Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine: ‘It Doesn’t Feel Like The End Is Nigh’

As Iron Maiden’s Australian tour with very special guests Megadeth approaches, Dave Mustaine reflects on career, legacy, Megadeth’s final chapter, and life at home with his beloved pet chihuahua, Romeo.

Megadeth Profile

It’s true what they say: dogs really are a man’s best friend. And never has that been so plain as day as seeing Dave Mustaine’s softer side around his chihuahua, Romeo.

There are a lot of assumptions that can be made about Dave Mustaine. As the ringleader of the American heavy metal band Megadeth, he’s cultivated a reputation as a perfectionist, or, more unkindly, a control freak.

In the metal community, he’s recognised as a hugely influential songwriter and guitarist, but he’s also a somewhat polarising figure after burning – and mending – some bridges with other acts, including his old band, Metallica.

Mustaine has previously discussed his tumultuous childhood and early adult life, in which he grew up with an alcoholic father, experienced drug and alcohol problems himself, and found an escape in music.

At the age of 20, he joined Metallica as their lead guitarist. Two years later, he was kicked out of the band due to his alcoholism, drug abuse, and aggressive behaviour, as well as clashes with founding members James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Mustaine described his firing as “no warning, no second chance.”

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With Metallica, he co-wrote four songs that appeared on the band’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All, and co-wrote two songs that appeared on their 1984 album, Ride The Lightning.

Megadeth formed in 1983. Known and loved for their technically complex guitar riffing, soloing and musicianship, the band helped develop and popularise thrash metal and became a part of the “Big Four” of American thrash metal alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax.

Their songs are known for superbly intricate arrangements, fast rhythm sections, dual lead guitars, and lyrics that explore topics such as war, global conflicts, politics, religion, death, and sometimes, personal relationships.

Megadeth have released 17 albums – their self-titled album, which arrived earlier this year, is billed as their final release – and consistently toured across the globe, even with a couple of splits and numerous lineup changes along the way. In a full-circle moment, the bonus track on the band’s final album is a cover of Metallica’s Ride The Lightning.

Today, though, Mustaine doesn’t look like the angry figure you’ve seen on stage and in music videos or heard stories about. He’s a man sitting in his home studio, showing a completely different version of himself as he introduces us to his beloved pet chihuahua, Romeo.

The Music and Mustaine are discussing Megadeth’s upcoming Australian tour dates with Iron Maiden when Romeo wanders into the room and immediately shows the metal legend’s tender side.

He warms as the adorable little chihuahua joins him in his space – this is a mellow version of Mustaine, an attitude we’ve seen replicated in viral videos of dads who previously insisted that they didn’t want a dog but grew closer to them than anyone else in the family.

“Let me show you his face,” Mustaine smiles. “He really is cute. Hi, Romeo. Let’s look at the camera. Hi, baby.”

After calling Romeo his “best friend,” the little dog lets out a few barks, and Mustaine responds in a hushed tone, “Hey, Romeo, be nice.” It’s a far cry from the man with the wild stories and ripping guitar solos, but it’s genuine.

As Romeo leaves the room, Mustaine notes that he’s greatly looking forward to sharing the stage with Iron Maiden in Australia next month.

“Well, Iron Maiden is a really big influence for Megadeth. I’ve been a fan ever since the [1981] Killers record came out, and I even had the 45” single at the Soundhouse stage. Somebody stole that motherfucker,” Mustaine says before he exclaims, “Send it back!”

“I love Maiden,” he adds, recalling a sweet moment when Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris approached him at his last show playing with Metallica.

“I remember the last show I did with Metallica; we were playing in New York, and Steve had come, and he was standing in the back of the venue. Once we were done playing, I went out and talked with him for a while, and I really remember thinking he was a cool guy and that Maiden was going to be enormous. And of course, look at them.”

Mustaine also has fond memories of touring Australia – Megadeth have been visiting our shores since 1991; they last visited in March 2023, when they performed at the inaugural Knotfest Australia and two sideshows in Melbourne and Adelaide.

“I have a lot of special memories,” he muses. “You know, some silly ones like Moreton Bay bugs, and some more personal ones like my friends over in New Zealand in Crowded House, and a lot of the landmark stuff. It’s neat to see.

“Probably my all-time favourite thing about coming to Australia is the fans, the beaches, and the bugs.”

The relationship with Australia goes beyond bugs, beaches, and heavy metal – well, sort of. The Sydney Harbour Bridge features on the album cover of 2016’s Dystopia. The album’s title track earned the band its first-ever Grammy Award (Best Metal Performance) at the 59th Grammy Awards.

Reflecting on that milestone, Mustaine reveals that, unlike other artists who seem unfazed by award season, the acclaim and prestige of a Grammy Award matters to him.

“I am glad that we finally got our Grammy,” he says. “I wish it didn’t take so long and that we would have gotten more of them because it is an acknowledgement from your peers, and the voting is done by our peers. It’s not done by our fans.”

Between Dystopia and 2022’s The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!, Mustaine was diagnosed with and entered remission from throat cancer. At the band’s Knotfest sideshow in Melbourne, he said of people’s reaction to his diagnosis: “A lot of my friends said, ‘fuck, I feel sorry for cancer.’”

Unfortunately, his health ailments didn’t stop there.

Last August, Megadeth announced that they’d be disbanding after releasing a final album in early 2026. Mustaine offered more details behind the band’s impending breakup on the band’s blog, revealing that they’re in a unique position where they can “go out on their own terms on top.”

Last December, though, Mustaine told Spain’s MariskalRockTV that he’d been diagnosed with Dupuytren contracture, which is a condition that causes one or more fingers to bend towards the palm of the hand and can’t straighten completely – a nightmarish, potentially career-ending situation for a guitarist, even with surgery.

Mustaine revealed that his diagnosis contributed to the decision to end Megadeth, saying that his hands were “hurting really bad,” “severely arthritic,” and guitars had become “really painful to play.”

Discussing the emotional aspect of the decision, Mustaine tells The Music that it “wasn’t fun.”

“It was very, very bittersweet, to tell you the truth,” he admits. “I knew that at some point, we’ve got to hang up the guitars, and that’s why I wrote the lyrics for The Last Note.”

“[Lead guitarist] Teemu [Mäntysaari] and I came up with a very emotional song, which I think is going to be great to start playing live when it becomes apparent that the farewell days have started,” he adds.

“You know, it doesn’t feel like the end is nigh. It feels like we’ve got a lot left to accomplish. So, the shows that we have left to play, we’re going to give it our absolute all.”

Megadeth, the band’s final album, is their 17th full-length. Some would assume that, at this stage of the game, they’d be pumping out low-effort, low-energy, low-stakes tunes. But that’s not the case for this band.

Ferocious album opener Tipping Point, in particular, is relentless in its speed, song structure, and lyrics. It signals the high-energy songs to come.

“Well, the riff of the song stayed pretty true, but the lyric changed a few times,” Mustaine says. “And, you know, that’s kind of how it is with me. I’ll have a couple songs where the lyrics, they’ll make themselves clear in the beginning if I start an idea.

“And then there’ll be some other songs that I’ll be writing, and the lyric just won’t come together, and I’ll end up having to abandon my approach for that song.”

With the fierce Let There Be Shred, Megadeth continue to deliver the fast, hard-hitting tunes. It’s a song that revisits Mustaine’s early days in music, reflecting on the Los Angeles metal scene, which he’s not all that fond of.

“The LA metal scene was kind of a laughable pile of shit if you think about all the people who called themselves metal,” he chuckles. “You know, there were the bands like us, Metallica, Slayer, Armored Saint. But there were so many other bands that would say they were metal, and, you know, they were kind of metal, but they weren’t thrash.

“At that point, to me, thrash was all that mattered. You know, don’t tell me you’re metal when you’re in a band like Warrant or Ratt. And I am a fan of [Ratt guitarist] Warren DeMartini’s guitar playing, so no animosity there.

“But there were so many people in the LA metal scene that called themselves metal, and I just don’t think they were metal at all.”

Overall, Megadeth has been a hugely successful album. In January, it became the band’s first-ever album to top the ARIA Albums Chart. In February, the album became their first #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, giving Mustaine and the band their first-ever leader on the all-genre chart.

“The No. 1 part was long time coming, because we’ve been No. 2 so many times that I forgot there was a number one,” he admits. “And it’s better for us now that we’ve been able to get all the things that we wanted accomplished and that we still have gas left in the tank.

“This tour is going to be a monster. We are playing better now than I think we’ve ever played. I listen to our guitar player, Teemu, go into the jam room every day and play the guitar solos for all of the songs, not just the songs that he recorded.

“I can tell you that that was stuff that some of the guitarists in the past would do. They would pay attention to their stuff but not pay very much attention to the other players before them, which I think was a shame because there have been so many great players in Megadeth.”

Of course, Mustaine has his own strong reputation as a guitarist, especially the tricky “spider chord” technique that he’s popularised.

When we ask how he simultaneously plays those chords and sings, he cheekily quips, “Oh, it’s a little difficult. You know, sometimes I just close my eyes and let the fingers do the talking.”

Mustaine trails off when Romeo sneaks back into the room. Again, the legendary guitarist approaches his little dog with warmth. “Let me see, baby,” he says, lightly brushing something off Romeo’s face. “Just let me get that out of your face. There we go; there’s a good boy. I love my little dog.”

Megadeth will open for Iron Maiden on their upcoming Australian tour. Tickets are now available.