Megadeth main man, thrash-metal architect and professional survivor Dave Mustaine is swapping the stage for the storyteller’s chair as he launches a three-city American book tour supporting his powerful new memoir, In My Darkest Hour.
The book arrives on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, taking readers deep inside Mustaine’s battle with cancer, his fight to preserve that unmistakable voice and the extraordinary determination that kept him creating music while undergoing treatment.
This isn’t simply another collection of backstage scraps, tour-bus carnage and tales from the thrash-metal trenches. This is Dave Mustaine at his most personal, vulnerable and brutally honest — staring mortality straight in the face and refusing to put the guitar down.
Proper heavy stuff, butt. 🤘
📚 THREE CITIES, THREE CHANCES TO MEET A METAL ICON
The short American tour begins in New York on the same day the memoir is released before continuing through Massachusetts and Virginia.
📅 IN MY DARKEST HOUR BOOK TOUR DATES
🔥 8 September – New York, NY
Kaufman Music Center
7:30pm–8:30pm
🔥 9 September – Boston, MA
Parkside Bookshop
9pm–10pm
🔥 10 September – Manassas, VA
Barnes & Noble
11am–12pm
The opening night is being presented by The Strand Bookstore and will feature Mustaine in conversation with Rolling Stone writer Kory Grow, followed by questions from fans. Tickets include a pre-signed copy of the memoir, although the venue has confirmed that there will be no additional signing or photo opportunity after the New York event. Kaufman Music Center
The Boston and Manassas appearances are timed alongside Megadeth’s dates supporting Iron Maiden on the 2026 Run For Your Lives tour, giving metalheads in selected markets another opportunity to connect with one of heavy music’s most influential figures. Blabbermouth
🩸 FROM THE TREATMENT ROOM TO THE RECORDING STUDIO
Co-written with journalist Joe Layden, In My Darkest Hour follows Mustaine through his cancer diagnosis, radiation and chemotherapy treatments — and the making of Megadeth’s sixteenth studio album, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!
Mustaine revealed in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma at the back of his tongue, immediately placing his voice, career and life under threat.
But while most people would understandably have stepped away from work, Dave continued moving between treatment appointments and lengthy recording sessions. He didn’t know what the future held, and he wasn’t prepared to leave the album unfinished if it proved to be his last.
That’s not merely dedication. That’s determination turned up until the amplifier starts smoking. 🔥
The memoir explores the fear, uncertainty and mental toll of cancer treatment, including the memory problems commonly described as “chemo brain”. It also examines how the experience brought Mustaine closer to his family, strengthened his faith and forced him to ask others for help.
For a musician whose public image has often been built around defiance, confrontation and refusing to back down, this promises a very different look at the man behind the Flying V.
⚡ MORE THAN ANOTHER ROCK ’N’ ROLL MEMOIR
Mustaine has already told parts of his remarkable story through Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir and Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece.
However, In My Darkest Hour appears to be coming from somewhere far more intimate.
This is the story of a musician who had already survived addiction, controversy, band implosions and enough heavy-metal drama to power an entire festival — only to face a battle that couldn’t be defeated with a savage riff or barbed one-liner.
It’s about fear, family, faith, survival and the healing power of continuing to create when everything around you threatens to collapse.
🤘 THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
Dave Mustaine has spent more than four decades helping shape the sound of heavy metal. His riffs inspired generations of guitarists, Megadeth became one of thrash’s legendary Big Four, and albums including Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, Rust In Peace and Countdown To Extinction remain essential metal listening.
But In My Darkest Hour isn’t simply about the untouchable guitar hero standing beneath the stage lights.
It’s about the human being behind the legend.
The fighter who became frightened. The frontman who feared losing his voice. The father and husband trying to hold his family together while continuing to make music.
There may only be three stops on this book tour — and sadly, no UK appearance has been announced — but the story itself looks set to travel much further.
Dave Mustaine didn’t just stare into his darkest hour. He picked up his guitar, turned the amp up and fought his way through it. 🤘🔥
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies.
