Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine recently opened up about the emotional and physical reality of his decision to embark on a farewell tour. Speaking with Chile’s “La Tercera“, Mustaine detailed how a diagnosis of Dupuytren’s contracture, often called Viking Disease, has made performing his intricate thrash metal riffs “really painful.” The condition causes the tissue under the skin of the hand to thicken, eventually pulling the fingers into a permanently bent position. Mustaine explained that while a medical procedure is a possibility, its success is not guaranteed, and the risk of losing his ability to play guitar was the primary driver behind the band’s current farewell run.
”I have an injury to my hand here… And it’s gonna get worse so that it eventually pulls my finger like this, and I won’t be able to play like that. So at some point I’m gonna have to face doing a procedure, and if it doesn’t turn out, then I can’t play anymore anyway. I’ve thought about having somebody else play guitar and me just sing in Megadeth, but I would never be happy. I think part of the magic is me playing guitar,” Dave said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The final Megadeth studio album, simply titled Megadeth, arrived in January and made a massive impact on global charts, debuting at the top spot in the United States, Australia, and Austria. The record earned 73,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. during its first week, with 69,000 of that coming from pure album sales. One of the most talked-about moments on the record is the band’s rendition of “Ride The Lightning“, the title track of Metallica‘s 1984 album Ride The Lightning. Dave Mustaine, who co-wrote the song with James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Cliff Burton before his 1983 departure from Metallica, explained his motivation for reclaiming the track for his final studio statement.
“We decided to do that song, and I wanted to make it my own. Of course, I wrote that with James [Hetfield]. So, it’s mine. I just wanted to make Megadeth‘s version different. So we sped it up — it’s a little faster and we improved… Well, we didn’t… wrong word. We modified the drums at the end, and we added a little bit more playing. And same thing with the [guitar] solo. We modified the solo and had there a little bit more playing in the solo section. So, it is ours. And, of course, James and I sing differently, but you can tell when either one of us is singing,” he stated.
When asked if the members of Metallica had offered any feedback on the new version of the song, which Megadeth performed live for the first time on April 26 in Bogota, Colombia, Dave Mustaine noted that he wasn’t looking for their approval. Instead, he reflected on the raw talent he and James Hetfield possessed during the early 1980s.
“I wasn’t looking for it. And they may have said something. I don’t know. I was concerned what the fans were gonna say, and I was more concerned about our songs than what I wrote 40-plus years ago when I was a kid. I mean, the funny thing is I was so young when I wrote that song, and to try and understand that somebody that young could write something like that, it just shows you how talented a guitar player that James and I were. And we made a really good team,” Mustaine added.
Despite the looming end of his touring career, Dave Mustaine remains optimistic about his future and the possibility of a recovery, though he is prepared to transition into a new phase of life centered around his family. He expressed that he intends to remain part of the music industry in some capacity even after the farewell tour concludes.
“Probably just be a happy grandpa. ‘Cause I love my family. It’s the most important thing in the world to me. And I think when I stop, I’ll still be involved in the music business. Who knows? I may wake up tomorrow morning and my hand will be miraculously healed and I have my career back. Who knows? But for now, I’m gonna make the best of it,” he concluded.
The release of the Megadeth album has proven to be a career milestone, reaching the top five in Finland, Sweden, Belgium, the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands. It also secured Megadeth‘s highest-ever chart position in New Zealand and Italy. The album was released through Dave Mustaine‘s own Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group‘s BLKIIBLK label, marking a successful independent conclusion to the band’s historic recording career. While Dave Mustaine was famously not included in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with Metallica in 2009, his legacy as a pioneer of the genre remains unchallenged as he prepares to hang up the guitar.
