Dave Mustaine Claims Metallica Stole Riff For “Enter Sandman,” Used His Music Without Permission

During a new interview on The Shawn Ryan Show, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth once again accused Metallica of plagiarizing the riff in “Enter Sandman” from the Excel song, “Tapping Into the Emotional Void.” “Their biggest song, ‘Enter Sandman’ — go look up the band Excel right now,” Mustaine said. “Look up their song. Pretty similar.” Mustaine also claimed that after his departure from Metallica, they used material he had written without his permission. “At the time, I was really mad and I didn’t wanna forgive them for what they did,” Mustaine said of being kicked out of the group. “And I told them when I left, ‘Do not use my music.’ And of course they used it. ‘Ride the Lightning,’ I wrote. ‘The Call of Ktulu’ I wrote. There’s ‘Phantom Lord,’ ‘Metal Militia,’ ‘Jump in the Fire’, ‘The Four Horsemen.’ And I wrote a bunch of ‘Leper Messiah,’ too. They didn’t give me credit on that. You listen to the riffs, you know they’re my riffs.” (Consequence of Sound)