DAVE MUSTAINE Announces New Memoir ‘In My Darkest Hour,’ Chronicling His Cancer Battle

MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine will further open up about one of the most difficult periods of his life in a forthcoming memoir titled In My Darkest Hour, tentatively scheduled for release in September 2027.

The book will arrive via Da Capo, the newly launched imprint of Grand Central Publishing, and will focus heavily on Mustaine’s battle with cancer following his 2019 diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma at the back of his tongue. According to the publisher, the memoir will chronicle what Mustaine has described as a “gnarly” course of treatment, as well as the emotional and creative toll it took on him.

Da Capo’s return marks a revival of the respected music-focused publishing brand Da Capo Press, which became part of the Hachette family after Hachette Book Group acquired the Perseus Book Group in 2016. The imprint was folded into Hachette Books in 2018 and later dissolved in 2024 during company restructuring, making In My Darkest Hour one of the flagship titles under the relaunched banner.

Mustaine is once again collaborating with Joe Layden, a journalist for The New York Times, who previously co-wrote Mustaine’s 2010 autobiography Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir. Layden has also worked with original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley on No Regrets: A Rock ’N’ Roll Memoir and authored The Last Great Fight, which recounts James “Buster” Douglas’s historic upset victory over Mike Tyson in 1990.

An official description of In My Darkest Hour, provided by Da Capo, reads: “From King of Metal Dave Mustaine, a powerful reflection on the harsh truths and raw realizations that can only come from confronting death.

“Dave Mustaine is no stranger to pain and suffering. He battled demons all his life — including an alcoholic father, addiction, and black magic — and turned fifty-eight believing he’d survived the worst. But in 2019, Mustaine was forced to face the loss of his instantly recognizable voice and the disintegration of his musical talent. Diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma at the back of his tongue, his entire career — and possibly his life — was about to end.

“For Mustaine, it was one more opportunity to fight like hell.

“In My Darkest Hour takes readers from the treatment room to the studio as Mustaine chronicles how his diagnosis inspired him to take up the pen and guitar pick, going from radiation and chemotherapy appointments straight into hours-long recording sessions, resulting in MEGADETH‘s sixteenth studio album, The Sick, The Dying…And The Dead! Along the way, Mustaine details how confronting his own mortality brought him closer to his family, taught him how to ask for help, strengthened his faith, and challenged the vulnerability of his art.

“Filled with perseverance, hope, and the determination to never let the bastards grind you down, ‘In My Darkest Hour’ is a masterful portrait of a Dave Mustaine that the world has yet to see, and serves as a moving reminder that even our most invincible heroes are human.”

Mustaine’s first autobiography, Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir, was released in August 2010 and reached No. 15 on The New York Times “Hardcover Nonfiction” best sellers list. It was published in the U.S. through HarperCollins’s It Books imprint, while the U.K. edition, titled Mustaine: A Life In Metal, followed a month later.

The announcement of In My Darkest Hour arrives as MEGADETH enters the final phase of its career. The band’s last studio album, Megadeth, is set for release on January 23, 2026, via Mustaine’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with BLKIIBLK, under the Frontiers Label Group umbrella. The album will usher in what Mustaine has described as the band’s last chapter, followed by a farewell tour launching later this year.

Despite retiring from making albums, MEGADETH’s touring days are far from over. In a previous interview with Kerrang!, Mustaine said the final run could continue for years. “We’re easily talking about touring for another three to five years,” he explained.