“Well, I can’t really do that, because of the behaviour of one of the band members in the past. I just can’t — I can’t,” Megadeth guitarist and lead vocalist Dave Mustaine told Eddie Trunk during their chat on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk when Trunk asked if a full-lineup reunion was possible for Megadeth during their final show. He’s vague with his answer, not offering up much more of an explanation as to who did what, when, where, or why… rather, he continues on (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “Because, first off, it would be unfair to the other band members if I didn’t play with them as well. But the thing about what we did with Marty [Friedman] in Japan, that was a no-brainer. That was brilliant. And I love Marty. We had our separation, and he went his way and we went our way. But it was a very, very intense relationship I had with Marty, because that was the first relationship I had with a guitar player.”
Back in February of 2023, ex-Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman reunited with the band in Japan for the first time in 23 years, performing a slew of songs. He appeared on five Megadeth studio releases before leaving Friedman in 1999, and moving to Japan permanently in 2003.
Mustaine offers further, “My relationship with Chris [Poland] was really great, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty. My relationship with Jeff [Young] was good, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty.”
Megadeth has had a notably extensive lineup over the years (with Wikipedia hosting an entire page just for the band’s previous members), so there are a lot of factors at play. Between falling outs, musicians leaving music altogether, or artists passing away, it seems near impossible to include everyone. Mustaine elaborates on the point, saying “And I probably wouldn’t have a problem playing with any of the members of those two lineups, except the fact that Gar [Samuelson]’s deceased, and [I’m] just not gonna do anything that is gonna, in any way, seem unfair to the other band members.”
Mustaine still skirts around any more information regarding the behaviour of the one bandmate who put a damper on the idea, rather saying that he’s unsure if Megadeth will make a quiet exit, “I don’t know. I was joking around with our management and said, ‘You guys should probably book some fake dates at the end of the tour that I don’t know about so I won’t go out there on the last date and just blubber like a fucking 175-pound wuss.”
You can check out Megadeth tour dates below.
January
17 La Vergne, TN @ Let There Be Shred: Immersive Listening Event
February
15 – Victoria, BC @ Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
17 – Abbotsford, BC @ Rogers Forum
18 – Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place
20 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
21 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
24 – Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre
25 – Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre
28 – London, ON @ Canada Life Place
March
1 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
3 – Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Centre
4 – Moncton, NB @ Avenir Centre
6 – Québec City, QC @ Videotron Centre
April
23 – Lima, Peru @ Costa 21
26 – Bogotá, Colombia @ Movistar Arena
27 – Bogotá, Colombia @ Movistar Arena
30 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ TBD
May
2 – São Paulo, Brazil @ Espaco Unimed
4 – Santiago, Chile @ Movistar Arena
5 – Santiago, Chile @ Movistar Arena
8 – Monterrey, Mexico @ Arena Monterrey
10 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Arena Ciudad de Mexico
11 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Arena Ciudad de Mexico
13 – Guadalajara, Mexico @ Arena Guadalajara
June
2 – Hanover, Germany @ Heinz von Heiden Arena
6 – Maastricht, Netherlands @ South of Heaven
7 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Amphitheater
10 – Hradec Králové, Czechia @ Rock For People – Park 360
11 – Luxembourg, LUX @ Rockhal
14 Ferrara, Italy @ Ferrara Summer Festival – Piazza Ariostea
15 Zurich, SWI @ Halle 622
16 Vienna, AUT @ Gasometer
6/23 – Istanbul, TUR @ KüçükÇiftlik Park
6/26 – Helsinki, Finland @ Suvilahti – TUSKA
6/28 – Almaty, KAZ @ Spartak Stadium
6/7 – Gelsenkirchen, GER @ Amphitheater
August
8/29 – Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
8/30 – Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
September
3 – Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau
5 – Harrison, NJ @ Sports Illustrated Stadium
6 – Harrison, NJ @ Sports Illustrated Stadium
9 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
11 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
12 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
15 – Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
19 – Shakopee, MN @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater
22 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
25 – Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium
26 – Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium
29 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome
