DAVE MUSTAINE Says MEGADETH's 'Farewell' Tour Will 'Easily' Run For 'Three To Five Years'

In a new interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine, MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine spoke about the band's recently announced "farewell" tour, which will officially launch in 2026. The trek, dubbed the "This Was Our Life" tour, will mark the end of more than four decades of musical history for the 64-year-old musician.

"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.

As someone who overcame addiction to drugs and alcohol and beat throat cancer, Mustaine added: "I'm not caught up in longevity and stuff like that, and being one of those guys who can play until he's in his 80s. I have to remember that people live and they die. And I need to take good care of myself."

Mustaine also talked about his decision to record a version of the classic song "Ride The Lightning" from his former band METALLICA as the bonus track for MEGADETH's upcoming "final", self-titled album, which will arrive in January. Saying that it was a case of "closing the circle" and "a matter of showing respect to where this all started", Dave explained: "If you're going to do a cover song. You've got to do it at least as good, if not better."

Asked if he would call his recording of "Ride The Lightning" a "cover" version then, Dave said: "No. Because I wrote the song too. I think other people will say that, but if you're asking me, I don't think it's a cover song."

As for whether he thinks his version of "Ride The Lightning" is better than the original, Dave said: "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."

MEGADETH's upcoming self-titled album will be released on January 23, 2026. The follow-up to 2022's "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" will be made available via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

MEGADETH played its latest single, "Tipping Point", live for the first time on October 14 at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, The Netherlands during the band's European tour as the support act for DISTURBED.

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."

For its final album, MEGADETH once again worked with Chris Rakestraw, a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two LPs, the aforementioned "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH two years ago. He stepped in as the replacement for Brazilian-born guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who announced in September 2023 that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that the now-38-year-old Finnish musician would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

Released in September 2022, MEGADETH's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!", sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown To Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

Led by the growled vocals and razor-wire riffing of Mustaine, MEGADETH are one of the "Big Four" thrash titans. Shortly after being kicked out of METALLICA in 1983, Mustaine met bassist David Ellefson, and the pair bonded quickly, forming the core of MEGADETH. Drummer Gar Samuelson and guitarist Chris Poland later joined, and MEGADETH released their underground-hit debut "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" in 1985. Its follow-up, "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", solidified the band's status with sprawling yet tightly wound songs like the uneasy opener "Wake Up Dead" and the fiery title track.

"So Far, So Good... So What!", released in 1988, featured a new lineup as well as a thrashy cover of the SEX PISTOLS' "Anarchy In The U.K." and the anti-PMRC broadside "Hook In Mouth". In 1990 they released "Rust In Peace", with Nick Menza on drums and technical wizard Marty Friedman on guitar; songs such as "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" and "Hangar 18" blended pummeling riffs and suspicion-fueled lyrics with a stadium-rock ambition that matched the era's metal-embracing tendencies.

"Countdown To Extinction", released in 1992, and "Youthanasia", released in 1994, continued the band's dominance of metal and emergence in rock's mainstream, with the latter album's "À Tout Le Monde" being a rare thrash ballad. After a brief breakup in the early 2000s, MEGADETH returned as a de facto Mustaine solo project with 2004's "The System Has Failed". Ellefson rejoined in 2010 prior to the album "Th1rt3en" and remained in the MEGADETH lineup until 2021, when he was fired.

In addition to Mustaine and Mäntysaari, MEGADETH's current lineup includes drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.