Dave Mustaine thinks there’s a “changing of the guard” at the top of metal: “All of our elder statesmen have satisfied their roles”
2025 saw the loss of some of the metal genre’s greatest figures, including, but not limited to, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley and Mastodon’s Brent Hinds.
And in a new interview in the latest issue of Metal Hammer, as Megadeth gear up to launch their last ever album and embark on a landmark world tour to wrap things up, frontman Dave Mustaine reflects on the “changing of the guard” at the top of metal.
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“All of our elder statesmen have satisfied their role as models,” he says, remembering some of the legends who have passed, both recently and in the last two decades.
“Some of the people we lost have really affected me. Lemmy [Kilmister, Motörhead frontman], [Ronnie James] Dio [Black Sabbath singer], Ozzy [Osbourne]… You hear about them going and you think, ‘No!’ That’s the way of the world now, though.”
Last year saw the passing of other legends including founding Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley at the age of 74, as well as some outside the metal realm including Beach Boys pioneer Brian Wilson.
Dave Mustaine himself has suffered his share of health conditions in recent years, famously revealing in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. While he confirmed that he was “100% cancer-free” the following year, in 2022 he shared that he had almost lost control of his left hand while undergoing chemotherapy.
“I wish I would have kept in touch with [late Megadeth drummer] Gar [Samuelson],” he said in a recent interview with Guitar World.
“You see that Ace Frehley passed away and how sad that is. Whenever stuff like that happens, I feel fortunate because I’m still kicking. But on the opposite side of the coin, I think, ‘Fuck… that could have been me,’ but by the grace of God, it’s not.”
Megadeth are due to commence their mammoth swansong tour on 15 February in Victoria, British Columbia, before putting on a number of Canada shows, and then heading to South America, Mexico, Europe and the US later in 2026.
But despite the band’s long list of members who have passed through the fold in the last four decades, Mustaine says former members won’t be performing with them during the tour.
“We’ve already done that with Marty,” he told Guitar World, referring to the times Marty Friedman joined the band onstage twice in 2023. “And I mean, let’s look at the other people we’ve played with… there’s a lot of people. [laughs]
“That would be a huge undertaking. 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.’”
You can see a full list of dates on Megadeth’s upcoming final tour on their official website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
