Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine’s issues with Metallica are old hat at this point. Interestingly, though, he’s pitched the idea of Megadeth and Metallica doing a tour together. He did immediately seem to shade them right after, but hey… progress!
In a 2026 Revolver interview, Mustaine was asked if he had spoken with any of the Metallica guys since revealing that Megadeth had recorded a cover of Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning” for their final album. “No,” he replied. “And I don’t expect to. But I’m sure at some point we’ll hear what they think.”
While we’re having this conversation, I’d love to see Slayer and Anthrax in the mix
Mustaine was later asked about the current state of his relationship with Metallica frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, who founded the band. “You know, I liked them. If the friendship was restarted, it wouldn’t bother me,” the Megadeth mastermind replied. “I would accept, and I think it would be nice to revisit some of those times.
He then added, “But I just think because there was a lot of hurt and misunderstanding around our time together that it would be difficult not to keep bringing up the past.”
Mustaine then dropped a surprising idea. “I think what needs to happen is there needs to be a Megadeth/Metallica tour. Period. That would, I’m sure, make everything right. We could hang out. Spend time together.”
Even still, he found a way to diss them ever so slightly. “But I know they don’t really tour like we do,” Mustaine said. “I mean, when we go out on tour, we play many, many shows.”
Megadeth has big touring plans for 2026
Last year, Mustaine unveiled his plans to do one last Megadeth album and one final world tour. In a subsequent interview, Mustaine teased that the final world tour could actually go on for a while.
“We’re easily talking about touring for another three to five years,” Mustaine told Kerrang!. “And if we’re going to be doing it for that long, then, s***, I’ll be looking at the birthday I don’t even want to think about.”
While Megadeth won’t be touring with Metallica (for now), they are heading out on the road with fellow heavy metal legends Iron Maiden.
Megadeth 2026 International Concert Tour Dates:
4/23 Lima, PE Costa 21
4/26 Bogotá, CO Movistar Arena
4/30 Buenos Aires, AR TBD
5/2 São Paulo, BR Espaço Unimed
5/5 Santiago, CL Movistar Arena
5/8 Monterrey, MX Arena Monterrey
5/10 Mexico City, MX Arena Ciudad de México
5/13 Guadalajara, MX Arena Guadalajara
6/10 Hradec Kralove, CZ Rock For People Park 360
6/26 Helsinki, FI Suvilahti Tuska
Megadeth and Iron Maiden 2026 North American tour dates:
8/29 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
8/30 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
9/3 Montréal, QC Parc Jean-Drapeau (+ Anthrax)
9/5 Harrison, NJ Sports Illustrated Stadium (+ Anthrax)
9/9 Boston, MA TD Garden
9/11 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
9/12 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
9/15 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
9/19 Shakopee, MN Mystic Lake Amphitheater
9/22 Tinley Park, IL Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
9/25 Los Angeles, CA BMO Stadium (+ Anthrax)
9/26 Los Angeles, CA BMO Stadium (+ Anthrax)
9/29 San Antonio, TX Alamodome (+ Anthrax)
The post Dave Mustaine Pitched a Megadeth and Metallica Tour and Then Still Kinda Shaded Them: ‘They Don’t Really Tour Like We Do’ appeared first on VICE.
