From left: Aaron Neigher of The Orchard, Megadeth’s Teemu Mäntysaari, Ben Burstein of The Orchard, BLKIIBLK’s Jeff Stevenson, Steve Ross of CTK Enterprises, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, CTK’s Justis Mustaine, CTK CEO Danny Nozell, Megadeth’s James LoMenzo, CTK’s Elizabeth Manser, BLKIIBLK’s Tim Bailey, Megadeth’s Dirk Verbeuren, and Results Global’s Alissa Endres – 📸: Cameron Nunez
Frontiers Music Srl’s 30th Anniversary celebrations continue with a new milestone moment, as Dave Mustaine of Megadeth congratulates the label following the global success of the band’s latest release, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200.
This achievement is a significant result for Frontiers and its partners, showing the label’s continued growth and global impact.
Mustaine recorded a video message for Frontiers President & CEO Serafino Perugino and the entire team, recognizing the collaboration behind the campaign.
Watch Dave Mustaine’s Video Message:
In the video, Mustaine says:
“Hey, this is Dave Mustaine from Megadeth. I just wanted to congratulate Serafino, his family, and the entire Frontiers label group on your 30th anniversary.
“Thank you to the team and partners who helped deliver such a successful campaign around our new release – including reaching number one on the Billboard Top 200 charts.
“I wish I could be there to celebrate with you, and I look forward to seeing you out on the road soon.”
The message follows Frontiers’ recent 30th anniversary celebration in Naples, marking three decades of independent growth, nearly 2,000 releases, and its evolution into a global rock and metal powerhouse.
As part of this milestone moment, Megadeth recently gathered in Nashville for “Thrash The Charts, Megadeth’s #1 Celebration,” an event honouring the album’s chart-topping success.
“The last two private events for Megadeth fans were a reward for all the hard work leading up to this,” Dave Mustaine says. “Thank you to our label Frontiers and BLKIIBLK, our management at CTK Enterprises, BMI, Warner Chappell, The Orchard, and all of our guests and VIP’s. It was a blast!”
“Congratulations to Dave and Megadeth on this historic moment”, says Jeff Stevenson, General Manager, Frontiers Label Group/BLKIIBLK Records. “We, at Frontiers Label Group/BLKIIBLK Records, couldn’t be prouder to have partnered with the band and CTK Management to help achieve this amazing accomplishment, marking a milestone in the legendary career of one of metal’s most important bands.”
Following the performance, commemorative #1 plaques were presented to the band and key partners, including Frontiers Label Group / BLKIIBLK, alongside The Orchard and other collaborators.
Watch the Plaque Presentation:
Released in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s BLKIIBLK label, the album debuted at #1 in 11 countries worldwide and reached Top 5 positions in 11 additional territories, marking one of the most significant achievements in the label’s history.
Thirty years after its founding in Naples, Frontiers continues to expand its international presence while remaining focused on its core mission: supporting artists, developing long-term careers, and delivering global success through strong creative and commercial partnerships.
MEGADETH have good reason to celebrate. The Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum metal titans’ self-titled final studio album—released last week (January 23) to worldwide critical acclaim—has exploded onto the charts at #1 on the Billboard 200 in their native U.S. (highest previous position #2). This debut also marks the band’s 9th Billboard Top 200 album.
The band also claims the top spot in Australia (highest previous position #2) and Austria (highest previous position #8). Other top five spots include #2 in Finland (+ #1 physical), Sweden (+ #1 physical; highest previous position #9), and Belgium (highest previous position: #6); #3 in both the U.K. and Germany (highest previous position: #6); #4 in the Netherlands (highest previous position: #7); and #5 in both Italy (highest previous position: #15) and New Zealand (highest chart position ever). Debuts in additional territories are still being compiled at press time.
“After 40 years of delivering Megadeth music, playing shows around the world, I have nothing but gratitude at this moment. Finding out that our last Megadeth record is also our first #1 only further validates my will to go out on top,” says Dave Mustaine, vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer. “Thank you to my family, Teemu Mantasaari, James LoMenzo, and Dirk Verbueren, and Chris Rakestraw, all our fans for making this possible, without you Megadeth would not be as successful as we are. I’d also like to thank the people behind the scenes, our management, Danny Nozell, Justis Mustaine, and Steve Ross at CTK, and our label BLKIIBLK/Tradecraft.”
“This recording is a labour of love, and I hope you enjoy this as much as we do. See you on tour soon!” – Dave Mustaine
“Absolutely amazing news! Thank you and congrats to our entire extended Megadeth family!” – Teemu Mäntysaari
“I want to sincerely thank all our friends and fans who grabbed a copy, we’re over the moon!” – James LoMenzo
“It feels unbelievable to sit atop the charts with an album that’s uncompromisingly Megadeth. Huge thanks to all of you who support us- you made this happen! See you on tour!” – Dirk Verbeuren
“This moment represents the culmination of the trust Dave and the Megadeth team placed in our label, BLKIIBLK/Frontiers Label Group, to deliver these results,” says Jeff Stevenson, General Manager, Frontiers Label Group. “As our label and its owner, Serafino Perugino, celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026, the timing felt right to proudly partner in this next chapter with a band that has shaped music history since its formation in 1983.”
Tom Lipsky, A&R USA, Frontiers Label Group, adds, “This achievement is a testament to the relationship that Dave Mustaine and Megadeth have built with fans over the course of their career.”
“The impact Megadeth has made on music has forever been cemented. And, now with this long overdue #1 all-genre album, the band is going out on top” says Danny Nozell, Megadeth’s manager and Founder/CEO of CTK Enterprises. “I am so proud of Justis Mustaine, Steve Ross, and the entire CTK team, our RESULTS GLOBAL marketing team, SRO PR, and our partners at BLKIIBLK/Frontiers Label Group and The Orchard for bringing this project to life.”
Leading up to the new album (out via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label), MEGADETH—Mustaine, Teemu Mäntysaari (Lead, Rhythm, and Acoustic Guitars), James LoMenzo (Bass Guitar) and Dirk Verbeuren (Drums)—have released four singles: “Puppet Parade,” “Let There Be Shred!”, “I Don’t Care,” and “Tipping Point.” MEGADETH also announced a very special bonus track from the album: a reimagined version of “Ride The Lightning,” which MUSTAINE co-wrote with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich and was the title track from the group’s 1984 album.
Up next for MEGADETH, they’ll kick off their farewell tour in North America with a cross-country headlining tour of Canada launching February 15 in Victoria, BC including stops in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Ottawa before wrapping March 6 in Quebec City, QC.
With the release of MEGADETH’s final studio album out this week (January 23), the metal titans have shared the final single “Puppet Parade” from the much-anticipated album released via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label.
‘Puppet Parade’ is about somebody’s mundane life and how they go through life with everyday being the same as the day before,” MUSTAINE says. “It is about a person who has a dead-end job, a dead-end relationship, a dead-end life. Many of us are going through this monotony, even right now. I wanted to share ‘Puppet Parade’ to try and illustrate how we often show people what we want them to see, instead of how we really feel.”
Up next for MEGADETH, they’ll kick off their farewell tour in North America with a cross-country headlining tour of Canada launching February 15 in Victoria, BC and include stops in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Ottawa before wrapping March 6 in Quebec City, QC.
Leading up to the new album, MEGADETH—Mustaine, Teemu Mäntysaari (Lead, Rhythm, and Acoustic Guitars), James LoMenzo (Bass Guitar) and Dirk Verbeuren (Drums)—have released three tracks: “Let There Be Shred!” (watch the video HERE), “I Don’t Care” out (watch the video HERE); and “Tipping Point,” the album’s first single (watch the video HERE). MEGADETH have also announced a very special bonus track from the album: a reimagined version of “Ride The Lightning,” which MUSTAINE co-wrote with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich and was the title track from the group’s 1984 album.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, MUSTAINE revealed in a social post directly shared with his worldwide fanbase and Cyber Army that the forthcoming album will mark the final studio album from MEGADETH, who’ve sold over 50 million records worldwide and received a GRAMMY® Award (with 12 additional nominations). He shared the announcement of the album and tour via his alter ego Vic Rattlehead.
MEGADETH are always and forever the point of no return for metal. It would be nearly impossible to conceive where heavy music and culture would’ve gone without the band founded, fronted, and fueled by vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Dave Mustaine. The blast radius of their impact has only magnified since 1983. Thus far, they have sold 50 million records worldwide, received a GRAMMY® Award (with 12 additional nominations), generated billions of streams, notched seven Top 10 entries on the Billboard 200, and enthralled millions of diehard fans in arenas and stadiums across the globe. Their catalog spans indisputable classics such as the platinum Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (cited at #8 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time”), the platinum Rust In Peace, and double-platinum Countdown To Extinction, which captured #2 on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, Dystopia notched a Top 3 debut and earned a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Metal Performance” with its title track. They only upped the ferocity with The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! in 2022. It saw them return to #3, receive a “Best Metal Performance” GRAMMY® Award nomination for “We’ll Be Back,” and incite rave reviews. Their influence can be felt practically everywhere—whether it be Post Malone proudly sporting a tattoo of “So Far, So Good… So What!,” Homer Simpson’s iPod displaying their moniker during an episode, or Showtime’s smash hit series Billions and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey utilizing MEGADETH in plot points. The band have delivered simultaneously relevant and timeless records in five decades now, setting the pace for the thrash renaissance of the eighties, tearing through the MTV years of the nineties with swagger and style, maintaining their stride in the post-Y2K 2000s, elevating to canonical heights in the social media and streaming era of the 2010s, and unassumingly harnessing the uncertainty and unease of the Post-Pandemic world into their boldest, biggest, and best work yet.
Along the way, MEGADETH extended their influence even further. During 2016, the band entered the spirits world with their very first signature beer À Tout Le Monde followed by Saison 13 in 2019. The brand asserted itself as a player in the beverage space and impressively moved over 15 million pints. Joining forces with Keystone in 2025, they ignite the next phase of Megadeth Beer on the biggest global platform yet.
Beyond his role as a music icon, Dave founded the visionary wine brand HOUSE OF MUSTAINE which uniquely blends music, culture, and fine winemaking. The brand launched with the 2013 Symphony Interrupted Cabernet Sauvignon which was inspired by Dave Mustaine’s groundbreaking collaboration with the San Diego Symphony.
As anticipation continues to build for MEGADETH’s final studio album—out January 23, 2026 via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label)—the metal titans have today (December 19) released the latest single and video for “Let There Be Shred!” The track is a rapid-fire manifesto with jaw-dropping riffs and “a tsunami of sound,” to quote a lyric from the song. Directed by Keith Leman, the video features DAVE participating in a mixed martial arts battle alongside live performance footage that highlights the track’s fretboard ferocity. Watch the video HERE and listen to the song HERE.
“When Megadeth started we said we would be fast and furious…we said so on the flyers we handed out,” DAVE MUSTAINE says. “This song is fast and furious. Know it! It has a very hooky chorus that draws you in and you can’t help but play air guitar and headbang to this one.
“It’s the second video from the new record that we made with Keith [Leman], who also directed ‘I Don’t Care.’ It was a blast to make and it’s a tribute to my first Sensei, Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez and my Professor, Reggie Almieda. Everyone on the set was really stoked to see each of us do our stunts. In the end, we got the balance of shredding and ass kicking just right!”
Meanwhile, MEGADETH are preparing for a busy month with a series of events leading up to the album’s release, along with the launch of their final tour, including:
• MEGADETH have teamed with Trafalgar Releasing for MEGADETH: BEHIND THE MASK, a cinematic legacy event that will debut on screens worldwide Thursday, January 22—on the eve of the album’s January 23 release. The film will screen in over 1,000 cinemas across 35+ countries. Read more HERE.
• The group have also announced an exclusive, day-long immersive celebration LET THERE BE SHRED: THE ULTIMATE MEGADETH IMMERSIVE LISTENING EVENT set for Saturday, January 17 in La Vergne, TN (just outside Nashville). MEGADETH will host fans for an unforgettable look inside the band’s world with a jam-packed day that will offer attendees the opportunity to get closer to the band, the music, the stories, and the legacy than ever before. Read more HERE.
• On the live front, MEGADETH will kick off their farewell tour in North America with a cross-country headlining tour of Canada launching February 15 in Victoria, BC and include stops in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Ottawa before wrapping March 6 in Quebec City, QC. Read more HERE.
Leading up to the new album, MEGADETH—Mustaine, Teemu Mäntysaari (Lead, Rhythm, and Acoustic Guitars), James LoMenzo (Bass Guitar) and Dirk Verbeuren (Drums)—have released two tracks: “I Don’t Care” out (watch the video HERE); “Tipping Point,” the album’s first single (watch the video HERE). MEGADETH have also announced a very special bonus track from the album: a reimagined version of “Ride The Lightning,” which MUSTAINE co-wrote with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich and was the title track from the group’s 1984 album.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, MUSTAINE revealed in a social post directly shared with his worldwide fanbase and Cyber Army that the forthcoming album will mark the final studio album from MEGADETH, who’ve sold over 50 million records worldwide and received a GRAMMY® Award (with 12 additional nominations). He shared the announcement of the album and tour via his alter ego Vic Rattlehead.
About Megadeth MEGADETH are always and forever the point of no return for metal. It would be nearly impossible to conceive where heavy music and culture would’ve gone without the band founded, fronted, and fueled by vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Dave Mustaine. The blast radius of their impact has only magnified since 1983. Thus far, they have sold 50 million records worldwide, received a GRAMMY® Award (with 12 additional nominations), generated billions of streams, notched seven Top 10 entries on the Billboard 200, and enthralled millions of diehard fans in arenas and stadiums across the globe. Their catalog spans indisputable classics such as the platinum Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (cited at #8 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time”), the platinum Rust In Peace, and double-platinum Countdown To Extinction, which captured #2 on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, Dystopia notched a Top 3 debut and earned a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Metal Performance” with its title track. They only upped the ferocity with The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! in 2022. It saw them return to #3, receive a “Best Metal Performance” GRAMMY® Award nomination for “We’ll Be Back,” and incite rave reviews. Their influence can be felt practically everywhere—whether it be Post Malone proudly sporting a tattoo of “So Far, So Good… So What!,” Homer Simpson’s iPod displaying their moniker during an episode, or Showtime’s smash hit series Billions and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey utilizing MEGADETH in plot points. The band have delivered simultaneously relevant and timeless records in five decades now, setting the pace for the thrash renaissance of the eighties, tearing through the MTV years of the nineties with swagger and style, maintaining their stride in the post-Y2K 2000s, elevating to canonical heights in the social media and streaming era of the 2010s, and unassumingly harnessing the uncertainty and unease of the Post-Pandemic world into their boldest, biggest, and best work yet.
Along the way, MEGADETH extended their influence even further. During 2016, the band entered the spirits world with their very first signature beer À Tout Le Monde followed by Saison 13 in 2019. The brand asserted itself as a player in the beverage space and impressively moved over 15 million pints. Joining forces with Keystone in 2025, they ignite the next phase of Megadeth Beer on the biggest global platform yet.
Beyond his role as a music icon, Dave founded the visionary wine brand HOUSE OF MUSTAINE which uniquely blends music, culture, and fine winemaking. The brand launched with the 2013 Symphony Interrupted Cabernet Sauvignon which was inspired by Dave Mustaine’s groundbreaking collaboration with the San Diego Symphony.
Legendary metal titans MEGADETH and Trafalgar Releasing have revealed the trailer for MEGADETH: BEHIND THE MASK, a cinematic legacy event that will debut on screens worldwide Thursday, January 22.
Tickets are now on sale for the film that will screen in over 1,000 cinemas across 35+ countries on the eve of the release of the band’s final studio album out January 23. To get tickets, and for more information and to sign up for updates, fans can visit megadethfilm.com.
In MEGADETH: BEHIND THE MASK, Dave Mustaine pulls back the curtain on 40 years of MEGADETH, sharing untold stories of the band’s past and the creative fire that drives them. Interwoven throughout, audiences will get to experience the world premiere of MEGADETH’S new self-titled album in full, brought to life with a 40-year retrospective career-spanning interview and Mustaine’s own track-by-track reflections about the band’s final studio album. This one-night-only listening event will provide a first-listen to this landmark project. MEGADETH: BEHIND THE MASK is an immersive celebration of one of the most influential bands in metal history, capturing their legacy while heralding a powerful new chapter.
Leading up to the album and film’s debut, MEGADETH—Dave Mustaine, Teemu Mäntysaari(Lead, Rhythm, and Acoustic Guitars), James LoMenzo (Bass Guitar) and Dirk Verbeuren(Drums)—have released two tracks: “I Don’t Care” (watch the video HERE and listen to the song HERE) and “Tipping Point,” the album’s first single (watch the video HERE and listen to the song HERE). MEGADETH have also announced a very special bonus track from the album: a reimagined version of “Ride The Lightning,” which MUSTAINE co-wrote with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich and was the title track from the group’s 1984 album. Pre-order the album, via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label, HERE. Read more about the album’s full track listing HERE.
After Megadeth already announced their farewell tour for 2026, the concrete European tour dates have now been revealed. Find all dates below.
Megadeth will be saying goodbye to their fans next year with a farewell tour and one final studio album. The self-titled record will be released on January 23, 2026 and is already available for pre-order from us in the following editions:
Megadeth have now announced their tour dates for Europe. Here’s the full overview:
June 7, 2026 – DE – Gelsenkirchen, Amphitheater
June 11, 2026 – LU – Luxembourg, Rockhal
June 15, 2026 – CH – Zurich, Halle 622
June 16, 2026 – AT – Vienna, Gasometer
June 23, 2026 – TR – Istanbul, KüçükÇiftlik Park
June 28, 2026 – KZ – Almaty, Spartak Stadium
In addition, Megadeth will open as Very Special Guests for Iron Maiden’s show in Hannover on June 2 as part of the Run For Your Lives World Tour 2026.
Tickets for all dates are available starting today via pre-sale, and from December 5 in the general on-sale at megadeth.com/pages/tour.
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