Megadeth is Calling It Quits Because of Dave Mustaine’s Physical Limitations and Arthritis
If there’s one thing certain in life, it’s that time and gravity always win. Sooner or later, our mortal shells break down and it’s game over. Sadly, the reality of getting older turns out to be a major reason behind Megadeth’s final curtain call and frontman Dave Mustaine calling it quits.
During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Mustaine revealed that a major catalyst for the band supposed farewell tour and final self-titled album was his arthritic hands and other ailments.
“It had been a long time coming — just physical stuff that was going on with my hands… My hands were letting me down. And there were other things that were difficult because of all the stuff going on in my neck and my trunk. All that area there has arthritis and it has discs that are bulging. I’ve got a broken lumbar bone. Of course, you know I have my back fused, up by my shoulders, by my neck. And just a lot of stuff.”
At 64 years old, Mustaine certainly isn’t the spry young man he used to be. Honestly, I give the dude props for knowing when to walk away before things got too painful or the quality of his work degraded too much.
According to Mustaine, the idea of quitting while you’re ahead was always on his mind.
“I always said when it got to the point where I was unable to give a hundred percent every night, that’s when I was gonna start considering winding down. And it wasn’t that I was unable to give a hundred percent, because we finished the record, and I think we did a good job on it, but there was a period when we were working and I said to my manager, I said, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this. My hands are really hurting.’ And I didn’t mean to set the ball rolling.
“Honestly, I just was making conversation, and it turned into me talking to the band guys and sleeping on it and talking to my family and praying on it. And the answer was clear to me that by the time we’re done with the record, I’m gonna know how the record’s gonna do. If the record does really well, then I’ll be able to have one last really good tour. And the part about the farewell thing, it’s kind of like the same thing, isn’t it? We’ve got some dates that we wanna play to say goodbye to our friends.”
That final bush to “say goodbye to our friends” will apparently take a few years, so there should be plenty of time to catch Mustaine and co. before it’s all over. The band already has a number of tour dates lined up, which you can check out below.
Megadeth Farewell Tour Dates
1/17 La Vergne, TN Let There Be Shred: Immersive Listening Event
2/15 Victoria, BC Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
2/17 Abbotsford, BC Rogers Forum
2/18 Kelowna, BC Prospera Place
2/20 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
2/21 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
2/24 Saskatoon, SK SaskTel Centre
2/25 Winnipeg, MB Canada Life Centre
2/28 London, ON Canada Life Place
3/1 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre
3/3 Halifax, NS Scotiabank Centre
3/4 Moncton, NB Avenir Centre
3/6 Québec City, QC Videotron Centre
4/23 Lima, Peru Costa 21
4/26 Bogotá, Colombia Movistar Arena
4/27 Bogotá, Colombia Movistar Arena
4/30 Buenos Aires, Argentina TBD
5/10 Mexico City, Mexico Arena Ciudad de Mexico
5/11 Mexico City, Mexico Arena Ciudad de Mexico
5/13 Guadalajara, Mexico Arena Guadalajara
5/2 São Paulo, Brazil Espaco Unimed
5/4 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena
5/5 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena
5/8 Monterrey, Mexico Arena Monterrey
6/10 Hradec Králové, Czechia Rock For People – Park 360
6/11 Luxembourg, LUX Rockhal
6/14 Ferrara, Italy Ferrara Summer Festival – Piazza Ariostea
6/15 Zurich, SWI Halle 622
6/16 Vienna, AUT Gasometer
6/2 Hanover, Germany Heinz von Heiden Arena
6/23 Istanbul, TUR KüçükÇiftlik Park
6/26 Helsinki, Finland Suvilahti – TUSKA
6/28 Almaty, KAZ Spartak Stadium
6/7 Gelsenkirchen, GER Amphitheater
8/29 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
8/30 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
9/11 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
9/12 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
9/15 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
9/19 Shakopee, MN Mystic Lake Amphitheater
9/22 Tinley Park, IL Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
9/25 Los Angeles, CA BMO Stadium
9/26 Los Angeles, CA BMO Stadium
9/29 San Antonio, TX Alamodome
9/3 Montréal, QC Parc Jean Drapeau
9/5 Harrison, NJ Sports Illustrated Stadium
9/6 Harrison, NJ Sports Illustrated Stadium
9/9 Boston, MA TD Garden
