Megadeath icon Dave Mustaine has clarified his political stance, stressing that he does not identify as a right-winger despite his former support of President Donald Trump.
In a new interview with the New York Times, the metal guitarist put the record straight: “I’m a Christian, and I answer to a different set of angels. I obey the law, but no, I’m not a right-winger
He went on: “We used to always say that religion’s for people who are afraid of going to hell, and spirituality is for people like us who have been there.”
The right-wing allegations came from his comments around Trump’s first presidency. At that time, Mustaine publicly deemed Trump “a very successful businessman”, before adding that he would never vote for Hillary Clinton.
He also expressed support for Rick Santorum in 2012, a Republican candidate running for the presidency. Mustaine also made questionable comments about Barack Obama at the time, telling a radio host, “I know he was born somewhere else than America.”
The new interview is in service of Megadeath’s farewell tour, which will begin in earnest in February. However, Mustaine has previously explained that they could still be putting on shows for up to five years.
Previously, the 64-year-old star had deemed the final tour had been “a long time coming”. As per the new interview, Mustaine and the band haven’t settled on a way to end the extensive farewell tour.
He shared, “I was joking around the other day about how I thought it would be a good idea to have a bunch of shows booked at the end of this tour, and don’t tell me which one is the real last one.”
For now, the band has announced major legs in South America, North America, and Europe. Co-headliners along the way include Anthrax and Iron Maiden. More dates around Asia and other regions are expected, but have not yet been shared.