Megadeth’s forthcoming self-titled album will be their last according to frontman Dave Mustaine. The tour in support of the record is also set to be the band’s final trek, although it appears Megadeth’s final dates will stretch out over the next few years.
Part of the reason Mustaine and the band are calling it quits soon has to do with a troubling health condition that makes it more difficult for the guitarist to play. Mustaine talked about how his hands were hurting while recording the band’s final album. “My hands were hurting really bad,” he told MariskaiRockTV. “And then I just said one day to my management, ‘You know, I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna be able to do this.’ I didn’t say, ‘Hey, I wanna retire right now.'”
Mustaine revealed that he suffers from Dupuytren’s contracture, a hand condition that worsens with time and restricts movement in the hands and fingers. “Yeah, you can look right here on this hand,” he said holding up his hand to the camera. “There’s a line right there that’s sticking up. That’s something called Dupuytren’s contracture, and it’s gonna make my finger come down like this. It’s already started, where it’s kind of bunching up a little bit. 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.”
Surgery could help Mustaine in the long run, but the timing for it right now doesn’t appear to be ideal. “I’m gonna wait for that until I’m ready to try it, because if I try it now and I’m 95 percent, and I do a surgery and it sets me back, that would’ve been a bad decision,” he said. “If I wait until my hands are causing a problem and I try it and it doesn’t work, well then I’ve toured everywhere, I’ve said farewell to everybody, and I’m not leaving stuff unsaid or unfinished.”
Mustaine’s full interview can be viewed below.
