Chris Poland Plans to Attend Megadeth’s Farewell Tour

Farewell Tour and Early Thrash Memories

In a recent interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland discussed his plans to attend a show on the band's currently billed "farewell" tour. Despite his busy schedule managing studios, Poland expressed a commitment to seeing the performance.

"Oh, I'm sure I will. If it's the final one, I should go see one [show]. I'll have to make the time. I run a couple of hundred studios during the day, and it's a lot of work and it's hard to get out. But I will. I'll make time for Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader]."

— Chris Poland

Poland also offered his perspective on Dave Mustaine potentially retiring from the road, suggesting the frontman may be ready for a change of pace.

"I don't know, though. I think Dave is ready. I think Dave's ready to go fishing."

— Chris Poland

Reflecting on his early days with the group, Poland recalled his first experience performing for a thrash metal audience at L'Amours in New York. He described the intense atmosphere during the band's rendition of the song "Am I Evil?".

"Oh my God. I remember my first time on stage, where I freaked out, was at L'Amours in New York. And luckily, I pulled it off. But I was freaking out 'cause they were playing the song 'Am I Evil?' and the whole room was singing it and it was packed to the gills and the ceiling was sweating. And hat's my first experience with a thrash metal crowd. And I'll tell you, man, I was just blown away. But I got over it after a while."

— Chris Poland

Tenure and Internal Friction

Poland was a member of Megadeth from 1984 to 1987. During this period, he performed on the band's early albums, "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" and "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?". He later returned as a featured soloist for the 2004 album "The System Has Failed". Looking back at his initial run, Poland acknowledged the group's internal struggles.

"We had good times. We had our moments and we had our problems, but somehow we pulled it off. I think we all had guardian angels or something."

— Chris Poland

The tension between the musicians was famously documented in the song "Liar" from the 1988 album "So Far, So Good... So What?". Poland confirmed that Mustaine wrote the track about him following his dismissal from the band.

"Oh, yeah. Obviously, Dave was very upset with me when I left the band — when he fired me, basically."

— Chris Poland

When asked if the lyrics made him angry, Poland described his reaction as dismissive.

"No, man. It's like the pot calling the kettle black, man. When you point your finger, man, there's three pointing back at you. I just rolled my eyes and was, like, 'Really?'"

— Chris Poland

Legal Disputes and the 2004 Reissues

In 2004, Poland and his legal representation filed a lawsuit against Mustaine regarding the inclusion of three "Rust In Peace" demos on the album's reissue without Poland's permission. According to Megadeth's webmaster, Mustaine had included the tracks believing Poland would appreciate the promotion and the acknowledgment of his influence on subsequent guitarist Marty Friedman.

The webmaster also stated that Poland attempted to sue for defamation after Mustaine called him a "thief," but alleged the attorney dropped the matter after discovering Poland had sold band equipment for drugs. The webmaster cited a confession found in the VH1 "Behind the Music" episode on Megadeth. Poland eventually settled the legal dispute for $9,500, effectively ending his professional relationship with the band.

In a September 2020 interview with Darren Paltrowitz, Mustaine expressed regret over the end of their friendship due to what he termed a "nuisance lawsuit."

"Chris Poland, as much as I don't really like the guy, he was a great guitar player, and I wanted to give him a shot when we did the 2004 reissues for 'Peace Sells' and 'Rust In Peace', and I wanted to put that song out on the 'Rust In Peace' reissue. He got involved in a nuisance lawsuit, I think it was, and we just ended our friendship. And I thought, 'God, that was such a waste.'"

— Dave Mustaine

"There was a little teeny mountain that was right out by where we live, and I said I could have just as soon bought that piece of dirt there than sell Chris's friendship, and I'm so bummed that this happened. 'Cause I thought it would have been terrific to have him on the record. [When] people say, 'Hey, this sounds like Marty Friedman.' No, Marty Friedman sounded like this, because Chris played it first."

— Dave Mustaine

Poland’s Defense of Legal Action

Poland provided his own account of the 2004 dispute during a 2018 appearance on the As The Story Grows podcast. He contested the "nuisance" label, claiming he was forced to take legal action after being ignored by Mustaine and his management regarding royalties.

"When I did 'The System Has Failed', [Dave] was working on adding the demos to a re-release of 'Rust In Peace'. And I wasn't going to get paid, but I didn't realize that until it came out. I was like, 'Wait a minute — I'm not getting paid for this.' And I tried to call Dave at least a dozen times, and I never heard back from him. Then I called Dave's manager a dozen times, and he wouldn't get back to me. The last time I called him, I said, 'Hey, man. If you don't call me back, I'm going to call [my lawyer], and we're going to have to get into it.' [The manager] calls me back and totally insults me, saying, 'You played a couple solos. So what?' And I'm like, 'What do you mean, 'So what?'' 'Well, Dave thought that you would do it for the fans.' I said, 'Okay. Is everybody else that played on that demo doing it for the fans? Are they getting paid?' He said, 'Chris, that's not the point.' I said, 'Listen, man, we have to do something here. I'm not just going to walk away. I love the fans, but I'm just not going to do it. If everybody else is getting a performance royalty for this, I want one.' I want everybody to know that it wasn't a nuisance suit, it wasn't anything like that. I made every attempt to work it out, and they just ignored me."

— Chris Poland