that Metallica lifted the iconic riff from the crossover thrash band Excel, pointing to their 1989 track “Tapping Into The Emotional Void” as the original source of the idea. While the similarities aren’t glaring on first listen, Mustaine insists that the structural resemblance between the two songs—especially in their openings—is too close to be coincidental.

“They took that riff straight from Excel,” Mustaine alleged, reigniting a claim he first made nearly two decades ago.

Back in 2003, it was reported that members of Excel had considered filing a lawsuit against Metallica over the alleged riff theft. However, no legal action was ever taken.

Mustaine didn’t stop there. He also accused Metallica of using his original riffs in several early tracks without proper credit.

“I wrote a lot of their music that made them, and all the solos on that first record were mine — the best Kirk could do was try and copy them,” Mustaine said, referencing guitarist Kirk Hammett, who replaced him in 1983.

He went on to name specific tracks he claims include his uncredited work:

• Ride The Lightning
• The Call Of Ktulu
• Phantom Lord
• Metal Militia
• Jump In The Fire
• The Four Horsemen

Mustaine’s tension with Metallica has been well-documented over the years, but these new remarks show that old wounds still linger. Whether fans see it as a valid claim or just part of the ongoing feud, the accusations continue to stir debate across the metal community.