MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE: 'My Biological Clock Is Ticking'

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine promoted the band's December 16 acoustic show at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston with an appearance earlier that day on "The Hill-Man Morning Show" on the WAAF radio station. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Asked how long he thinks he can keep touring with MEGADETH, Mustaine said: "Well, for me, it's not so much a desire to go out there and continue to live the façade that I'm a prepubescent teenager still. My biological clock is ticking, because of just the wear and tear on me from headbanging and playing at that speed, that hard, that long for as many years as I have. My hands, they're pretty riddled with arthritis right now. And my neck, it's no secret, I've had surgery on my neck and there's a lot of stuff going on from the headbanging over the years. So I don't think it's gonna be as long as the forever-lasting farewell tour from KISS, stuff like that. But, you know, it's cool. In a situation like KISS, I think they're great entertainers, so I'm glad that people get to see them."

Back in August, Mustaine told a fan on Twitter that he hoped he had "two more" MEGADETH albums in him before calling it quits.

Prior to undergoing neck surgery, the MEGADETH mainman hinted that retirement was within sight, explaining in a 2009 interview that "it has to do with the limitations of my body. I've got stuff going on with my neck. I try not to make it obvious, but the range of motion in my neck is becoming very limited. I don't think it has as much to do with wear and tear as it does with the lack of preparation. There were so many years where I would go out there and just start headbanging. I didn't think about, 'Okay, Dave, you're an elite athlete, you do metal callisthenics with your left hand, so why don't you limber up the rest of your body?' I've really started to take a different approach to my health, my fitness… my life. I've been on a really strict regimen and I try to take really good care of myself so I can play better."

He continued: "My monitor guy told me, 'I don't see how you can do four [gigs] in a row.' I was thinking, 'Dude! I used to do five in a row. What are you talking about?' I just had to put my foot down and say no more fives."

MEGADETH recently completed a month-long U.S. tour with AMON AMARTH, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, METAL CHURCH and BUTCHER BABIES.

The band is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Dystopia", which came out in January.