Metal Anarchy

During an interview with MariskalRockTV, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine opened up about his battle with Dupuytren’s Contracture. The hand condition contributed to his decision to end the band following their farewell album and tour.

Mustaine said the following when asked if he remembers the day he decided to announce his upcoming retirement:

“No. No, ’cause I just brought it up. I didn’t decide. We were working in the studio [on MEGADETH’s upcoming self-titled album], and it just had been a really difficult few weeks. We were trying to get everything done, and it obviously was important to us to make sure that the record was done right. And we had a bunch of deadlines we ran up against that was making it hard and stuff like that. And my hands were hurting really bad. And then I just said one day to my management, ‘You know, I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna be able to do this.’ I didn’t say, ‘Hey, I wanna retire right now.’”

He went on to further discuss his hands:

“Yeah, you can look right here on this hand. There’s a line right there that’s sticking up. That’s something called Dupuytren’s contracture, and it’s gonna make my finger come down like this. It’s already started, where it’s kind of bunching up a little bit. And then if you look at the tips of my fingers, they’re severely arthritic. So, all those bumps makes it really painful to play.”

He also added the following when asked about surgery:

“I’m gonna wait for that until I’m ready to try it, because if I try it now and I’m 95 percent, and I do a surgery and it sets me back, that would’ve been a bad decision. If I wait until my hands are causing a problem and I try it and it doesn’t work, well then I’ve toured everywhere, I’ve said farewell to everybody and I’m not leaving stuff unsaid or unfinished.”

[via Blabbermouth]