Former MEGADETH guitarist Glen Drover has reflected on his 2008 departure from the band, revealing that personal struggles played a bigger role than many fans realized — and naming the three guitarists he personally recommended as his replacement.
Speaking in a new interview with Waste Some Time With Jason Green, Drover looked back on his time in the Dave Mustaine-led outfit and clarified that the public explanation given at the time — that he wanted to focus on family life — did not tell the whole story.
Asked if that January 2008 statement fully reflected his reasons for leaving, Glen said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “Well, some of it was personal beyond that, which I won’t talk about because it’s very personal. But there was another situation where I had to step down. There was a lot of stuff going on at one point, which I got through. But at the time it was kind of heavy. And I had to leave. And they knew it as well. They knew that I was having some issues with a couple of things.
When host Jason Green asked whether the issues were musical or personal, Drover made it clear that his decision had nothing to do with creative tensions within the band.
“Personally — and not musically,” he said. “Musically, I was fine. It was a lot to do with my family and just personal issues that I had, which we’ll leave that at that.”
Despite the circumstances, Drover suggested that his exit was handled professionally and without lasting bitterness: “Yeah, I think for the most part. I think Dave was upset. But I think he also understood as well, to a point, because he didn’t really know a hundred percent. But he had a good idea what was going on… And it also wasn’t a situation where I’d stepped down and then they were touring the following week. I wasn’t gonna do something stupid like that. So what I did was — it was about three months. We did the Pacific Ram, and then there was about a break for about three or four months before doing a [European] tour… So, basically, it was about maybe — I don’t know — a couple of weeks after we finished the Pacific Rim where I [went], ‘Okay, I have to do this.’ So when I left, I recommended three guitar players [as my possible replacement], which were Jeff Loomis [NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY], Jeff Waters [ANNIHILATOR] and Chris Broderick [JAG PANZER, NEVERMORE, IN FLAMES]. And for whatever reasons, Jeff had declined — both Jeffs — and Chris said ‘yes’. So that’s how and why [Chris] got in the band.”
Drover had joined MEGADETH in 2004 alongside his brother, drummer Shawn Drover, during a rebuilding period for the band. He performed on 2007’s United Abominations and contributed to the writing and early sessions for 2009’s Endgame before his departure.
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