Dave Mustaine Reveals Hand Condition Accelerating Retirement

In a new interview with our colleagues at Mariskal Rock (via Blabbermouth.net), Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine discussed the moment he decided to announce his retirement, which will be extended over time with a final tour once the band releases their final self-titled album. This led the former Metallica guitarist to reveal that he suffers from a hand condition that has shortened his career. "No. No, because I only mentioned it. I didn't decide it. We were working in the studio [on the upcoming self-titled Megadeth album] and it had been some very difficult weeks. We were trying to finish everything and, obviously, for us it was important to make sure the album turned out well. We had a lot of deadlines to meet, which made it difficult and things like that. And my hands were hurting a lot. So one day I told my manager: 'I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to keep doing this.' I didn't tell him: 'Hey, I want to retire right now.'" And what's wrong with his hand that doesn't allow him to play at 100%? Mustaine explains it this way: "Yes, you can see it here, on this hand. There's a line right there that sticks out. It's something called Dupuytren's contracture, and it will make my finger bend like this. It's already started, it's curving a little bit. And if you look at my fingertips, they're very arthritic. So all those bumps make it very painful for me to play." For now, Dave won't be going under the knife and the reason is clear: "I'm going to wait until I'm ready to try it, because if I try it now and I'm at 95%, and they operate on me and that sets me back, it would have been a bad decision. If I wait until my hands cause me problems and I try it and it doesn't work, well, then I'll have toured everywhere, I'll have said goodbye to everyone and I won't leave anything unsaid or unfinished."