One of the “big four” American thrash metal bands – along with with Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica – after 40+ years Megadeth will bid farewell with one final LP and tour in 2026 while they’re still “on top.”
Courtesy of his Vic Rattlehead, the band’s frontman Dave Mustaine, posted the following message to his fans:
“There’s so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional.” “Most of them don’t get to go out on their own terms on top, and that’s where I’m at in my life right now. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them.” “We can’t wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it’s now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it’s now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it’s our last studio album. We’ve made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour.” “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that’s truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it’s played, and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything.”
While the yet untitled lead single from the iconic heavy metal band is expected in autumn, the tour dates for their final jaunt have also yet to be confirmed.
Like Mustaine, fellow band members James LoMenzo, Dirk Verbeuren and Teemu Mäntysaari have been working on a follow-up to 2022’s The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! for some time now, while Dave was going through treatment for throat cancer in 2019.
In a 2022 interview with Total Guitar, Dave admitted that the hardest part of all was dealing with “chemo brain” adding “The toughest part wasn’t the process of going through all the radiation and chemotherapy, a lot of the cancer medication they gave me f***** with my memory really bad.” “They call it chemo brain, so I’ve been having a hard time staying in the moment, but it’s getting better.”
When asked about possible retirement, Mustaine insisted for as long as he can still pick up and play his instrument, he’ll keep shredding, adding “When I got sick I had been talking a lot about playing out a little less.” “Now, if anything, I want to tour more and just carry on until the end when I actually can’t do it anymore.” “I’m not talking about the time when I don’t want to do it anymore.” “I mean when it’s not possible for me to do.” “When I can’t do it, that’s when I’m not gonna want to do it.”
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Ingo Hoffman