'80s Metal Icon Refuses to Bring Former Band Members on 2026 Farewell Tour

It seems like just about every major rock tour these days is a “farewell” tour of some kind, and Megadeth’s scheduled 2026 run is no different.

As frontman Dave Mustaine announced last year, Megadeth will be calling it quits after one more world tour and studio album (they’ve since shared three new singles). Hopes are definitely high for the upcoming global jaunt, but one thing fans definitely should not look forward to is any type of reunion with former band members like Marty Friedman, Kiko Loureiro or Chris Poland.

Mustaine explained why he won’t be inviting any ex-bandmates on the road this time around in the new issue of Guitar World.

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“We’ve already done that with Marty,” Mustaine said, referring to when Friedman joined Megadeth on stage twice in 2023.

“And, I mean, let’s look at the other people we’ve played with…there’s a lot of people,” he continued. “That would be a huge undertaking. I don’t think I want to do that. I’d rather keep doing what we’re doing and let the fans [experience] Megadeth music and be happy about it. It’s not ‘puppet show Megadeth.’”

Megadeth’s new album will include a version of Metallica’s ‘Ride the Lightning’

As Mustaine (who played guitar in Metallica in the early ’80s) told Metal Hammer in October 2025, he recorded a faster version of the title track from Metallica’s 1984 record Ride The Lightning as a tribute of sorts to include on Megadeth’s new album. (Mustaine co-wrote the track.)

“I think it was the right time to record it and close the circle,” he tells us. “It’s back to where I came from, and honestly, it’s a good song, we played it really well. We sped it up a little bit, but I personally think when you’re going to do a version of a song then you have to make it just as good or if not better. I really think that we’ve done it just as good the original.”

Fans will certainly have their own opinions.

Related: Controversial ’80s Metal Icon, 63, Is Practically Unrecognizable in Recent Pic