Megadeth slowly parted ways with former guitarist Kiko Loureiro throughout 2023, ultimately ending with Loureiro selling his band gear and moving on. Megadeth has since recruited Wintersun guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari for live shows, who seems pretty optemistic that he and the band will soon work on new material together.
In an interview with Poisoned Rock, Mäntysaari said he'll be talking with Megadeth mastermind Dave Mustaine about ideas for new material on their upcoming tour. Whether or not that results in a less-than-six-year gap between records remains to be seen.
"Right now we have been working on getting some new songs to the setlist, like old songs that the band hasn't played in a long time, or even some that they never played before," said Mäntysaari. "So that's been really exciting. I'm having some daily calls now lately with Dave Mustaine, going through the songs together. So that's really nice. And then once we get together on the tour, I think then we're gonna start talking about some riff ideas and putting some ideas together. So let's see what happens."
New material and the longevity of Megadeth seemed to be on Mustaine's mind during a recent interview with The SDR Show. Mustaine said he sees at least three more Megadeth albums in the pipeline, each with a two-year turnaround.
"I was talking about that the other day. If it takes two years between an album — let's just say it does, if I'm able to put them out fast — it'll probably be three years, but let's just say it's two years. And I put an album out. We've still got about a year left on this one, at least. So that'll take us into '25.
"We've got all kinds of anniversary tours that we are planning right now. Rust In Peace is gonna be 25 years old, I think, or 30 years old next year, and all kinds of shit like that. And then if we get ready to go into the studio, let's just say it takes a year to do that. That's '26. Another two years, that's '27, '28. And then we go back into the studio. Again, we do two more records. I'll be 70 by the time '31 comes around now." Mustaine explained.
Megadeth recently announced their Destroy All Enemies tour featuring Mudvayne and All That Remains for this August and September. Get those dates below and get your tickets here.
8/2 Rogers, AR Walmart AMP
8/3 Houston, TX 713 Music Hall
8/5 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheatre
8/6 Denver, CO Ball Arena
8/8 Phoenix, AZ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
8/9 Los Angeles, CA YouTube Theater
8/10 Concord, CA Toyota Pavilion at Concord
8/12 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre
8/13 Bend, OR Hayden Homes Amphitheater
8/16 Las Vegas, NV Bakkt Theatre at Planet Hollywood
8/17 Salt Lake City, UT Maverick Arena
8/20 Irving, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
8/21 Austin, TX Germania Insurance Amphitheater
8/23 Macon, GA Atrium Health Macon Amphitheater
8/24 West Palm Beach, FL IThink Financial Amphitheatre
9/3 Tinley Park, IL Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
9/5 Huntington, WV Marshall Health Network Arena
9/6 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
9/7 Raleigh, NC Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
9/9 Reading, PA Santander Arena
9/10 Albany, NY MVP Arena
9/11 Boston, MA Leader Bank
9/13 Bethel, MY Bethel Woods Center For The Arts
9/14 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
9/15 Richmond, VA Virginia Credit Union Live!
9/17 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
9/18 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
9/20 Noblesville, IN Ruoff Music Center
9/21 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob Music Theatre
9/24 Minneapolis, MN The Armory
9/26 St Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STL
9/27 Southaven, MS Bankplus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove
9/28 Nashville, TN Nashville Municipal Auditorium
