Chris Poland, the guitarist who played on MEGADETH's first two albums before departing in 1987, says he has no regrets about turning down an invitation to rejoin the band roughly two years later. "No, I wouldn't change a thing, man," he said when asked to reflect on the decision.
Poland appeared on 1985's "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" and 1986's "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?," two albums now regarded as foundational to thrash metal, before leaving MEGADETH in 1987. Around 1989, he was offered the chance to return to the fold — an offer he declined.
His reasoning centered on substance abuse. Poland explained that the band's remaining members still needed time to work through addiction issues at that point, and that he himself had come close to falling back into similar problems. He referenced a metaphor from former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, who compared prolonged proximity to old habits to spending too long at a barbershop — eventually, you get the haircut you were trying to avoid. For Poland, staying away was itself the safer choice.
The tensions between Poland and MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine have a long, documented history, including a legal dispute over compensation and defamation tied to a 2004 reissue of the band's early catalog, which the two sides eventually settled for $9,500.
These days, Poland's primary vehicle is OHM:, his jazz-fusion project, which has released multiple studio albums over more than 25 years. He has also reunited with former bandmates in a different context, appearing on "Lockdown," a single from KINGS OF THRASH — the touring outfit built around classic-era MEGADETH members — alongside David Ellefson and Jeff Young.
Looking ahead, Poland is preparing to publish a memoir titled "Now Leaving Metalopolis," co-written with music journalist Matt Herring, which he says is intended to offer his own account of disputed chapters of his career.
More than three decades after declining that reunion, Poland's remarks suggest a guitarist largely at peace with a road not taken — one that, by his own account, likely spared him from the very problems he watched consume the band he left behind.