Hetfield vs Mustaine – signature axe battle!
We pit the 'frenemies'* new guitars against each other

Post-Sonisphere James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine are once again heading their separate ways. This month we pitted their two new signature guitars against each other - the LTD James Hetfield Snakebyte and the Dean Dave Mustaine Zero.
The country's just getting over a case of 'Big Four'-mania, thanks to the thrash gods' collective appearance at last weekend's Sonisphere festival. Yeup, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica on the same stage was a sight to behold, but now it's time for them to put the self-congratulatory schmaltz to bed and get back to what they're best at - bitter rivalry!
As always, what affects music affects the guitar industry and the release of two remarkably similar signature models from LTD/James Hetfield and Dean/Dave Mustaine was too good to pass up.
Pick up Total Guitar issue 217 to read our Head To Head test and to see which of these mighty battle axes emerges victorious from our, err, mighty axe battle.
*Apologies for using the word 'frenemies'.
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Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.
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