Dave Mustaine has announced that Megadeth will release their final studio album and embark on a farewell tour, marking the end of a career spanning over four decades.
The thrash metal pioneer revealed these plans through his alter ego, Vic Rattlehead, signalling a definitive conclusion to one of metal’s most influential bands.
The final album, titled The End Is Near, is set for release next year, serving as the follow-up to 2022’s The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! Mustaine’s decision comes at what he considers the peak of his career, allowing him to conclude on his own terms rather than through circumstance.
“There’s so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional,” he explained. “Most of them don’t get to go out on their own terms on top, and that’s where I’m at in my life right now. I have travelled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them.”
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The announcement encompasses multiple farewell projects beyond the final album. Mustaine will release a memoir in 2026, adding to the existing Megadeth literary collection that includes the 2020 oral history Rust in Peace: The Inside Story of the Megadeth Masterpiece and former lead guitarist Marty Friedman’s 2024 memoir Dreaming Japanese.
Mustaine expressed particular enthusiasm about the timing of these final projects. “We can’t wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour,” he said. “If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it’s now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it’s now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it’s our last studio album.”
A global farewell tour will commence in 2026, though specific dates remain unannounced. Mustaine’s message to fans emphasised celebration rather than mourning.
“We’ve made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour,” he stated. “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that’s truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it’s played, and we changed the world.”
