The end is slowly approaching for Dave Mustaine (La Mesa, California, 1961). Although he refuses to let reality take over. After four decades that have established him in the Big Four of American thrash metal, the leader of Megadeth is immersed in This Was Our Life, the tour that will showcase his seventeenth album live and, above all, bring closure to the career of one of the genre's icons. These will be his final shows, his final guitar riffs, his final blazing moments...
It's 10 in the morning in Tennessee and there, on the other side of the screen, although with the camera off, is Mustaine. Not very eager for conversation or to delve into a trajectory that has led him to be at the core of two of the biggest bands that metal has produced: Metallica and Megadeth -the Big Four also include Slayer and Anthrax-. The guitarist takes a few seconds to savor each question, answers succinctly to each one, and figures out how to get through them one after another until the end. The same challenge he is facing right now with a tour that will have its first stop in Spain today, in Valencia, before heading to A Coruña and Bilbao.
"I don't think much about this being my last tour when I step on stage. The audience is so fanatic that I can't think about it. I go out there and I'm happy, like the fans. It's great to be able to make people happy, especially in the current world situation, with such a tense atmosphere. But I made this decision, I can't think about continuing either." And Dave Mustaine can't do it because he suffers from Dupuytren's contracture and severe arthritis in his hands that prevent him from playing the guitar as normally as he would like.
The leader of Megadeth was clear, he was not going to continue beyond what his body allowed, he wanted to leave when all his guitar skills were still intact and his band was still at the top. He decided this a few months ago, in the final stretch of recording his latest album, titled after the band, Megadeth. "I try not to think about hand problems either, I take good care of myself, I exercise a lot, and above all, I make sure not to be around sick people. I have always tried to be healthy, apart from parties and such. I would say that now I am quite healthy." And he continues: "I have never thought about what my career has been, it's like all of this is new to me every day."
But it is not at all. Dave Mustaine started playing the guitar in the late 70s, as a teenager coming out of a difficult childhood at home; he was part of the initial lineup of Metallica and left there after several addiction problems -in his 2020 memoir, Mustaine: A Life In Metal, he recounts being in detox over 17 times-, and then he founded Megadeth, whose name comes from an adaptation of the term megadeath, used in the United States to indicate a million deaths and the consequences of a nuclear war. But the vocalist does not want to delve into political territory now, he is interested in his album, his music, which has established him as one of the founding fathers of thrash metal.
"It's an honor for someone to consider me a role model. There are really great guitarists out there, I'm surprised that I'm considered one of them. It makes me feel good. But I can't consider myself a role model, that would be very arrogant. I like my position, what I do in the music industry, and I try not to act as if I'm too important," details Mustaine, who, almost uniquely in this conversation, reflects on his entire career when asked if this path has been satisfying, if he would have liked it to be different, or if he feels it has been the best possible. "I guess I didn't expect anything from this, I'm happy that my career has been how it has been. I would have liked to say goodbye to Gar Samuelson [Megadeth's drummer] before he passed away. It was very shocking to hear about his death and I didn't have the chance to say goodbye to him. We were very good friends, I still miss him a lot. There are a couple more things I would change, but not many, and I would like to talk about this album."
An album, Megadeth, that still has sharp thrash as its guiding thread but has lost some energy compared to its main works of the 90s, Rust In Peace or Countdown To Extinction. And, although three decades have passed, the guitar riffs that extend through the 11 tracks still sound powerful. "I don't know anyone who wants to release a crappy record, but the decision to retire was not made for that reason. I didn't say anything until we had almost finished recording, and I decided simply because my hand hurt a lot from playing so much."
At the end of this album, as the closing track, Dave Mustaine decided to include a new version of Ride The Lightning, one of the songs from his time in Metallica in which he participated in the composition. Was there a message in that choice? "It wasn't about making amends, I have been at peace with that for many years. I think it's the audience and the journalists who think there is still something there, and that's sad. Every time I'm asked about the problems I had in Metallica, I think that it hasn't been investigated enough, there is no problem and there hasn't been for a long time."
Megadeth still has 45 dates ahead in Europe, the United States, and Australia. The current last one is in Brisbane on November 19, but Dave Mustaine makes it clear that this is not the end. That, soon, another set of live shows will be announced. "Music has given me a very pleasant lifestyle. I have been happily married for 35 years, I have two children and a granddaughter, I have a little dog and a horse that I love very much. One of my favorite things is that I have a koi fish pond at my house. I enjoy nature. I honestly love my life."
And what does the future hold? "Megadeth is not over yet, we keep playing and have many things planned for the future. There are many things in progress. I'm not thinking about stopping playing the guitar just yet."
Perhaps the end is not approaching so fast. Or maybe it is.