Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine spoke onstage about “medical tyranny” concerning the COVID-19 pandemic last night (Sept. 15) on the Camden, N.J. stop of the Metal Tour of the Year. Along with government, Mustaine stated his opinion on tyranny infiltrating schools and the medical business.

Megadeth and Lamb of God have co-headlined the Metal Tour of the Year with support from Trivium and Hatebreed. It’s one of few tours that hasn’t been shut down by a COVID infection even with the bands intermingling (and even practicing jiu-jitsu) with each other.

With the four-band trek more than halfway complete, Mustaine spoke to the New Jersey audience last night before diving into “Holy Wars.” "I just wanna tell you how great it is. Look around you, guys. Look to your right, look to your left, and look how wonderful this is. We're all here together. We're not freaking out, and we're not yelling at people, 'Wear your fucking mask.’”

He continued, "Listen, it starts with this kind of a sensation that we build right now. We feel together, we feel strength in numbers. We feel like we are invincible. People will not be able to stop us.”

“Right now, what's going on is tyranny. This is called tyranny. Look it up when you get home. And tyranny isn't only in government. Tyranny right now is in the schools and tyranny is in the medical business. We have the power, especially us heavy metal fans, we have the power to change things. If you look what happened in the Middle East right now… I said it a long time ago with this next song, 'Holy Wars.’”

Dave Mustaine Talks Mask Tyranny, Plays "Peace Sells" + "Holy Wars" in Camden, N.J. 9/15/21

Shortly before the pandemic began, Mustaine was able to announce onstage that he was “100 percent free of cancer.” Megadeth used their free time since to release a book and work on a highly anticipated new record.

Over the last several weeks, rockers such as Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Jonathan Davis and Munky (Korn), Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley (KISS), Sean Killian (Vio-Lence), Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) and members of Tesla and Lynyrd Skynyrd all tested positive for the virus that sparked a global pandemic in March 2020. Musician Eric Wagner died last month after being hospitalized with COVID pneumonia.

Vaccination efforts are ongoing; 53 percent total in the U.S. are inoculated fully as of Sept. 9. But with Delta in play, the fate of many U.S. concerts and fests hangs in the balance. In the touring industry, positions such as a "COVID Compliance Officer" are becoming a reality.

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