Dave Mustaine, the iconic frontman of Megadeth, recently opened up about the band’s impending retirement during a book launch event for his memoir, In My Darkest Hour, held earlier this month in New York. When moderator and Rolling Stone Senior Writer Kory Grow questioned him about the authenticity of the band’s farewell announcement, Mustaine displayed an injury on his left hand to underscore his decision.
“I have an injury to my hand,” he shared with the audience of approximately 200 at New York’s Kaufman Music Center. “Some of you can see it. I’ve got what’s called Dupuytren’s contracture. In the center of my hand, the tendons have grown together and are pulling my finger down. So I have the option at some point to do surgery, and I figured I would do this tour and do the support for this record and at that point, we’ll see what the technology’s like. … I think about, ‘Could I carry on if I just sang?’ I wouldn’t want to do that. I would want to play guitar, because that’s my love.”
In August 2025, Mustaine announced that Megadeth would retire following the release of their last studio album, which debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 chart in January. “If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it’s now,” Mustaine stated, also confirming that the album would close the book on their storied career. When Grow inquired about the significance of this achievement, Mustaine humorously responded by tilting his microphone towards his crotch and saying, “Boiiiing,” to the audience’s delight. “It’s a great feeling,” he added. He also expressed no desire to create a solo album, suggesting it would simply feel like another Megadeth release to him.
Reflecting on the bittersweet experience of the farewell tour, Mustaine remarked, “There’s times when we take the stairs in the back, and walking up the stairs … I say, ‘It’s your stage,’ and I go up there and do my job.” He hinted that the live recordings from the tour could potentially lead to a future live album, stating, “If we were to want to, say, have some live recordings of us playing songs for the future, it might be a good idea to record a bunch of different live tracks.” He emphasized that the band intends to have fun regardless of their future plans.
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Mustaine also mentioned the possibility of future studio recordings, revealing, “There’s bits and pieces and little stuff like that. There’s a couple completed songs from the last album with James [LoMenzo, bass], Teemu [Mäntysaari, guitar], and Dirk [Verbeuren, drums], that we did not release yet. But I think those are supposed to be bonus tracks for the label or something. … There may be a song or something, but I don’t know.”
Furthermore, Mustaine shared a setback involving another book he had written, which detailed stories behind each of his songs but was lost when the label went out of business. “That book was written and turned into Sanctuary Records many, many years ago, and Sanctuary went bankrupt,” Mustaine lamented. “That was a book called Score, and it was the first 20 years of Megadeth songs. They gave the book back, and I don’t know what happened to it. … I just don’t know if I want to write another book right now.”
When asked about his plans for retirement, Mustaine expressed a desire to remain active in music, stating, “whether it’s as simple as listening to it or making it.” He also shared his hopes for advancements in technology that could aid in healing his hand.
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During the candid discussion, Mustaine also touched upon his battle with tongue cancer, sharing insights on how he coped with the diagnosis. He reflected on receiving the news from a doctor and how martial arts discipline facilitated his journey through recovery. Mustaine stated, “Getting up in the morning is a choice for all of us, and what we’re going to do with that day. Especially when you know you’ve got so many days left. It’s important to use those days wisely. For me, I try to live every day like it’s my last, because I don’t know when that will be, and I want to make sure that it’s a good day for everybody around me, my family, my friends.”
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Mustaine concluded by sharing his outlook on life, stating, “I know I just need to keep living life. I’ve been living life, trying to do the right thing always because it’s the right thing to do. I look forward to whatever is in store for me, the touring, the playing, the new music if there is any, the moments we get to share doing things like this. … We just like to do cool things. I don’t want to be one of those people that crawls off into a cave and dies. I want to live hard and I want to play hard.”
