Former Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young has made it clear that he has very little interest in participating in the legendary thrash band’s ongoing farewell tour. The musician recently stated that the only conceivable reason he would consider sharing the stage with his former bandmates again would be strictly for the dedicated fans, emphasizing his desire to completely avoid any lingering interpersonal conflicts.
During a recent conversation with Chris Akin on “The Classic Metal Show“, Young was asked if he believes every former Megadeth member — including his Kings of Thrash bandmate and ex-bassist David Ellefson — should be part of the band’s farewell run alongside Dave Mustaine and the current lineup. He responded with a decidedly indifferent outlook on the situation.
“I’m totally neutral about it,” he replied (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “I have no opinion about it. I don’t even know if I’d wanna do it if it was offered to me. We’re already doing it with Kings of Thrash, and to my mind better, so I don’t know why I need to go do that. The reason to do it would be for the fans, so they could see it. That’s the only reason to do it.”
Expanding on his hesitance, the guitarist pointed to the complicated personal dynamics and industry politics that inherently come with massive reunion events.
“We’re not all necessarily friends to begin with. And I’m not down for the drama, to be honest. And Marty‘s [Friedman, former Megadeth guitarist] already done the [reunion] thing with them at a few gigs. So they’ve already been there, done that. And there’s a lot of politics and drama to something like that.”
Currently, Young is channeling his creative energy entirely into his own endeavors. He noted that he is perfectly content finishing out the year on the road with Kings Of Thrash before shifting his focus toward launching a brand-new solo album in 2027.
“I’m neutral on it. I’m happy to just play the rest of the Kings of Thrash gigs we got scheduled for this year,” Young continued. “And the next year I’m off doing my own album… So I’m thinking about that for the foreseeable future. And then if we get some cool festival gigs or some… For Kings to come back and play together, we want it to be special, if it’s, like, for Download festival or something cool, or opening for KK’s Priest or something like that, or Accept.”
Beyond the logistical hurdles, Young admitted that performing the classic thrash metal catalog simply does not align with his current artistic mission.
“It’s not my mission to be playing those songs. I didn’t write those, and I’ve written a whole [solo] album I’m about to drop of my own stuff that’s closer to my heart, that’s more on my vibe, that I think appeals to a larger audience, ’cause thrash is a very niche audience. There’s only so many people on this planet that are into thrash metal. I’m happy to have contributed to the genre and be a part of the history of it, but it’s a big world out there, and there’s a lot more to do, and I only got so many days to do it.”
A massive alumni reunion seems equally unlikely from the other side of the camp. During a December interview on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk“, Dave Mustaine shut down the idea of bringing back every former member for a final bow, citing past grievances and a desire to maintain fairness among the varying eras of the band.
“Well, I can’t really do that, because of the behavior of one of the bandmembers in the past,” he noted at the time. “I just can’t — I can’t. Because, first off, it would be unfair to the other bandmembers if I didn’t play with them as well,” he said.
Reflecting on past collaborations, Mustaine highlighted his special connection with former guitarist Marty Friedman, who rejoined him on stage in Japan in early 2023.
“The thing about what we did with [former Megadeth guitarist] Marty [Friedman] in Japan [in early 2024], that was a no-brainer. That was brilliant. And I love Marty. We had our separation, and he went his way and we went our way. But it was a very, very intense relationship I had with Marty, because that was the first relationship I had with a guitar player.”
He also spoke about his relationships with other former guitarists, noting that while they were positive, they didn’t match the depth he shared with Friedman. “My relationship with [former Megadeth guitarist] Chris [Poland] was really great, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty,” Dave said. “My relationship with [former Megadeth guitarist] Jeff [Young] was good, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty.”
Mustaine clarified that aside from the late Gar Samuelson, he wouldn’t have an issue performing with most of the former members. Still, he emphasized fairness to the current lineup: “I’m just not gonna do anything that is gonna, in any way, seem unfair to the other bandmembers.”
