Dave Mustaine says Megadeth's next album will be the band's last

Dave Mustaine announced that Megadeth's next studio album will be the band’s last and that a global farewell tour will begin in 2026, and he said hand problems were a driving force behind the decision. Last August the band posted a video titled "The End Is Near" in which an artificial intelligence version of the groups mascot, Vic Rattlehead, declared, "Forty years of metal, forged in steel, ending in fire," and revealed the final-album plan.

The new self-titled record is due Jan. 23; Mustaine, who founded Megadeth in Los Angeles in 1983, said he wanted to go out "on my own terms and at the top of my game." He has cited Dupuytrens contracture and severe arthritis, and in a recent video interview showed a pronounced cord on his palm and said, "Im hoping that at some point theres going to be some miracle drug or surgery or something that may save the day," adding that he was told to wait a year for a follow-up appointment.

The announcement reopened discussion of Megadeths place in thrash metal history: the band is counted among the so-called Big Four alongside Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. Eddie Trunk said the rise of those bands would once have been "beyond ridiculous," and younger musicians cited Mustaines influence.

Key Topics

Culture, Dave Mustaine, Megadeth, Vic Rattlehead, Dupuytren Contracture, Farewell Tour