Grand Central Publishing’s newly introduced Da Capo imprint is targeting a provisional September 2027 release for the upcoming memoir by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, titled “In My Darkest Hour”. The book is set to chronicle Mustaine’s “gnarly” medical ordeal following his 2019 diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma located at the back of his tongue.
The Da Capo imprint is dedicated to music-related titles and represents a revival of Da Capo Press, a well-established music publisher that became part of Hachette Book Group through its 2016 acquisition of the Perseus Book Group. Da Capo Press was later absorbed into Hachette Books in 2018, before that imprint was shut down in 2024 amid company-wide restructuring.
“In My Darkest Hour” is being co-written with Joe Layden, a New York Times journalist who previously collaborated with Mustaine on his autobiography “Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir”, as well as with original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley on “No Regrets: A Rock ’N’ Roll Memoir”.Layden also penned “The Last Great Fight”, which explores what many regard as the biggest upset in boxing history: James “Buster” Douglas’ tenth-round knockout victory over Mike Tyson in 1990.
Official “In My Darkest Hour” book description, courtesy of Da Capo, is as follows:
“From King of Metal Dave Mustaine, a powerful reflection on the harsh truths and raw realizations that can only come from confronting death.”
“Dave Mustaine is no stranger to pain and suffering. He battled demons all his life — including an alcoholic father, addiction, and black magic — and turned fifty-eight believing he’d survived the worst. But in 2019, Mustaine was forced to face the loss of his instantly recognizable voice and the disintegration of his musical talent. Diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma at the back of his tongue, his entire career — and possibly his life — was about to end.”
“For Mustaine, it was one more opportunity to fight like hell.”
“‘In My Darkest Hour’ takes readers from the treatment room to the studio as Mustaine chronicles how his diagnosis inspired him to take up the pen and guitar pick, going from radiation and chemotherapy appointments straight into hours-long recording sessions, resulting in Megadeth‘s sixteenth studio album, The Sick, The Dying…And The Dead!. Along the way, Mustaine details how confronting his own mortality brought him closer to his family, taught him how to ask for help, strengthened his faith, and challenged the vulnerability of his art.”
“Filled with perseverance, hope, and the determination to never let the bast*rds grind you down, ‘In My Darkest Hour’ is a masterful portrait of a Dave Mustaine that the world has yet to see, and serves as a moving reminder that even our most invincible heroes are human.”
The Megadeth guitarist and vocalist, now 64, publicly disclosed his cancer diagnosis in June 2019 via social media, explaining at the time that doctors had given him a 90 percent chance of recovery. Mustaine later confirmed that he overcame the disease following an intensive course of 51 radiation treatments and nine rounds of chemotherapy. He made his return to the stage in early 2020, only weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic brought global touring to a halt for several months.
