Dave Mustaine states that he has a painful hand condition, which is one of the reasons Megadeth is releasing a final album and going on a farewell tour.

The condition is known as Dupuytren’s contracture, causing one or more fingers to bend toward the palm. As a result, the affected fingers cannot fully straighten. Typically, this condition progresses from small, painless nodules under the skin of the palm to more severe thickened tissue.

“It’s already started, where it’s kind of bunching up a little bit,” Mustaine recently explained to MariskalRockTV. “And then if you look at the tips of my fingers, they’re severely arthritic. So all those bumps make it really painful to play.”

Mustaine plans to undergo surgery for this condition, but only after Megadeth’s upcoming farewell tour.

“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 everybody and am not leaving stuff unsaid or unfinished,” he remarked.

When Does Megadeth’s Farewell Tour Begin and End?

Megadeth is set to kick off their farewell tour on February 15 in Canada, and currently, it is unclear when exactly the tour will conclude.

“We’re easily talking about touring for another three to five years,” he told Kerrang! earlier this year. “And if we’re going to be doing it for that long then, s–t, I’ll be looking at the birthday I don’t even want to think about!”