On Megadeth Retiring

Dave Mustaine is calling it a career. I never thought I’d read that in the news. Then again, I never thought I’d hear that Ozzie died. That news walloped me. The Megadeth news just made me determined to catch them on their final tour. It’ll be more than a celebration of music. It’ll be a reflection of where I was in my own life when each of their albums over the last few decades dropped.

I always admired how fiery Mustaine remained throughout the years. Most artists have a relatively short shelf life. It' isn’t easy to maintain the passion required to drive you into the limelight. We’ve been experiencing painfully diluted versions of Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, and Foo Fighters for years, if not decades. Megadeth, surprisingly, has kept their releases steady and consistent. It’s been headbanger after headbanger, right to the end.

The final album drops early next year. What pressure for the new Megadeth guitarist: it’ll be his first and last Megadeth album. At the same time, what an amazing position to be in.