Dave Mustaine has weighed in on Yungblud’s growing list of high-profile collaborations, questioning whether working with so many established names could come at a creative cost.
Speaking in a recent interview with NME, the Megadeth frontman was asked whether one artist could carry rock and metal into a new generation — and his answer came with a note of caution.
“When you say somebody is working with everybody,” Mustaine said, “that to me means they’ve reached a point where they need to either take a break, or find something else… because you run the risk of your song sounding like the last person’s song, which then sounds like the last person’s song.”
In other words: too many collaborations, too quickly, can blur an artist’s identity.
The comments arrive at a moment when Yungblud — real name Dominic Harrison — has been more visible than ever alongside some of rock’s most recognisable names.
Over the past year alone, the British rocker has been mentored by Ozzy Osbourne, paying tribute with a performance of “Changes” at Black Sabbath’s final show in July 2025. He appeared at the MTV VMAs alongside Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry and Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt in September. Two months later, he released a collaborative EP with Aerosmith titled One More Time.
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More recently, Yungblud unveiled a new version of his Grammy-nominated track “Zombie”, featuring Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins.
From the outside, it looks like a dream run: co-signs from legends, major TV moments, and a steady stream of collaborations that most artists would kill for. But for Mustaine, that kind of momentum comes with creative risk.
Asked directly whether he’d consider working with Yungblud himself, Mustaine shut it down politely but firmly.
“As far as me knowing any young bands or artists that I wanna work with?” he said. “If I was going to work with anybody right now, I’d keep working with Megadeth.”
Yungblud, for his part, has been open about how polarising his position in modern rock has become.
Speaking on the Rolling Stone Uncut podcast during his recent Australian tour, he pushed back against the idea that rock needs strict boundaries — or gatekeepers.
“That’s the thing for me, when people say to ‘fit in rock,’ that is the most un-rock and roll thing ever,” he said. “Rock music isn’t supposed to be a gate-kept boys club.”
He argued that the genre’s obsession with “purity” and tradition has often been its downfall.
“That’s why it was being suffocated and boring and so adherent to the past,” he continued. “We have to allow young people to pioneer something, or at least try to give this thing a heartbeat.”
Yungblud also pointed to history, noting that borrowing, referencing, and remixing influences has always been part of rock’s DNA.
“Oasis sounded like the Beatles and they fucking loved that,” he said. “Kurt Cobain loved John Lennon… I think to carry on this thing, and to reference it… it’s a beautiful fucking thing.”
Where Mustaine sees creative dilution, Yungblud sees evolution.
Still, the backlash has clearly weighed on him — particularly when he thinks about younger artists watching from the sidelines.
“My biggest fear is that they get deterred from pursuing a career in it by some old bitter cunt on the internet,” he said. “And I’m here to go: if you’re young, play rock. Fuck it.”
He added that many of the “legends” he’s worked with have been nothing but encouraging behind closed doors.
“When you actually meet the legends… they fucking want it,” he said. “It’s only the people who didn’t necessarily reach the mountain top who are gatekeeping the genre.”
Megadeth, meanwhile, just scored their first-ever no. 1 Australian album with their final, self-titled release.
