In a recent post on X, former Metallica bassist Ron McGovney reflected on his final performance with Dave Mustaine.
A user shared a photo of McGovney with his Metallica bandmates, writing, “Today marks the anniversary of Ron McGovney’s last gig with Metallica, at Mabuhay Gardens San Francisco, November 30th, 1982. The last song he played: ‘Metal Militia.’ Well done Ron, without you Metallica may never have been. Keep up your informative posts here too!”
McGovney responded, “The only thing that I remember about my last show is that the house turned the power out on us during our last song. Dave and I rushed to the guy at the mixing board ready to beat his a**. He slithered away. That’s how we rolled in those days.”
McGovney was part of Metallica during their early days, contributing to initial demos before departing in late 1982. Dave Mustaine, meanwhile, was dismissed from the band a year later in 1983 due to issues with drinking, drug use, and conflicts with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.
“In retrospect, I get it: if you’ve got a guy that gets violent when he gets drunk, and he’s kinda drunk 24/7 then having him around you all day long probably isn’t good for business. I would have done the same thing as Metallica did,” Mustaine said in an interview with Metal Hammer about his departure.
He added, “I had a problem with alcohol, and it cost me my job and cost me two very dear friends. But I didn’t have a Plan B. Being a successful musician was all I ever wanted, and I wasn’t going to let that dream die.”
After Mustaine’s exit, Kirk Hammett joined Metallica. Reflecting on Hammett’s performance of his solos, Mustaine told Guitar World, “The truth is Kirk did me an honor by trying to play my solos on those early songs the way he did. I think that some people would have just started over again. So, I thought it was honorable that Kirk took my solos and did his best to play them as I did. That couldn’t have been easy.”
On December 10, 2011, Mustaine reunited with Metallica for their final 30th-anniversary show at the Fillmore in San Francisco, an event exclusive to fan club members.
