“Why would I want to play with those guys?” Dave Mustaine doesn’t want to reunite with certain former Megadeth members because they bad-mouthed him in interviews

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine has elaborated on why he doesn’t want to reunite with former members on his band’s retirement tour, saying that some don’t play their instruments anymore and that others have torn into him in interviews.

“If we were to look at doing that, then you’ve got some members that are deceased,” the singer, guitarist and band founder says in a new conversation with NME. “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?”

Mustaine concedes that the thrash metal icons have reunited with ex-members before, singling out the time Marty Friedman, their lead guitarist from 1989 to 2000, came back for a guest spot during a show at the Budokan in Tokyo.

He adds that he’s open to reconsidering his stance if the right member presented themselves at the right time, but then says, “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.”

The comments follow an interview that Mustaine gave in December where he said that the behaviour of one ex-Megadeth member in particular means that he doesn’t want alumni coming back on the farewell run.

“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.”

Megadeth announced their impending retirement in August 2025, but not before the release of one last album and the completion of one last tour cycle. Said album, a self-titled effort, came out on Friday, January 23, via BLKIIBLK. The farewell tour will kick off with a leg of Canadian headline shows next month, with South American, European and more North America dates also in place for this year. The autumn North American shows will see the band support Iron Maiden.

Even though Mustaine has confirmed Megadeth’s retirement, he’s been reluctant to say when the farewell tour will come to an end. He’s hinted that it could last for as long as five years, potentially meaning the band will have been active in six different decades by the time they step away.

At the start of this year, Mustaine revealed that Megadeth were splitting up in part due to him suffering from the hand condition Dupuytren's contracture, which makes playing guitar painful.

“It’s already started, where it’s kind of bunching up a little bit,” he told MariskalRockTV. “And then if you look at the tips of my fingers, they’re severely arthritic. So all those bumps make it really painful to play.”

Megadeth are the cover stars of the new issue of Metal Hammer. Inside, Mustaine talks all about the band’s retirement and final album, as well as his decision to end things with a cover of his former band Metallica’s song Ride The Lightning. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.