Dave Mustaine: No, Ex-Megadeth Members Won’t Participate in the Band’s Final Tour

As the four-decade-long career of Megadeth comes to a close over the next couple years, it’s looking like the current lineup is the only one that’ll take the stage. No reunions, no surprise returns by the likes of Chris Poland, Marty Friedman, or David Ellefson. After all, Dave Mustaine said in a recent interview, there’s too many past members to consider.

This latest batch of comments about the exit strategy of one of the ‘Big Four’ came during a recent interview between Mustaine and Guitar World (via Guitar.com). In that chat, Mustaine was asked whether there’d be any room for past members to join the current band on stage during their farewell run. It’d happened in the past with Marty Friedman, but would it happen with him again or any others? Mustaine put the kibosh on that pretty quick.

“We’ve already done that with Marty. And I mean, let’s look at the other people we’ve played with… there’s a lot of people.

“That would be a huge undertaking. I don’t think I want to do that. I’d rather keep doing what we’re doing and let the fans [experience] Megadeth music and be happy about it. It’s not ‘puppet show Megadeth.’”

Truth be told, Megadeth’s pretty much been a massive revolving door when it comes to its members, with only Mustaine remaining the sole constant in the band. Every other position has seen a lot of turnover, as evidenced by the timeline of players found on their “List of Megadeth band members” Wikipedia page.

And while you could certainly look at that graph and be like “hmmm, who could possibly be the problem here” (hint… it could be the only constant member…), but something certainly should be said for the 64-year-old shredder’s longevity. Looking back, Mustaine said he certainly has things he wishes he could have done differently over the years, even if he’s thankful he didn’t die given his legendary drug addicitions.

“I wish I would have kept in touch with [late Megadeth drummer] Gar Samuelson. Whenever stuff like that happens, I feel fortunate because I’m still kicking. But on the opposite side of the coin, I think, ‘Fuck… that could have been me.'”

Megadeth’s self-titled, farewell LP is set to release January 23 of 2026 via BLKIIBLK, but you can preorder your copy today.

In addition to the album’s upcoming release, Megadeth already have a long line of tour dates figured out for the new year. You can check out the dates they have planned so far below.

Megadeth Farewell Tour Dates

1/17 La Vergne, TN Let There Be Shred: Immersive Listening Event
2/15 Victoria, BC Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
2/17 Abbotsford, BC Rogers Forum
2/18 Kelowna, BC Prospera Place
2/20 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
2/21 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
2/24 Saskatoon, SK SaskTel Centre
2/25 Winnipeg, MB Canada Life Centre
2/28 London, ON Canada Life Place
3/1 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre
3/3 Halifax, NS Scotiabank Centre
3/4 Moncton, NB Avenir Centre
3/6 Québec City, QC Videotron Centre
4/23 Lima, Peru Costa 21
4/26 Bogotá, Colombia Movistar Arena
4/27 Bogotá, Colombia Movistar Arena
4/30 Buenos Aires, Argentina TBD
5/10 Mexico City, Mexico Arena Ciudad de Mexico
5/11 Mexico City, Mexico Arena Ciudad de Mexico
5/13 Guadalajara, Mexico Arena Guadalajara
5/2 São Paulo, Brazil Espaco Unimed
5/4 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena
5/5 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena
5/8 Monterrey, Mexico Arena Monterrey
6/10 Hradec Králové, Czechia Rock For People – Park 360
6/11 Luxembourg, LUX Rockhal
6/14 Ferrara, Italy Ferrara Summer Festival – Piazza Ariostea
6/15 Zurich, SWI Halle 622
6/16 Vienna, AUT Gasometer
6/2 Hanover, Germany Heinz von Heiden Arena
6/23 Istanbul, TUR KüçükÇiftlik Park
6/26 Helsinki, Finland Suvilahti – TUSKA
6/28 Almaty, KAZ Spartak Stadium
6/7 Gelsenkirchen, GER Amphitheater
8/29 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
8/30 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
9/11 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
9/12 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
9/15 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
9/19 Shakopee, MN Mystic Lake Amphitheater
9/22 Tinley Park, IL Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
9/25 Los Angeles, CA BMO Stadium
9/26 Los Angeles, CA BMO Stadium
9/29 San Antonio, TX Alamodome
9/3 Montréal, QC Parc Jean Drapeau
9/5 Harrison, NJ Sports Illustrated Stadium
9/6 Harrison, NJ Sports Illustrated Stadium
9/9 Boston, MA TD Garden

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