Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) speaks about the current state of the world

During a recent interview with Hakos Pervanidis on Metal Hammer Greece’s TV show TV War, Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine—who has previously faced scrutiny for his conservative social views and support for certain Republican candidates—was asked whether the current political climate still allows him to express his mind as freely as he did four decades ago, as per Blabbermouth.

Well, I think right now, the world has changed for the worse, with all the cancel culture, all the hatred that people have. You used to be able to say stuff in the United States, and now you can’t, unless you’re the people that’s telling everybody else they can’t. The other thing is, the times have just changed. If you sing about politics, for example, and somebody can determine where your political leanings lie, you’ve just halved your audience, because the people who are one party will be for you, and the other party will be against you. And that really sucks. Before, it used to be nobody knew who you voted for. Nobody cared. And now it’s important for the hateful people in the world to find out who people voted for and to expose them for something that’s very private. I think anybody that is a Megadeth fan aren’t of that walk. I don’t think any of our fans are that kind of person who would get joy out of doing shitty things in life. I think our fans know that I came from a terrible upbringing, and that everything I’ve done, I’ve tried to make myself better, and that includes sharing everything that I’ve done with our fans so that they can get better, too.”

At our meet-and-greets every night, I can’t tell you how many times people come up and say, ”In My Darkest Hour’ saved my life’ or something to that degree. I remember one time at a meet-and-greet, this girl came up to us in a wheelchair, and she was missing her legs, and she was a professional classical violinist who was an amazing violinist. And she said, ”Train Of Consequences’ is my song.’ And I thought, ‘Really? That is so weird.’ And she said, ‘No. I lost my legs by a train, so ‘Train Of Consequences’ is my jam.’ And I went, ‘Wow, you never fucking know.’ You never know.

Upcoming shows:

• Saturday, September 19, 2026 – Mystic Lake Amphitheater, Shakopee, MN, US
• Tuesday, September 22, 2026 – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL, US
• Friday, September 25, 2026 – BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, US
• Sunday, September 27, 2026 – BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, US
• Tuesday, September 29, 2026 – Alamodome, San Antonio, TX, US
• Saturday, November 07, 2026 – Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
• Sunday, November 08, 2026 – Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
• Wednesday, November 11, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia
• Friday, November 13, 2026 – AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia
• Sunday, November 15, 2026 – Allianz Stadium, Sydney, Australia
• Wednesday, November 18, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
• Thursday, November 19, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
• Tuesday, March 09, 2027 – The O2 Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
• Thursday, March 11, 2027 – OVO Arena Wembley, London, United Kingdom
• Friday, March 12, 2027 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom
• Saturday, March 13, 2027 – Co-Op Live, Manchester, United Kingdom
• Monday, March 15, 2027 – Utilita Arena, Cardiff, United Kingdom
• Tuesday, March 16, 2027 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow, United Kingdom
• Thursday, March 18, 2027 – Bp Pulse LIVE, Birmingham, United Kingdom
• Friday, March 19, 2027 – First Direct Arena, Leeds, United Kingdom
• Sunday, March 21, 2027 – Zénith Paris – La Villette, Paris, France
• Tuesday, March 23, 2027 – Forest National, Brussels, Belgium
• Wednesday, March 24, 2027 – AFAS Live, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Thursday, March 25, 2027 – Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Dusseldorf, Germany
• Saturday, March 27, 2027 – K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Sunday, March 28, 2027 – Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
• Tuesday, March 30, 2027 – Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
• Thursday, April 01, 2027 – Velodrom, Berlin, Germany
• Friday, April 02, 2027 – Tauron Arena, Krakow, Poland
• Sunday, April 04, 2027 – Zenith, Munich, Germany
• Monday, April 05, 2027 – Festhalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland
• Tuesday, April 06, 2027 – Unipol Forum, Milan, Italy
• Thursday, April 08, 2027 – Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, France
• Saturday, April 10, 2027 – Olimpic Arena, Barcelona, Spain
• Monday, April 12, 2027 – Movistar Arena, Madrid, Spain
• Tuesday, April 13, 2027 – Sagres Campo Pequeno, Lisbon, Portugal