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Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine recently expressed his appreciation for rocker Sammy Hagar. This admiration goes so far that he brought in Hagar to contribute to Megadeth’s upcoming album The Sick, the Dying … and the Dead!

Mustaine spoke with our own Full Metal Jackie and explained where his Sammy Hagar fanmanship originated from. “I know him from back when he played in Montrose and, after that, in his solo career. I never really was convinced with the Van Halen tracks because I’d heard Sammy sing on Montrose, and that man can sing … oh, my God. He was one of my favorite singers, forever and ever. ‘I Got the Fire’ is one of my favorite Montrose songs. It’s such a heavy song; even Iron Maiden covered it. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to do ‘This Planet’s on Fire’ by Sammy?'”

Hagar ended up singing on a cover of his song This Planet’s On Fire for the upcoming Megadeth record. Mustaine originally asked Hagar to also play guitar, but Hagar refused and admitted, “I ain’t playing guitar because I heard you two shredders and you just leave the stuff like it is.”

The Sick, the Dying … and the Dead! will be released on September 2nd. Watch Sammy Hagar perform his original version of This Planet’s On Fire live back in the day here: