- - Megadeth Announce Final Album and Farewell Tour: ‘Don’t Be Mad, Don’t Be Sad, Come Celebrate With Me,’ Says Frontman Dave Mustaine

Jem AswadAugust 15, 2025 at 1:20 AM

Megadeth founder and frontman Dave Mustaine has announced that the long-running metal band’s forthcoming album and 2026 tour will be their last.

The announcement, in a social post directly shared with his fans and “Cyber Army,” features the band’s mascot and Mustaine’s “alter ego” Vic Rattlehead “speaking” for the first time.

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However, the statement is from Mustaine himself. “There’s so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional,” he says. “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.

“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,” he continues. “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,” he concludes. “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.”

Megadeth was founded in 1983 after the famously irascible Mustaine was ejected from Metallica, the pioneering metal band he co-founded (co-writing four of the ten songs on the band’s iconic debut, “Kill ‘Em All,” including the classics “Jump in the Fire” and “The Four Horsemen”). Megadeth released their debut in 1985 and truly arrived with the following year’s album “Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?,” revealing a punk-influenced political attitude that has remained with the group ever since.

Mustaine, his trademark snarling vocals and scorching guitar work are the only constants across the band’s history, which has included 16 studio albums — five of them certified platinum in the U.S. — multiple lineup shifts, at least seven record labels, a cancer diagnosis, substance abuse and recovery, the controversial 2021 departure of founding bassist Dave “Junior” Ellefson, a prominent role in Penelope Spheeris’ era-defining 1988 documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years,” and countless blown eardrums and strained neck muscles.

Along with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, Megadeth is widely recognized as a member of the “Big Four” Mount Rushmore of thrash metal, a status that was more or less codified with the 1990-91 “Clash of the Titans” tours of North America and Europe. Megadeth and Slayer headlined those tours and were joined by a shifting lineup that included Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies, Testament and others. Metallica remain one of the world’s biggest rock bands; Slayer officially disbanded in 2019 but have reunited for several concerts beginning in 2024; Anthrax have undergone many personnel shifts but are currently active with 4/5 of their classic lineup.

Megadeth’s lineup currently currently comprises Mustaine with Brooklyn-born bassist James LoMenzo, Finnish guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari and Belgian drummer Dirk Verbeuren. Thursday’s announcement included the cover artwork for the band’s final album (below) but not the title.

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