Dave Mustaine: Megadeth Disbanding Due To His Arthritis And Being 'Unable To Give A Hundred Per Cent'

Dave Mustaine is a legend of thrash metal. With Megadeth, he’s a member of the Big Four alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. As such, and given that the band has endured tumultuous conditions over the decades, fans never expected Megadeth to break up or Dave Mustaine to retire.

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But it seems that decades of shredding have caught up to him, with the guitarist and singer revealing that his arthritis pain and the inability to “give a hundred per cent” have majorly contributed to the band’s impending disbandment.

In a new interview on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Mustaine outlined his arthritis pain and other ailments as being catalysts for Megadeth’s final album and tour.

“It had been a long time coming — just physical stuff that was going on with my hands,” Mustaine admitted. “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.”

Mustaine added that when he got to the point where he could no longer give a hundred per cent on stage, he was always going to begin to consider winding down. But he didn’t necessarily intend to retire following their upcoming, self-titled album; it just happened.

“I always said when it got to the point where I was unable to give a hundred per cent every night, that’s when I was gonna start considering winding down,” he said.

“And it wasn’t that I was unable to give a hundred per cent, 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.”

He continued, “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.”

So far, Megadeth have booked farewell shows from January to September 2026, with dates announced for the US and Canada, Latin America, and Europe. The band were last in Australia for Knotfest’s debut Down Under in March 2023.

Megadeth’s self-titled album will be released on Friday, 23 January, via Mustaine’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.

Upon announcing their impending final album, tour, and disbandment back in August, Mustaine said that Megadeth are in a unique position where they can “go out on their own terms on top.”