Megadeth vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine has lamented the state of the world at the moment, particularly when it comes to cancel culture and the ongoing culture war that has created sharp political divides online. Mustaine has had a history of speaking on political/social issues, in the past aligning with conservative views. Through Megadeth‘s catalog, he’s also railed against the military industrial complex, political corruption and more.
Speaking recently with TV WAR, Mustaine was asked if he thinks he could still speak now as openly about political and social issues in the same way he did early on in Megadeth‘s lengthy career. He replied [transcribed by Blabbermouth.net]:
“Well, I think right now, the world has changed for the worse, with all the cancel culture, all the hatred that people have. You used to be able to say stuff in the United States, and now you can’t, unless you’re the people that’s telling everybody else they can’t. The other thing is, the times have just changed. If you sing about politics, for example, and somebody can determine where your political leanings lie, you’ve just halved your audience, because the people who are one party will be for you, and the other party will be against you. And that really sucks.
Before, it used to be nobody knew who you voted for. Nobody cared. And now it’s important for the hateful people in the world to find out who people voted for and to expose them for something that’s very private. I think anybody that is a Megadeth fan aren’t of that walk. I don’t think any of our fans are that kind of person who would get joy out of doing shitty things in life. I think our fans know that I came from a terrible upbringing, and that everything I’ve done, I’ve tried to make myself better, and that includes sharing everything that I’ve done with our fans so that they can get better, too.”
