Last night in Bloomington, Illinois, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine scolded some security guards who were reportedly harassing a fan in attendance
As the band was nearing the end of their performance of “Symphony Of Destruction,” Mustaine halted the show to come to the defense of a fan who had been subjected to mistreatment by the security personnel. In an impassioned moment, the MEGADETH frontman confronted the security guards mid-song, ensuring the safety and well-being of the fan in the audience.
“I’m not gonna play anymore until those guys are escorted out of the building, so just hang on a second,” Mustaine told the audience after he and his bandmates stopped playing. Addressing the security guards directly, he continued: “That was so fuckin’ unnecessary. That was so fuckin’ unnecessary, you guys. You’re supposed to make… What’s on the back of your shirt? Safety? It should say, ‘No Fuckin Safety’, because you guys are punks, and you shouldn’t have fuckin hit that guy. Four of you on one guy. What a bunch of pussies… Get ’em out of here or I’m leaving. I don’t wanna fucking hear that they’re in the back. I want them out of here.”
After the security guards in question were apparently escorted out of the venue, Mustaine returned to the mic and said: “These motherfuckers wrecked my song,” before adding, “Sorry, that stuff just makes me so mad. I hate bullies. I fucking hate bullies.”
MEGADETH went on to play one more song, “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due“, to finish out the set.
This isn’t the first instance where Mustaine has taken issue with an overly enthusiastic security guard during a MEGADETH concert. In May 2022, Mustaine expressed his frustration when a guard decided to climb onto the barricade to instruct fans to stop moving in the pit while MEGADETH was performing.
Interrupting the show briefly, Dave directly addressed the guard from the stage just before launching into “She-Wolf,” saying, “Hey, Mr. Security Dude, you there. Stop interfering with our show, okay? You don’t need to go up on the barricade and point at people. Everyone’s here to have a good time. Please relax, or I’ll have to request your removal from the pit. Do you understand me? Are we clear here? Let’s not have a repeat.”
MEGADETH featured its new touring guitarist, Teemu Mäntysaari, for the first time on September 6 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Teemu has stepped in for the band’s longtime guitarist, Kiko Loureiro, who announced earlier that month that he would be taking a break from MEGADETH‘s “Crush The World” tour to be with his children in Finland.
Born in Tampere, Finland, 36-year-old Mäntysaari began playing guitar at the age of 12. He joined the band WINTERSUN in 2004 and has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.
Loureiro officially became a member of MEGADETH in April 2015, joining the band approximately five months after Chris Broderick‘s departure.