During his recent appearance at the San Antonio Fear Fest on November 16, 2025, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt offered candid insight into his long-running friendship with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine — and his thoughts on Mustaine’s decision to bring MEGADETH’s studio output and touring career to a close.
Speaking with Robb Chavez of Robbs MetalWorks, Holt reflected on how far back their bond goes. “Yeah. We’ve done lots of tours with MEGADETH. And Dave‘s been one of my closest friends, musical friends, since the beginning. We hung out when he was in METALLICA. And I saw him when the last MEGADETH tour went [through]. I hadn’t seen him in years. It’s always like old friends.”
With Mustaine announcing that MEGADETH’s next album will be their last — paired with an extensive farewell tour — Holt says the move makes sense. When asked for his opinion on Mustaine’s retirement plans, Holt was direct: “He’s earned it. I still love doing what I do, but I’d be lying if I said, man, the idea of retirement, after two or three more years…’ ‘Cause I’m 61 now. Do I wanna go till I’m 70? I don’t know. But I can’t retire. I need to keep working. So I’m gonna keep going as long as I can. But he’s earned it, and I’m sure it’s gonna be f**king awesome for him.”
The conversation also touched on recent remarks from former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, who questioned whether Mustaine’s farewell announcement was a strategy to boost ticket sales. Holt dismissed the idea completely. “I think his ticket sales are fine without it. We’re not getting any younger. And [Mustaine] said himself the tour is gonna be two to three years. I think Dave‘s one year older than me, so [he’s] 62 — that’s gonna put him to 65 years old. I have three grandkids. I’d love to spend more time at home with ’em. Next year, when the new [EXODUS] album comes out, I’m gonna be on tour more than ever. So, I’m making the sacrifices now, so that maybe by the time I am 65 I can slow down, maybe do a festival here and there. I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Another notable topic was Mustaine’s decision to include his own version of “Ride The Lightning” on MEGADETH’s final album, Megadeth, due January 23, 2026. As one of the co-writers of the original METALLICA track, Mustaine’s inclusion of a reinterpretation has generated plenty of curiosity — including from Holt himself. “I haven’t heard it yet. [Mustaine] wrote, I guess, probably half the [original] song, so why not? I can’t wait to hear it, actually… Let’s wait and hear it. I bet he plays it faster. When [EXODUS] did Tempo Of The Damned and stuff and we went out on tour with MEGADETH, [Mustaine] put ‘Mechanix’ back in the set, ’cause I asked him to. And he played it at the old tempo — super fast.”
Adding to the excitement surrounding MEGADETH’s final chapter, the band recently rolled out a massive Canadian headlining tour for 2026. The “Canada 2026” run will see them joined by ANTHRAX and EXODUS for a 12-date trek stretching coast to coast:
MEGADETH “Canada 2026” Tour Dates (with ANTHRAX & EXODUS):
Feb. 15 – Victoria, BC – Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
Feb. 17 – Abbotsford, BC – Rogers Forum
Feb. 18 – Kelowna, BC – Prospera Place
Feb. 20 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
Feb. 21 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
Feb. 24 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre
Feb. 25 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
Feb. 28 – London, ON – Canada Life Place
Mar. 01 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
Mar. 03 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre
Mar. 04 – Moncton, NB – Avenir Centre
Mar. 06 – Québec, QC – Videotron Centre
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