MEGADETH founder Dave Mustaine is set to release his autobiography, Wake Up Dead: A Heavy Metal Memoir, on April 13th via publisher It Books/Harper Collins. The 368-page hardcover book weighs 1.1 pounds and is 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches. An Amazon pre-order sale is available below:

Wake Up Dead: A Heavy Metal Memoir was co-written by Larry Layden, a freelance magazine writer and the author of several books, including The Last Great Fight, about the legendary 1990 boxing match between James ‘Buster’ Douglas and Mike Tyson.

In Wake Up Dead: A Heavy Metal Memoir, Mustaine talks about how former bassist Dave Ellefson put the brakes on the band’s forward momentum right when Megadeth were at their prime.

“You know, we canceled seven Monsters of Rock shows in soccer stadiums. Why? Because Dave Ellefson ran out of heroin,” Mustaine says. “When I ran out, I would tough it out. I’d be sick for a couple days, I’d drink some Jack Daniels and I’d be over it. He came up with some excuse that he sprained his wrist in the shower and the tour ended. So did our run for a long time. We took the gnarliest hit to our credibility.”

Another section of the book reveals how Mustaine 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 explains. “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.

(Thanks Themetalden.com)