LAS VEGAS – OCTOBER 20: Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine performs during the Jagermeister Fall Music Tour at The Pearl concert theater at the Palms Casino Resort October 20, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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The thrash metal pioneers Megadeth, announced that their upcoming LP will not only be their final studio album, but it will also kickoff their global farewell tour. For nearly four decades, Megadeth has been one of the most influential and revered bands in the genre. As a part of thrash metal’s ‘Big Four’ (alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax), Megadeth has played a monumental role in shaping the sound of heavy music.
Depsite the band going through a myriad of lineups throughout its career, Megadeth has always been the brainchild of founder and lead songwriting Dave Mustaine. Like any band that has released 17 studio ablums, there are only so many album-tour cycles one can withstand before it’s just time to hang up the hat, and what better way to do that than on their own terms.
Megadeth Announce “The End Is Near”
In message sent out to Megadeth’s fan mailing list, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine put out the following statement:
“There’s so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional. Most of them don’t get to go out on their own terms on top and that’s where I’m at in my life right now. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them.
We can’t wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it’s now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it’s now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it’s our last studio album. We’ve made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour. Don’t be mad, don’t be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that’s truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it’s played and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything.”
When Is ‘The End Is Near’ Expected To Release?
Megadeth’s final LP has been in production since November 2024 and in June 2025 Mustaine reported that the album was nearing it’s final stages in recording. However, unlike most of Megadeth’s previous LPs, The End Is Near won’t be releasing via Universal Music Group, but instead will be released via a partnership with Mustaine’s label Tradecraft and Frontiers Label Group.
With the album likely being already finished, Megadeth are probably eyeing an early 2026 release timeline. Right now the band is gearing up for an extensive fall EU tour supporting Disturbed which will conclude October 28th. With that in mind, it doesn’t seem plausible for Megadeth to drop the album in 2025, as they’ll ideally want to kick off their headlining farewell tour and support the LP simultaneously. Furthermore, Megadeth has announced pre-orders for the album will be begin 42 days from now, which likely means it’s releasing in early 2026.
Bottom Line
As Dave Mustaine states, Megadeth’s final album-tour cycle will be over the course of multiple years. It appears this will in fact be Megadeth’s final album and tour, but as other thrash metal icons have demonstrated, specifically Slayer with their mis-leading farewell in 2018-2019, a farewell tour isn’t always indicative of retirement.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quentinsinger/2025/08/15/everything-to-know-about-megadeths-farewell-and-final-album/