DATE: JANUARY 23, 2026

FROM: MARCEE RONDAN/MITCH SCHNEIDER

‘MEGADETH’
THE LEGENDARY BAND’S
SELF-TITLED FINAL STUDIO ALBUM
IS OUT TODAY (JANUARY 23)

ALBUM ARTWORK

Six months after announcing its release, today (January 23) marks the debut of MEGADETH’s self-titled final studio album and the initial critical acclaim is one befitting the Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum metal titans (see the pull quotes below). Meanwhile, last night (January 22), MEGADETH’s cinematic legacy event MEGADETH: BEHIND THE MASK via Trafalgar Releasing debuted on screens worldwide. Watch the trailer here.

Leading up to the new album (out via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label), MEGADETH—Mustaine, Teemu Mäntysaari (Lead, Rhythm, and Acoustic Guitars), James LoMenzo (Bass Guitar) and Dirk Verbeuren (Drums)—have released four singles: “Puppet Parade,” “Let There Be Shred!”, “I Don’t Care,” and “Tipping Point.” MEGADETH also announced a very special bonus track from the album: a reimagined version of “Ride The Lightning,” which MUSTAINE co-wrote with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich and was the title track from the group’s 1984 album.

Here’s some initial critical acclaim on the album:

“After more than 40 guitar-shredding years, Megadeth is going out on their own thunderous terms. The Grammy-winning thrash metal pioneers’ self-titled 17th and final studio album, out Friday, quickly establishes that this is no sappy farewell…oozes classic Megadeth with blistering guitar solos, crunchy riffs and some mile-a-second double-bass…Megadeth sends Mustaine and Co. out with one of their lengthy catalog’s best all-around releases.”
—ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/20

“Megadeth Sign Off With Final Last Blast Of Undeniable Riffs & Shredding On Eponymous Album…Joined by Teemu Mäntysaari on guitar, James LoMenzo on bass, and Dirk Verbeuren on drums, Mustaine unleashes one last onslaught of aggressive thrash. If Dupuytren’s contracture is already affecting Mustaine’s playing, it’s not apparent on Megadeth. Mustaine and Mäntysaari tear through complex, heavy riffs and blistering solos with speed and precision…The final Megadeth album delivers those last notes. One last collection of metal aggression. One last testament to fretboard mastery. One last chance to appreciate one of metal’s greatest guitarists.”
—GLIDE MAGAZINE, 1/21

“Whether the song hits fast and ferocious or mid-paced and menacing, this eponymous audio book in 11 chapters is peppered with intricate elements at almost every point…The album’s pacing feels like a nostalgic back-and-forth: fast thrash blowouts, chunky mid-tempo crushers, then another burst that drags you back into the pit. And the standout moments keep stacking up…For a band that has announced that the end of the trail is well within sight, Mustaine and company have definitely opted to go out with a bang…if this truly is the end, it’s hard to imagine a better send-off.”
—SONIC PERSPECTIVES, 1/21

“…it definitely is a great modern nod to what Megadeth is still excellent at. Starting with the tune ‘Tipping Point,’ it tells fans how impressive it is that each guitar solo and arrangement can be as intricate and different as they are after seventeen studio albums…a bunch of quality Megadeth songs that send the band out with a bang.”
—CRYPTIC ROCK, 1/19

“From start to finish it’s undeniably unapologetic…The rhythm playing is more than up to snuff as Mustaine is laser focused to write his last array of devastating chugging rhythms. Something vital to bring up is the delivery & sound of Dave’s voice. He might sound better than he did on the masterful Dystopia. Mustaine is in complete control & it shows…It would appear that Mustaine visited the fountain of youth for inspiration. His guitar rhythms on the album display nimbleness (there are plenty of single notes mixed with palm-muting), thunderous chugging, and slick key changes at will…Megadeth will go out with a bang.”
—THE METAL PIT, 1/20

Up next for MEGADETH, they’ll kick off their farewell tour in North America with a cross-country headlining tour of Canada launching February 15 in Victoria, BC and include stops in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Ottawa before wrapping March 6 in Quebec City, QC.

MEGADETH
Photo credit: Ross Halfin

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | X | YOUTUBE | SRO PR ASSETS

About Megadeth

MEGADETH are always and forever the point of no return for metal. It would be nearly impossible to conceive where heavy music and culture would’ve gone without the band founded, fronted, and fueled by vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Dave Mustaine. The blast radius of their impact has only magnified since 1983. Thus far, they have sold 50 million records worldwide, received a GRAMMY® Award (with 12 additional nominations), generated billions of streams, notched seven Top 10 entries on the Billboard 200, and enthralled millions of diehard fans in arenas and stadiums across the globe. Their catalog spans indisputable classics such as the platinum Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (cited at #8 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time”), the platinum Rust In Peace, and double-platinum Countdown To Extinction, which captured #2 on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, Dystopia notched a Top 3 debut and earned a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Metal Performance” with its title track. They only upped the ferocity with The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! in 2022. It saw them return to #3, receive a “Best Metal Performance” GRAMMY® Award nomination for “We’ll Be Back,” and incite rave reviews. Their influence can be felt practically everywhere—whether it be Post Malone proudly sporting a tattoo of “So Far, So Good… So What!,” Homer Simpson’s iPod displaying their moniker during an episode, or Showtime’s smash hit series Billions and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey utilizing MEGADETH in plot points. The band have delivered simultaneously relevant and timeless records in five decades now, setting the pace for the thrash renaissance of the eighties, tearing through the MTV years of the nineties with swagger and style, maintaining their stride in the post-Y2K 2000s, elevating to canonical heights in the social media and streaming era of the 2010s, and unassumingly harnessing the uncertainty and unease of the Post-Pandemic world into their boldest, biggest, and best work yet.

Along the way, MEGADETH extended their influence even further. During 2016, the band entered the spirits world with their very first signature beer À Tout Le Monde followed by Saison 13 in 2019. The brand asserted itself as a player in the beverage space and impressively moved over 15 million pints. Joining forces with Keystone in 2025, they ignite the next phase of Megadeth Beer on the biggest global platform yet.

Beyond his role as a music icon, Dave founded the visionary wine brand HOUSE OF MUSTAINE which uniquely blends music, culture, and fine winemaking. The brand launched with the 2013 Symphony Interrupted Cabernet Sauvignon which was inspired by Dave Mustaine’s groundbreaking collaboration with the San Diego Symphony.

###

DATE: JANUARY 21 ,2025

FM: MARCEE RONDAN/MITCH SCHNEIDER

MEGADETH
RELEASE FINAL SINGLE
“PUPPET PARADE”
FROM THEIR
SELF-TITLED FINAL STUDIO ALBUM
OUT THIS FRIDAY, JANUARY 23

LISTEN TO THE TRACK HERE
PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM HERE

With the release of MEGADETH’s final studio album out this week (January 23), the metal titans have shared the final single “Puppet Parade” from the much-anticipated album released via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label. Listen to the track HERE.

“‘Puppet Parade’ is about somebody’s mundane life and how they go through life with everyday being the same as the day before,” MUSTAINE says. “It is about a person who has a dead-end job, a dead-end relationship, a dead-end life. Many of us are going through this monotony, even right now. I wanted to share ‘Puppet Parade’ to try and illustrate how we often show people what we want them to see, instead of how we really feel.”

Up next for MEGADETH, they’ll kick off their farewell tour in North America with a cross-country headlining tour of Canada launching February 15 in Victoria, BC and include stops in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Ottawa before wrapping March 6 in Quebec City, QC.

Leading up to the new album, MEGADETH—Mustaine, Teemu Mäntysaari (Lead, Rhythm, and Acoustic Guitars), James LoMenzo (Bass Guitar) and Dirk Verbeuren (Drums)—have released three tracks: “Let There Be Shred!” (watch the video HERE), “I Don’t Care” out (watch the video HERE); and “Tipping Point,” the album’s first single (watch the video HERE). MEGADETH have also announced a very special bonus track from the album: a reimagined version of “Ride The Lightning,” which MUSTAINE co-wrote with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich and was the title track from the group’s 1984 album.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, MUSTAINE revealed in a social post directly shared with his worldwide fanbase and Cyber Army that the forthcoming album will mark the final studio album from MEGADETH, who’ve sold over 50 million records worldwide and received a GRAMMY® Award (with 12 additional nominations). He shared the announcement of the album and tour via his alter ego Vic Rattlehead.

MEGADETH
Photo credit: Ross Halfin

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | X | YOUTUBE | SRO PR ASSETS

About Megadeth

MEGADETH are always and forever the point of no return for metal. It would be nearly impossible to conceive where heavy music and culture would’ve gone without the band founded, fronted, and fueled by vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Dave Mustaine. The blast radius of their impact has only magnified since 1983. Thus far, they have sold 50 million records worldwide, received a GRAMMY® Award (with 12 additional nominations), generated billions of streams, notched seven Top 10 entries on the Billboard 200, and enthralled millions of diehard fans in arenas and stadiums across the globe. Their catalog spans indisputable classics such as the platinum Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (cited at #8 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time”), the platinum Rust In Peace, and double-platinum Countdown To Extinction, which captured #2 on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, Dystopia notched a Top 3 debut and earned a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Metal Performance” with its title track. They only upped the ferocity with The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! in 2022. It saw them return to #3, receive a “Best Metal Performance” GRAMMY® Award nomination for “We’ll Be Back,” and incite rave reviews. Their influence can be felt practically everywhere—whether it be Post Malone proudly sporting a tattoo of “So Far, So Good… So What!,” Homer Simpson’s iPod displaying their moniker during an episode, or Showtime’s smash hit series Billions and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey utilizing MEGADETH in plot points. The band have delivered simultaneously relevant and timeless records in five decades now, setting the pace for the thrash renaissance of the eighties, tearing through the MTV years of the nineties with swagger and style, maintaining their stride in the post-Y2K 2000s, elevating to canonical heights in the social media and streaming era of the 2010s, and unassumingly harnessing the uncertainty and unease of the Post-Pandemic world into their boldest, biggest, and best work yet.

Along the way, MEGADETH extended their influence even further. During 2016, the band entered the spirits world with their very first signature beer À Tout Le Monde followed by Saison 13 in 2019. The brand asserted itself as a player in the beverage space and impressively moved over 15 million pints. Joining forces with Keystone in 2025, they ignite the next phase of Megadeth Beer on the biggest global platform yet.

Beyond his role as a music icon, Dave founded the visionary wine brand HOUSE OF MUSTAINE which uniquely blends music, culture, and fine winemaking. The brand launched with the 2013 Symphony Interrupted Cabernet Sauvignon which was inspired by Dave Mustaine’s groundbreaking collaboration with the San Diego Symphony.

###