Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Plans Farewell Tour and Final Album Due to Hand Condition

Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine has shared plans for a farewell tour and a self-titled final album. His hands are affected by a condition called Dupuytren's contracture, and he's also struggling with arthritis. The 64-year-old made this choice during studio sessions when pain became too much.

"My hands were hurting really bad. And then 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.' I didn't say, 'Hey, I wanna retire right now,'" Mustaine said in an interview.

Surgery for his hands will wait until after the farewell tour wraps up. If doctors operate now while he's at 95 percent capacity, it might knock him down further.

"I always said when it got to the point where I was unable to give a hundred percent every night, that's when I was gonna start considering winding down," Mustaine told Eddie Trunk in a recent interview, as reported by Metal Injection.

The band will release its final album on Jan. 23. This record comes after 2022's The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! and arrives through Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label. Chris Rakestraw produced it. He handled their last two records as well.

The This Was Our Life tour starts in 2026 and might stretch three to five years. That schedule would bring the guitarist near his 70th birthday in 2031.

"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," Mustaine said in a press release.

The current lineup has guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, drummer Dirk Verbeuren, and bassist James LoMenzo. Mäntysaari came aboard two years ago after Kiko Loureiro departed to remain home with his children in Finland. Fans can pre-order the new album and check out future tour dates on the band's official website.