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3 Key Things Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Says All Aspiring Metal Musicians Need to Consider

Dave also name-dropped Prince’s “Purple Rain” film as particularly inspirational…

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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Dave Mustaine has had a long and successful career as the leader of Megadeth. So, if you ask him, there are three key things that all aspiring metal musicians need to consider before embarking on a music career.

In a 2023 interview, Mustaine shared advice for aspiring metal bands, saying, “there’s a technique, there’s preservation, [and] there’s education” that they need to have. “You know, if you’re going to be a vocalist and you’re singing somebody else’s lyrics, hey, no big deal,” he said, then noting that it’s different “if you’re writing your own stuff.”

Mustaine then offered an interesting recommendation to watch for inspiration. “There’s a movie called Purple Rain that would be a good movie to watch,” he said, “because it talks about Prince writing lyrics that only he understood.”

“One scene in particular, he’s in a club, and the manager of the club comes up and says, ‘No one understands your music but yourself.’ Man, I don’t want to be that guy,” Mustaine said, “because the whole thing about music is to give something to someone to carry with them as they go throughout life: a melody, a line, a lyric, a beat… and that’s the key to life.”

Megadeth released their final album in January 2026

If anyone knows about the craft of heavy metal songwriting, it’s Dave Mustaine. Over the past four decades, he’s likely written hundreds of songs. Dozens of which made their way onto Megadeth’s 17 studio albums. The band’s seventeenth and final record was released on January 23, 2026. The album came in on top of the Billboard 200, marking Megadeth’s first album to do so.

Next up, the band will continue their final world tour, which is scheduled to head to South America in April. Find a full list of dates below.

Megadeth 2026 Tour (opens in a new window)

4/23 Lima, Peru Costa 21

4/26 Bogotá, Colombia Movistar Arena

4/27 Bogotá, Colombia Movistar Arena

4/30 Buenos Aires, Argentina TBD

5/10 Ciudad de México, México Arena Ciudad de México

5/11 Ciudad de México, México Arena Ciudad de México

5/13 Guadalajara, México Arena Guadalajara

5/2 São Paulo, Brasil Espaço Unimed

5/4 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena

5/5 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena

5/8 Monterrey, México Arena Monterrey

6/10 Hradec Králové, Czechia Rock For People – Park 360

6/11 Luxembourg, LUX Rockhal

6/14 Ferrara, Italy Ferrara Summer Festival – Piazza Ariostea

6/15 Zurich, SWI Halle 622

6/16 Vienna, AUT Gasometer

6/2 Hanover, Germany Heinz von Heiden Arena

6/23 Istanbul, TUR KüçükÇiftlik Park

6/26 Helsinki, Finland Suvilahti – TUSKA

6/28 Almaty, KAZ Spartak Stadium

6/7 Gelsenkirchen, GER Amphitheater

8/29 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena

8/30 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena

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

9/26 Los Angeles, CA BMO Stadium

9/29 San Antonio, TX Alamodome

9/3 Montréal, QC Parc Jean-Drapeau

9/5 Harrison, NJ Sports Illustrated Stadium

9/6 Harrison, NJ Sports Illustrated Stadium

9/9 Boston, MA TD Garden

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