DAVE MUSTAINE Reflects On Bringing "The Conjuring" Back To MEGADETH's Setlist & Retiring "Anarchy In The U.K."

"It says 'I'm an anti-Christ,' and I'm not an anti-Christ."

DAVE MUSTAINE Reflects On Bringing "The Conjuring" Back To MEGADETH's Setlist & Retiring "Anarchy In The U.K."

DAVE MUSTAINE Reflects On Bringing "The Conjuring" Back To MEGADETH's Setlist & Retiring "Anarchy In The U.K."

In a candid conversation on Steve-O's Wild Ride! podcast, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine reflected on his complicated relationship with the band's 1986 song "The Conjuring." Known for its dark themes and alleged instructions on black magic, the track from Megadeth's album Peace Sells… But Who's Buying? had long been absent from live shows due to Mustaine's Christian beliefs.In a candid conversation on Steve-O's Wild Ride! podcast, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine reflected on his complicated relationship with the band's 1986 song "The Conjuring." Known for its dark themes and alleged instructions on black magic, the track from Megadeth's album Peace Sells… But Who's Buying? had long been absent from live shows due to Mustaine's Christian beliefs."I looked at him and for some reason, I just felt that I needed to just bury the hatchet with him for something. And I don't know what it was, but just something made me feel like I needed to just make things cool. Not that I need his approval or anything like that, and not that he cares about me at all, but I just felt like maybe there was something out there that I did," Mustaine recalled.

"And I remembered that we had a guy in our band that had a shirt with Nikki's face on it with a red line and a circle through it. And so I'm glad that I did make that amends with Nikki, although it wasn't like a ninth step or anything like that, 'cause I'm not in the program. But I'd gone up to him and said, 'Hey, man, would you be interested in playing 'Anarchy' with us tonight?' So the last time I played it was with Nikki at Download. And it was fun. I don't think anybody expected to see that. I certainly wouldn't have expected that. If young Dave would have talked to old Dave, I would have said, 'You're out of your fucking tree, Mustaine.'"

In a previous 2016 interview, Mustaine had hinted at his willingness to reconsider "The Conjuring" for future shows, saying he'd be open to playing it again "as long as it doesn't hurt anybody."