Megadeth

Megadeth are one of thrash metal's defining forces — co-founded by Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson in 1983 following Mustaine's ejection from Metallica, the band built a legacy across landmark records including Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!, Peace Sells… but Who's Buying?, Rust In Peace, and Countdown to Extinction, cementing their place among the Big Four of thrash alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. They won a Grammy with 2016's Dystopia and have endured line-up upheaval, substance battles, and Mustaine's near career-ending arm injury across more than four decades.

Now the band are in their final chapter. Their self-titled farewell album, due January 23rd via Mustaine's Tradecraft label, is set to be followed by a global farewell tour — a decision Mustaine has linked to a progressive hand condition, Dupuytren's contracture, that makes performing increasingly painful. The record's most talked-about moment is its cover of Metallica's 'Ride The Lightning', a track Mustaine co-wrote during his brief tenure with the band. He's described the inclusion as paying his respects "to where my career first started," calling it a gesture toward James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich — though his relationship with Hetfield remains complicated, with a long-running publishing dispute over the No Life 'Til Leather demo reportedly souring their last real conversation.

Mustaine has also been candid about the state of the genre he helped shape, lamenting to Kerrang that "you just don't hear records like Rust In Peace or Master of Puppets anymore," while still insisting the band's legacy will outlast them: "The body will disappear, but the legend will remain." Former bassist David Ellefson, meanwhile, has stayed vocal in his own right — weighing in on AI music and the health of rock, and appearing alongside Judas Priest's Rob Halford at Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp. Megadeth's final album reaching No. 1 in Australia underlines just how deep the band's roots run here, and Australian fans have made clear their desire to see the Big Four reunite on home soil one last time.