{"id":441259,"date":"2026-01-27T18:42:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/441259\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T18:42:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:42:24","slug":"its-going-to-smack-people-upside-of-their-earholes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/441259\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s going to smack people upside of their earholes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dave Mustaine<\/a> has spoken to NME about calling it quits with Megadeth<\/a> after being \u201con defence almost all my career\u201d, his hopes for the future of metal, and the likelihood of seeing the band return to the stage as virtual avatars.<\/p>\n

The thrash pioneers released their 17th and final album on Friday (January 23), bringing a pivotal chapter in metal history to a close. Described as a \u201cfiery farewell\u201d by NME<\/a>, the record sees Mustaine and co. lean into the same thunderous riffs and angsty lyrics that first put them on the map, and yet counterbalance it with touching moments of melancholy.<\/p>\n

Now, speaking to NME, Mustaine recalled when he realised that this release had to be their last \u2013 noticing how much physical limitations were getting in the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about the halfway point [of working on it],\u201d he said, when asked if he knew from the offset that the end was drawing in. \u201cMy hands were hurting, and I\u2019d already had issues with them because of arthritis. Then I had numbness from when my neck was fused together \u2013 my neck had been broken by a chiropractor \u2013 so I have a metal plate in my neck with some screws\u2026 so my hands were already messed up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always said that when I don\u2019t feel like I can do it anymore, that\u2019s going to be time for me to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Megadeth,Megadeth, 2026. CREDIT: Ross Halfin<\/p>\n

Check out our full interview with the frontman below, where he also opened up about his thoughts on the current metal scene, his appreciation for former Metallica<\/a> bandmate James Hetfield, and sticking by his decision to not invite previous members on the final tour.<\/p>\n

NME: Hi Dave. Exactly how far was it into the work on the final album that you knew it was time to throw in the towel? It must have been a hard decision to make\u2026<\/p>\n

Dave Mustaine: \u201cI had a really difficult time in the studio. When we were already halfway done, I was feeling really achy, so I said something to our management. I have three guys that work in my management, [one of which is my son] Justis Mustaine \u2013 so I spoke to him and I said, \u2018I don\u2019t know how much longer I can keep doing this\u2019. He said, \u2018We should probably talk about it, because this tour is probably going to go for two, three, maybe four years. You\u2019re going to be a little bit older by that point\u2026 so what happens then?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him to let me think about it. Then I talked to the band and they were all super supportive. If I had said, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m old and I don\u2019t want to do this anyway\u2019, that\u2019s one thing, but that\u2019s not the truth. I\u2019m just keeping to my word about if I got to a point where I couldn\u2019t do my job 100 per cent, that I would discuss stopping. It\u2019s very bittersweet for me, but we made a great record and we\u2019re going out on top.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Megadeth,Megadeth, 2026. CREDIT: Ross Halfin<\/p>\n

Was there ever another point that fans aren\u2019t aware of where you felt like calling it quits?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. There was one time where I [felt like I had to stop] because my arm got injured \u2013 that\u2019s another thing that I\u2019m dealing with, this numbness in my hand from when I had Saturday night palsy in my left arm. I couldn\u2019t play for almost a year and a half because of it. I didn\u2019t touch the guitar for 17 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to say no though, to answer that honestly, because the fans knew all about when I got injured. I\u2019ve kept them abreast of everything going on in the band\u2019s life and in our personal lives as much as it\u2019s safe nowadays. Even I didn\u2019t know this was gonna happen [this way]. I just one day was hurting and talking about the tour coming up\u2026 that\u2019s how it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The single \u2018I Don\u2019t Care\u2019 feels like Megadeth going out with a bang and holding middle fingers up along the way\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was exactly that! So many people don\u2019t say what needs to be said. If somebody comes up to me and starts complaining about shit, I think it is more honouring to that friend to say, \u2018Listen, I don\u2019t care. If I stand here and act like I care, as soon as you are out of earshot, I\u2019m gonna tell people what a twat you are\u2026 So I don\u2019t care.\u2019 Watch what they say. They probably say, \u2018Oh, thanks man!\u2019 Then, hey, look at that, you have somebody thanking you for calling them a twat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Speaking of that unfiltered honesty, you outright said that you don\u2019t want to invite previous members along for the tour<\/a> because it might make it feel like a \u201cpuppet show\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. If we were to look at doing that, then you\u2019ve got some members that are deceased. You\u2019ve got some members that I\u2019m friends with, but they can\u2019t play anymore like Chuck [Behler, drummer from 1987-1989]. And then you\u2019ve got a couple guys that are saying very bad things about me in the press. So why would I want to play with those guys?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did this before with Marty [Friedman, guitarist from 1990-2000], and I\u2019m sure that if the opportunity presented itself and the timing was right, I would reconsider having one of the guys from the band\u2019s alumni play with us. But if it was something that didn\u2019t end very well, why would I? There\u2019s not a valid reason to do something like that, especially when we have limited time on stage anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

It feels like a full circle moment to include \u2018Ride the Lightning\u2019 on this album<\/a>. What was it like for you to go back and record material from the Metallica days?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really fun. It was fun hearing the track while we were listening to the parts and working out who would be playing what. I actually had a really good time listening to James\u2019 vocals especially, because he and I have a very distinctive voice in the sense that they\u2019re not at all similar, but they\u2019re both very unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that it was cool to hear James doing his thing, and to then be able to put my spin on it too, because I\u2019ve always thought that if you\u2019re going to do a record of somebody else\u2019s stuff, you need to do it at least as good, if not better. That\u2019s a tall order when it comes to those guys, so we sped it up a little bit and we beefed the end up. Then I sang it with my style, which was different too. I think ours is a great version. There wasn\u2019t any, \u2018Ah, gotcha\u2019 kind of shit involved. That doesn\u2019t help anybody.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother thing we did was spice up the solo just a little bit too, because [if we didn\u2019t] it would be us doing a solo of somebody doing a solo of mine. So we spiced that up a little bit, as well as the drum fills at the end. I said to Dirk [Verbeuren]: \u2018Listen, have fun at the end because that\u2019s what Lars [Ulrich, Metallica drummer] is doing, so why not us too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Thanks to acts like Megadeth and Metallica, the \u201880s thrash scene really opened up the world of metal. Do you think a movement like that could still be possible in 2026?<\/p>\n

\u201cSure I do! In fact, I said to the band that I think there\u2019s going to be a renaissance when this record comes out because it\u2019s going to smack a lot of people upside of their earholes. I think people are going to say \u2018I forgot what I loved about this kind of music\u2019, and then we\u2019re gonna see a lot of people coming back with [a fresh take].<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been hearing a lot [with this album]. Not everybody, but a lot of people have been saying to me that they hadn\u2019t listened to us for a little while but they really like the new album. Man, I\u2019m so happy to hear this stuff from journos and radio personalities because I\u2019ve been on defence almost all my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on the current metal scene? Are there any new artists who stand out to you as doing something new and innovative?<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody in particular. I\u2019ll hear a [new] band, but as soon as it gets to the vocal part that\u2019s always where it loses me because everybody sings in that same particular style. It makes it hard for me to determine who the band is.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that I like about Avenged Sevenfold<\/a>, for example, is the fact that they sing as well as do the screamo stuff. I think what makes a band great is their singer. With the screaming stuff, we\u2019ve had a lot of great bands that have come out on the road with us, but if the singer breaks into a singing voice, that\u2019s what catches my attention \u2013 because it\u2019s freaking hard to sing!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Megadeth,Megadeth, 2026. CREDIT: Cameron Nunez<\/p>\n

Would you say that some metal artists are playing it too safe by only focusing on doing screaming\/growling vocals?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m not suggesting that at all because some people are really good at doing that screaming stuff. Just look at Arch Enemy<\/a>, I think they\u2019re a great band, and I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard [Alissa White-Gluz] sing. But that piqued my interest because it was a girl doing that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI give a pretty fair playing field to anybody who I listen to based on their genre. If I understand it, it\u2019ll be easy for me to figure out if I like it or not. If it\u2019s something I don\u2019t understand, it might take me a few listens to see if there\u2019s something I like.\u201d<\/p>\n

One artist who is making waves at the moment is Yungblud<\/a>. Have you come across any of his work?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s won over names like Ozzy Osborne<\/a>, Aerosmith<\/a>, and The Smashing Pumpkins<\/a>, and some are even suggesting that he is helping carry the torch for a new generation of metal and rock fans. Do you think something like that can be done by one artist?<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps. But when you say somebody is working with everybody, that to me means they\u2019ve reached a point where they need to either take a break, or find something else [to separate them from the pack] because you run the risk of your song sounding like the last person\u2019s song, which then sounds like the last person\u2019s song.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Megadeth,Megadeth, 2026. CREDIT: Annalisa Russo<\/p>\n

So we shouldn\u2019t expect a collaboration with you and Yungblud any time soon\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as me knowing any young bands or artists that I wanna work with? If I was going to work with anybody right now, I\u2019d keep working with Megadeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you think of bands like KISS<\/a> who have revealed plans to continue performing as virtual avatars<\/a> even after their farewell tour is done? Would you ever consider doing something like that?<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen some avatars, and if they\u2019re done well, it could be a fun experience. Especially if the band is a phenomenon like ABBA<\/a>. That works because they are a pop sensation and people will go see a puppet show of ABBA. Right now, though, I love playing live and I don\u2019t know enough about all of that. I just want to keep the cool factor that we\u2019ve been able to maintain for 40 years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Megadeth\u2019s self-titled, final album is out now via BlkIIBlk. Visit here<\/a> for tickets to their upcoming tour dates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dave Mustaine has spoken to NME about calling it quits with Megadeth after being \u201con defence almost all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,3088,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-441259","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-metal","12":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}