In a new interview with Spin Magazine, Dave Mustaine talked about Megadeth’s song ‘À Tout le Monde’ which was banned on MTV in the 90s. He explained the true meaning of the song and then talked about the problems they had with it. About the real intention of the song, he said:
“‘À Tout le Monde’ was a song that was written a while ago, it was on the ‘Youthanasia’ album, and it was basically about a dream I had where my mom had died suddenly and it was very shocking. In my dream, my mom was able to come back to Earth and say one thing only, and that one thing was ‘I love you.’ I thought, ‘That would be great if I was able, when I go to heaven, to come back and say one thing to the people I love. I would want to say ‘I love you’ you know, I wouldn’t want to say, like ‘Don’t touch that’ you know, something stupid… I would rather you know it be something meaningful, so the song itself was very meaningful.”
About the decision to ban the song on MTV, he said the following:
“Unfortunately, in Canada, there was some controversy around the song, but I handled it and I said I was not going to let that guy try and take my song away from the people I wrote it for. That thing kind of went away, trying to blame us for that. It was much like the Judas Priest thing that happened a long time ago. But I think the song’s a beautiful song people love it.”
Bassist James LoMenzo also addressed the restrictions on artistic expression nowadays. He said:
“There’s so many people who are instantly canceled for just having an erroneous idea that people aren’t really comfortable with. It’s a shame. … I can’t see any reputable artist who can keep from just saying their truth and their art and having people hear what’s inside their soul.”
Megadeth Was Banned In Malaysia
In July 2001, Megadeth faced a major setback in Malaysia. The country’s government banned the band from performing and ordered their then-new album ‘The World Needs A Hero’ to be removed from record store shelves. This action was part of a broader government stance against certain forms of music and artistic expression deemed unsuitable by Malaysian authorities. Megadeth’s manager made a statement about the issue in 2001. He stated:
“Megadeth is very disappointed that they won’t be able to perform for their fans in Malaysia. I’m sure [the] fans are equally disappointed. Hopefully, the political climate will change so that one day Megadeth may return to play for their fans who have waited a long time to see them in person.”
Megadeth was able to perform in Malaysia again with a concert in Kuala Lumpur in 2017.
Mustaine Believes Megadeth Is Not Artistically Influenced By Outside Factors
In an interview with uDiscover Music, Dave Mustaine, reflected on Megadeth’s artistic independence. He credited Megadeth’s relevance and longevity to their refusal to follow trends and maintain their own standards, rather than trying to fit into the mainstream. He said:
“We’ve never tried to follow trends, and it’s what’s kept us – I wouldn’t say better or above anybody – but having our own standards and not trying to fit in is what’s made us have that longevity.”
Then he claimed that mainstream attention was killing metal music. He continued:
“I don’t know that real, credible metal ever had mainstream dominance because that is what ultimately killed metal – mainstream exposure. I think that’s one of the things that’s kept us relevant.”
You can watch Dave Mustaine and James LoMenzo’s full interview with SPIN below.
