Metallica’s April 4 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame brings controversy

April 3, 3:36 PMHeavy Metal ExaminerMark Morton

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After almost 30 years of tearing up the roads of the world, selling over 90 million albums, and basically being the most popular metal band on the planet, Metallica will finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this Saturday, April 4 in Cleveland, OH. The band will be sharing the spotlight with fellow inductees Jeff Beck, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Run-DMC, and Bobby Womack.

According to a March 27 story in Billboard, former band members Ron McGovney and Jason Newsted will be in attendance, along with Ray Burton, the father of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. Burton and Newsted will be inducted alongside James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo. Oddly missing from this Metalli-menagerie is former guitarist and Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine.

In a recent interview with John Soeder of Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ulrich confessed, "You've got to kind of cap it somewhere. Dave Mustaine never played on any Metallica records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days.

"We thought . . . the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a Metallica record.

"Dave Mustaine was in the band for 11 months, predominantly in 1982. . . . I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

Although Mustaine never physically appeared on any of Metallica’s releases, his contributions to molding the band’s early sound are undeniable. He is credited with co-writing seven songs from the band’s first two albums (one of which, “The Four Horsemen”, previously “The Mechanix” he wrote entirely when he was in the band Panic, before he even joined Metallica).

Songs he co-wrote include:
Jump in the Fire
Hit the Lights
Metal Militia
Phantom Lord
The Four Horsemen
Ride the Lightning
The Call of Ktulu

Mustaine was invited to attend the proceedings, but as a guest, not an inductee. For obvious reasons, he declined.

However, that did not stop former Megadeth bassist James MacDonough from commenting on his behalf. In a recent MySpace blog, MacDonough, who performed with the band between 2004-2006, offered the following:

“There's more to the story but it's not my place to say, but Dave is showing a hell of a lot more dignity than anyone really knows. I'm talking about him taking this all in stride, as far as the press is concerned. Not inducting him in as one of the founding members is a travesty, there's so much material he wrote, even the solos they used. He deserves more credit than that. About Some Kind of Monster, you can do just about anything when you edit something the right way. I have so much deep respect for both bands but tend to speak out when I see pure Injustice like this. I feel I can because I was in the band a short while and kinda feel obligated about certain things. I'm pretty sure I know how Dave feels, but again, can't speak for him either.”

Now, all controversies aside, what I really find strange is that neither VH-1 nor MTV (or their music-centric affiliates) are even covering the event. From what I’ve found, the only channel providing coverage is Fuse TV. I suppose the Viacom Network doesn’t want anything to do with something that is not one of its own ultra-glamorous productions, despite MTV being largely responsible for assisting in Metallica’s meteoric rise.

Regardless of how anyone feels about Metallica personally, the band's contributions to hard music is firmly unquestionable.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony airs on Saturday, April 4 at 9pm Eastern on Fuse TV. Check local listings for details.