With dozens of members having cycled through the roster of thrash metal legends Megadeth over the years, vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine has remained the one constant within the group. As such, it wasn’t entirely surprising when he recently stated that he intends to finish out the band’s impending farewell tour with their latest lineup in place. After all, not everyone who has spent time in the band exited on positive terms, while several others have since passed away.
However, speaking with Eddie Trunk last month, Mustaine seemed ready to hang the decision to not invite past members back for this last tour on the actions of one past member in particular. While Mustaine didn’t name names, the infamous sex scandal of former Megadeth bassist/vocalist David Ellefson immediately came to mind. Speaking of opting to not invite anyone back for this final tour in that conversation with Trunk, Mustaine offered:
“I can’t really do that, because of the behavior of one of the band members in the past. I just can’t. Because, first off, it would be unfair to the other band members if I didn’t play with them as well.”
In a newly published discussion with Guitar World, Mustaine was a bit less pointed in his decision, instead stating:
“We’ve already done that with Marty [Friedman, ex- Megadeth guitarist.] And I mean, let’s look at the other people we’ve played with… there’s a lot of people. [Laughs] That would be a huge undertaking. I don’t think I want to do that. I’d rather keep doing what we’re doing and let the fans [experience] Megadeth music and be happy about it. It’s not ‘puppet show Megadeth.'”
Megadeth‘s farewell tour in support of their forthcoming self-titled final studio album (due out January 23rd) is expected to run for roughly 3 to 5 years before Mustaine and co. hang it up for good. Mustaine‘s choice to retire is in part health-related, as he recently opened up on his issues with Dupuytren’s contracture — a progressive condition affecting the mobility of his fingers and hands.
