Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine has apparently changed the title of his upcoming autobiography to "Wake Up Dead: A Heavy Metal Memoir" from the previously announced "Hello Me... Meet The Real Me". The book, which is due on April 13 via via HarperCollins, was co-written by New York Times journalist Joe Layden who also authored "The Last Great Fight" about what is considered by many to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing: James "Buster" Douglas' tenth-round knockout win over Mike Tyson in 1990.
Mustaine recently told AOL's Noisecreep about his upcoming autobiography, "
It's easy to hate somebody that you don't like. But you know what? People don't know who I am. Who they think I am is not really who I am, because they guy that they've continued to vilify in the press, that guy's been gone a long time. And I think anyone who reads this book will see that."
"Wake Up Dead: A Heavy Metal Memoir" is not simply a tell-all story of decadence and debauchery.
"That stuff is mundane," Mustaine told Noisecreep. "We come to expect that from rock stars, so why would I talk about it? Everybody knows it happened. I want to talk about things that are way more important. There's stuff in there about how the band was formed, why I chose to sing, how the different band members came and went, how different songs were written, stuff that happened through the addictions and rehabs. And when I got done reading it for the first time, when I closed the last page I actually had tears in my eyes because somebody had finally gotten who I am as a person in print."
According to Mustaine, part of the book reveals how he practiced black magic as a teenager, and how the experience — which inspired the 1986 song "The Conjuring" — affected his life for years after.
"I put two hexes on people, and they both worked and the result was just what I was asking for," he explained. "Now, it took forever to get that Satanic depression off of me because it's just like playing with a Ouija board. You open the doorway to the dark side, and spirits come through. It took almost 20 years to get rid of that Satanic depression. I did it when I was 15, and I don't think I got free of it until I was in my mid-30s.You ask yourself, 'How is it possible that this is happening to me?' Well, because you flirted with the devil and you put a hex on somebody and you put another hex on somebody, and, well, you owe him. And that's why I have a problem playing 'The Conjuring' today."
Read the entire article at Blabbermouth.net.