DAVE MUSTAINE On His Dupuytren's Contracture Diagnosis: 'I'm Hoping God's Gonna Heal Me'

MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine appeared at Kaufman Music Center in New York City on Tuesday, September 8 for a special conversation with Rolling Stone's Kory Grow celebrating the release of his new memoir, "In My Darkest Hour". You can now listen to the entire discussion below.

Asked how he is approaching what is being billed as MEGADETH's ongoing farewell tour, Mustaine said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's bittersweet. It doesn't feel great, I can tell you that much. There's times when we take the stairs in the back, and walking up the stairs, I keep saying the same thing I've said every night when I go up the stairs. And it's like a private thing. I just say, 'It's your stage.' And I go up there and I do my job. And that's it. I go out and do my job, the gift that God's given me."

Regarding whether there is MEGADETH music that's been recorded that he hasn't released that he is thinking of putting out at some point, Dave said: "There's bits and parts, pieces and little stuff like that. There's a couple of completed songs from the last album with James [LoMenzo, MEGADETH bassist] and Teemu [Mäntysaari, MEGADETH guitarist] and Dirk [Verbeuren, MEGADETH drummer] that we did not release yet. I think those were supposed to be bonus tracks for the label or something. I'm not sure. [So there may be] a song or something [that could see the light of day]. But I don't know."

As for what the Dave Mustaine retirement plan looks like, the 65-year-old musician, who previously revealed that he is suffering from a hand condition that is severely impacting his ability to play guitar, said: "Well, I'm sure I'm gonna be involved in music to some degree, whether it's as simple as just listening to it or making it. I don't know. I'm hoping God's gonna heal me and there's gonna be some kind of new technology that they'll say, 'Hey, guess what? When you put your hand in this glove and then — boom — your hand's given back to you nice and shiny and new.' That would be pretty bitchin', I think. But I'm just gonna keep trying to be hopeful and play the best I can until then."

Mustaine was diagnosed with Dupuytren's contracture, a condition which is often referred to as Viking Disease due to its commonality in Northern European populations. It sees tissue under the skin thicken to the point it pulls fingers into a bent position, as if the hand were clutching an imaginary axe.

There's no cure for Dupuytren contracture. Treatments can relieve symptoms and slow how quickly the condition gets worse.

Last December, Mustaine was asked by SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" why "Megadeth" is the band's final album and why he decided to embark on a "farewell" tour at this point of his career. Mustaine said: "It had been a long time coming — just physical stuff that was going on with my hands… My hands were letting me down. And there were other things that were difficult because of all the stuff going on in my neck and my trunk. All that area there has arthritis and it has discs that are bulging. I've got a broken lumbar bone. Of course, you know I have my back fused, up by my shoulders, by my neck. And just a lot of stuff."

Mustaine continued: "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. And it wasn't that I was unable to give a hundred percent, because we finished the record, and I think we did a good job on it, but there was a period when we were working and I said to my manager, I said, 'I don't know how much longer I can do this. My hands are really hurting.' And I didn't mean to set the ball rolling. Honestly, I just was making conversation, and it turned into me talking to the band guys and sleeping on it and talking to my family and praying on it. And the answer was clear to me that by the time we're done with the record, I'm gonna know how the record's gonna do. If the record does really well, then I'll be able to have one last really good tour. And the part about the farewell thing, it's kind of like the same thing, isn't it? We've got some dates that we wanna play to say goodbye to our friends."

Dave added: "The thing is we're an American band, but we play everywhere. So it's not like we just are weekend warriors, like country acts here in the States. We've got a lot of touring to do in order to do our farewell properly."

After host Eddie Trunk noted that a lot of veteran artists overstay their welcome and don't gracefully bow out of the music scene after they are no longer able to perform their songs properly, Mustaine concurred.  "I don't think there's any reason [for us] to [keep playing when we are not able to deliver a hundred percent]," he said. "I mean, unless you're financially in a bad way and you need to keep playing, which, by the grace of God, I've been successful. I've been able to pay all my bills. All the band guys, they all get their paychecks on time. We do everything right by the book. So, some people, like I said, they may have to keep playing, because there's nothing else for them to do. Now, when I think about, what am I gonna do after I hang the guitar up, that's in relation to touring, and I believe that I'm going to keep doing music in some way, shape or form. But not in the fashion that I was doing with MEGS because if I can't do it and I need to stop playing with my first love, I'm not gonna go out and try and do it again with someone else."

Last November, Mustaine told Kerrang! magazine that MEGADETH's farewell run of shows could last a long time. "We're easily talking about touring for another three to five years," Dave said. "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," he added, referencing the fact that he will turn 70 in 2031.

In a press release announcing MEGADETH's final album and farewell tour, Mustaine thanked fans for their commitment and love while celebrating the band's impact on the music world.

"There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional," Mustaine said. "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. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them."

He continued. "We can't wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it's now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it's now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it's our last studio album. We've made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour.

"Don't be mad, don't be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that's truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it's played, and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything."

"In My Darkest Hour" was released on September 8, 2026 via Grand Central Publishing's recently launched Da Capo imprint. The book, which Mustaine co-wrote with author Joe Layden, details Dave's "gnarly" treatment after he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma at the back of his tongue in 2019. It tells how Mustaine went from chemo and radiation appointments to hourslong recording sessions to make MEGADETH's sixteenth album, "The Sick, The Dying … And The Dead!", which arrived in 2022. The book also reveals Mustaine's inner struggles with mortality, and how he sought refuge in family and faith.