Dave Mustaine has confirmed that he won’t be inviting previous members to perform with Megadeth as part of their farewell tour, saying he doesn’t want it to feel like a “puppet show”.
The thrash metal icons announced last year that they were going to be calling it a day, releasing their final album in 2026 and heading out on their last ever tour.
Explaining the decision to end the band, Mustaine said at the time that he has noticed how most artists “don’t get to go out on their own terms on top”, and since he feels like he is at that point “right now” it only felt right to bring things to an end.
Since announcing the news that their days of touring will be drawing to a close, the frontman has answered various questions about how the band will wrap things up – including sharing that he would like for their final show to take place in space.
Now, he has looked back at the rich history of musicians who have been a part of the line-up since the band formed in 1983, and shut down hopes that past members will be taking to the stage as part of the upcoming tour.
When asked in the latest issue of Guitar World whether he is planning on bringing back some ex-members for the event, Mustaine responded: “We’ve already done that with Marty [Friedman, former guitarist who returned for a surprise appearance in 2023]… And I mean, let’s look at the other people we’ve played with, there’s a lot of people. That would be a huge undertaking.”
He continued: “I don’t think I want to do that. I’d rather keep doing what we’re doing and let the fans [experience] Megadeth music and be happy about it. It’s not ‘puppet show Megadeth.’”
The comments align with what the thrash icon told Eddie Trunk last month, when he was asked on SiriusXM if surviving members could be making a surprise appearance at the final gig of the tour.
“I just can’t — I can’t. Because, first off, it would be unfair to the other band members if I didn’t play with them as well,” he said, also going on to again look back at the 2023 reunion with Friedman.
“The thing about what we did with Marty in Japan, that was a no-brainer. That was brilliant,” he explained. “And I love Marty. We had our separation, and he went his way and we went our way. But it was a very, very intense relationship I had with Marty, because that was the first relationship I had with a guitar player.”
Mustaine went on to say that while he got on with other guitarists like Chris Poland and Jeff Young, neither were “as good as it was with Marty”.
“I probably wouldn’t have a problem playing with any of the members of those two line-ups, except the fact that Gar [Samuelson, former drummer,] is deceased,” he then told Trunk. “I’m just not going to do anything that is going to, in any way, seem unfair to the other band members.”
Other comments Mustaine has made about the final tour include suggesting that the farewell shows could last “for another three to five years”.
He has also previously revealed that the band will be covering Metallica classic ‘Ride The Lightning’ for their final album, explaining: “One of the songs is a cover song but I actually wrote it, so it’s kind of like a cover, kind of like my song.”
So far, the upcoming self-titled album – which is out on January 23 and will be their 17th studio release – has been previewed by three singles: ‘Tipping Point’, ‘I Don’t Care’ and ‘Let There Be Shred’. Visit here to pre-order the record.
