Megadeth frontman and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine has revealed that he is planning a final tour in 2026 that will act as a farewell for himself and the metal band. According to Mustaine, he wants to say goodbye to fans on his terms while he is still able to perform at his best amid health struggles.
Dave Mustaine Wants to Go Out on Top Before Health Struggles Worsen
Mustaine discussed plans for the farewell tour while appearing on the “MariskalRock TV” YouTube show. During the interview, Mustaine detailed the reason that he has chosen to go ahead with the band’s “This Was Our Life Tour” after the release of the final album.
The main motivation for the frontman is that he wants to be able to go out on his own terms before his health issues get worse. Mustaine revealed that he suffers with Dupuytren’s contracture, a painful condition where the fingers bend towards the palm in a way that makes it difficult to straighten them. This makes playing the guitar difficult and will likely become more problematic in the future.
“It’s gonna make my finger come down like this,” he shared. “It’s already started, where it’s kind of bunching up a little bit.
He continued, “And then if you look at the tips of my fingers, they’re severely arthritic. So all those bumps makes it really painful to play. …I just said one day to my management, ‘You know, I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna be able to do this.’”
While surgery is an option, Mustaine wants to have the chance to bow out when he is still able to perform, especially as procedures may not necessarily repair damage or slow down the condition’s progress.
“If I wait until my hands are causing a problem and I try it and it doesn’t work, well then I’ve toured everywhere, I’ve said farewell to everybody and am not leaving stuff unsaid or unfinished,” Mustaine explained.
Dave Mustaine Wants Another Metal Category Added to the Grammy Awards
GettyEarlier this year, Mustaine revealed that he was campaigning to have a new metal category added to the Grammy Awards.
“I joined the Grammy chapter because we have one metal category and I think they’ve got a dozen polka categories,” he said. “I stopped going to the Grammys because you’d have to sit through, like, 30 Latin jazz records, and then you’d have to sit through another 30 jazz Latin records.”
He added, “And I called them up and I said, ‘We’re doing this.’ So 2020, we’re fighting — we’re getting all of the metal labels that we know, we’re trying to get them all together to petition the Grammys to give us another metal category.”
“My record was one of the Top 25 records of the year worldwide for Universal. Don’t tell me that we don’t deserve another category,” he concluded.
