Megadeth released their final studio album and began their farewell tour, which according to the band’s founder, guitarist and singer Dave Mustaine, will last a couple of years. Whenever a band comes to an end, one question always arises: will classic members return, at least for the final show? According to Mustaine, the answer is no. He explained that some former bandmates have passed away, others are no longer able to play, and some have spoken negatively about him in the press. While he remains friends with a few of them, Mustaine said in an interview with NME that it would be unfair to the rest of the band to invite anyone to join them on stage.
Dave Mustaine explains why he won’t invite ex-Megadeth members for farewell shows
“If we were to look at doing that, then you’ve got some members that are deceased. You’ve got some members that I’m friends with, but they can’t play anymore like Chuck (Behler, drummer from 1987–1989). And then you’ve got a couple guys that are saying very bad things about me in the press. So why would I want to play with those guys? But if it was something that didn’t end very well, why would I? There’s not a valid reason to do something like that, especially when we have limited time onstage anyway,” Dave Mustaine said.
When asked the same question by Eddie Trunk and he answered most likely referring to David Ellefson. “I can’t really do that, because of the behaviour of one of the band members in the past. I just can’t,” he said to Eddie Trunk. “Because, first off, it would be unfair to the other band members if I didn’t play with them as well,” he said.
Out of the Big 4 of Thrash Metal, Megadeth is the band that has gone through the most line-up changes over the years, with many members lasting less than a decade. Over the past four decades, more than 30 musicians have played in the band alongside Dave Mustaine. The current line-up consists of James LoMenzo (Bass, 2006 to 2010 and since 2022), Dirk Verbeuren (Drums, since 2016) and Teemu Mäntysaari (Guitar, since 2023).
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