Details of the MEGADETH Final Album: What Fans Can Expect.
The news was shared in a heartfelt social media post to Mustaine’s loyal followers and the Cyber Army. He used a creepy cartoon version of himself—Vic Rattlehead—who spoke the announcement for the first time ever. But the words are Mustaine’s.
“So many artists reach the end of their journey, either by chance or by choice. Almost no one gets to leave the stage while the crowd is still cheering. That’s the lucky spot I’m in now. I’ve circled the globe, I’ve met millions of fans, and the hardest part of this whole ride is telling them goodbye.”
“We’re counting down the days until you get to blast this album and catch us onstage. Honestly, if there’s ever been a moment made for releasing new music, it’s right now. And if there’s a right moment to hit every corner of this planet on tour, it’s right now. Which is why it’s also the right moment to say this is our final studio record.
You’ve been our pals for a long time, and I can’t wait to share every night of our global farewell tour with you. This is no time for anger or tears—this is reason to cheer for all of us, so come party and make memories these next few years.
“We’ve built something together that I doubt anyone will ever top. We invented a sound, we lit a fire, we rewrote the rulebook on guitar, and we reshaped the planet, one riff at a time. The bands I’ve been lucky enough to play in have sent echoes around the globe. I’ll never stop loving you for it. Thank you from every string and every breath.”
Megadeth kicked off in 1983 when Dave Mustaine, the one-of-a-kind frontman and guitar sniper, turned heartbreak into horsepower after being shown the door at Metallica. He’d helped write several of the killer tracks on their game-changing debut, 1983’s “Kill ’Em All,” including the scorched-earth anthems “Jump in the Fire” and “The Four Horsemen.”
Megadeth roared in 1985 with their self-titled debut and kicked the door down the next year with “Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?” That record blasted a punk-shredded political spirit into the metal sound and never looked back.
Mustaine’s howling voice and searing solos are the only fixtures since day one of Megadeth. Sixteen studio albums later—five of them platinum—there are scars from lineup changes, seven record labels, one cancer scare, a fight with addiction, the 2021 departure of founding bassist Dave “Junior” Ellefson, and that tell-it-like-it-is sequence in Penelope Spheeris’s 1988 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years. The band’s story is one long, loud condensing of blown eardrums and strained necks.
With Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, Megadeth earned the right to claim a Mount Rushmore spot on the world’s thrash-metal skyline. The badge got pinned firm during the 1990-91 Clash of the Titans tour, which saw Megadeth and Slayer swapping headliner spots across two continents while Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies, Testament, and others rotated on the bill.
Metallica is still arena-filling. Slayer quit in 2019 and then decided to fly in for a handful of 2024 shows. Anthrax’s lineup has twisted many times, but 4/5 of their classic core is still on stage.
Megadeth now has founding guitarist Dave Mustaine leading a lineup that features Brooklyn-raised bassist James LoMenzo, Finnish guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, and Belgian drummer Dirk Verbeuren. The band shared a cover image for its last album yesterday, but the title still remains a mystery.
