If you’ve been suffering a sense of urgency to catch one of Megadeth‘s upcoming final live performances, it would appear that you will have quite a few chances to see the thrash metal legends before their big sendoff. While their new self-titled album (due out January 23rd) will indeed be their last, and the end of its touring cycle will see the band call it quits, that run is set to be rather extensive.
Per a new interview published with Kerrang!, vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine reckons that the tour will running for several years at least. He stated, “We’re easily talking about touring for another three to five years, And if we’re going to be doing it for that long then, shit, I’ll be looking at the birthday I don’t even want to think about!” The birthday the current 64-year-old is referring to would be his 70th.
The above-mentioned discussion also saw Mustaine quizzed about his decision to cover Metallica‘s “Ride The Lightning“ on that forthcoming seventeenth studio album. Mustaine co-wrote that track during his brief tenure with Metallica, with it eventually arriving on the latter’s 1984 album of the same name after his infamous 1983 ousting. Mustaine said of tackling the track now, “If you’re going to do a cover song. You’ve got to do it at least as good, if not better.”
Mustaine also refrained from calling his updated take a ‘cover’, instead arguing, “…I wrote the song too. I think other people will [call it a cover], but if you’re asking me, I don’t think it’s a cover song.” As for which version he feels is superior, he offered:
“When it was done, we played it for a couple of people, and a lot of people we know are fans of that band and that song, so they knew what they were listening to, A vs. B, and the consensus has been pretty much the same – that we did a fitting homage. I think we did it at least as good – it’s a little faster.”
With Mustaine ready to bring Megadeth to a conclusion, Kerrang! also asked if he felt that he was leaving metal in ‘safe hands’ going forward. To that, he replied:
“How long has it been since you heard an album like ‘Nevermind ‘ or ‘Appetite For Destruction‘ or ‘Rust In Peace‘ or ‘Master Of Puppets‘?” You just don’t hear records like that anymore. You get maybe one good song on a record now, and people are so used to skipping tracks. That saddens me, because there are a lot of our songs where, if you listen to them multiple times, you’ll hear there’s a lot more to them.”
Mustaine‘s sentiments of course echo that of another of rock and metal’s old guard: Gene Simmons of KISS. The latter has long argued that ‘rock is dead’. Even Mustaine‘s infamously estranged former Megadeth bandmate David Ellefson has shared a similar opinion on the matter, stating back in 2024:
“Rock is dead in America — it really is. And I know people will lambaste me for saying that, but it is. When Gene Simmons said it, everybody hated him for it, but he’s right. Unless you’re an established band, unless you’re Linkin Park and Metallica and KISS and Slayer, whatever, to start a new rock band — kids aren’t into that shit. They’re into Facebook and Tesla. Yeah, their lives are on their phones. Being a rock star is not cool anymore, like it was for us growing up.”
While Mustaine may not be so sure about the future of the heavier genres, he does hold a positive outlook for the enduring legacy of himself and his band. Getting a bit prophetic, he told Kerrang! of the end of Megadeth and the fate all humans face, “The body will disappear, but the legend will remain. And the music will go on forever.”
Currently announced dates for Megadeth‘s first year of their farewell touring include:
04/23 Lima, PER – Costa 21
04/25 Bogota, COL – Movistar Arena
04/27 Bogota, COL – Movistar Arena
04/30 Buenos Aires, ARG – TBA
05/02 Sao Paulo, BRA – Espaco Unimed
05/05 Santiago, CHL – Movistar Arena
05/06 Santiago, CHL – Movistar Arena
05/08 Monterrey, MEX – Arena Monterrey
05/10 Mexico City, MEX – Arena Ciudad de Mexico
05/13 Guadalajara, MEX – Arena Guadalajara
06/10 Hradec Kralove, CZE – Rock For People
06/14 Ferrara, ITA – Ferrara Summer Festival
06/26 Helsinki, FIN – Tuska Open Air Metal Festival
With Iron Maiden:
08/29 Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
08/30 Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
09/03 Montréal, QC – Parc Jean-Drapeau (feat. Anthrax)
09/05 Harrison, NJ – Sports Illustrated Stadium (feat. Anthrax)
09/09 Boston, MA – TD Garden
09/11 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
09/12 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
09/15 Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
09/19 Shakopee, MN – Mystic Lake Amphitheater
09/22 Chicago, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
09/25 Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium (feat. Anthrax)
09/26 Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium (feat. Anthrax)
09/29 San Antonio, TX – Alamodome (feat. Anthrax)
