Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine almost had his career cut short in 2002 when he suffered severe nerve damage in his right arm. The band was dissolved and would eventually reform in 2004 and would put out the phenomenal The System Has Failed album that same year.
Mustaine tells Kelly Vision his doctor told him his career was over at that point, but he sought out treatment anyway and went on to make a recovery. Mustaine says what eventually helped him out was a form of shock therapy which took place over the course of 17 months.
"The inspiration for that was not wanting to give up because so many people have something that happens to them and they just roll over and die. To think about all the ideas, all the dreams, all the songs, all the lyrics that would have died with me if I would have rolled over that day and just said 'That's it, I can't play anymore'…
"The doctor said, 'You won't play guitar anymore.' He said, 'You have 80% use of your hand and you will never play guitar again.' And I said, 'Watch me!'
"I walked out of his office, I got in a plane and I flew from Texas to Arizona and I went and sought out this radical East Indian neurologist who set me up on a 17-month routine of excruciating pain and nerve stuff. They stick these needles into your arm and blast you with this pulse, your whole body jumps – you're getting electrocuted. So thank God it wasn't my brain but my arm got shock therapy."
Imagine if Mustaine didn't get better? Megadeth would've ended on Risk and The World Needs a Hero, which would've been pretty strange ways to let the thrash legends die. As much as we poke fun at Dave, we're definitely glad he got back in the game and continues to release music.
