New York, NY (March 19, 2026)—Da Capo, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing (GCP) and the Hachette E-book Group announce the publication of IN MY DARKEST HOUR: A Memoir by Dave Mustaine with Joe Layden on September 8, 2026. “In My Darkest Hour is Dave Mustaine at his most revealing, weak, and true,” said Ben Schafer, Government Editor, Da Capo. “With lacerating honesty and soulful reflection, he speaks to the common human expertise of going through severe sickness and the way it modifications an individual, their household and associates, and one’s relationship with creativity. Da Capo is proud to publish Dave Mustaine’s most unblinking memoir up to now, one which isn’t just for Megadeth followers.”
“Considered one of most harrowing experiences of my grownup life has been my seven-year journey via most cancers therapy and onward into remission,” Dave Mustaine says in regards to the experiences detailed within the forthcoming guide. “This story is significantly extra than simply go to the physician, get recognized, get therapy and hopefully I dwell fortunately ever after. This was a journey of me saving myself, staying alive, maintaining my household collectively, and persevering with to make music via all of it.”
Dave Mustaine isn’t any stranger to ache and struggling. He battled demons all his life—together with an alcoholic father, dependancy, and black magic—and turned fifty-eight believing he’d survived the worst. However in 2019, Mustaine was pressured to face the lack of his immediately recognizable voice and the disintegration of his musical expertise. Recognized with squamous cell carcinoma behind his tongue, his whole profession—and presumably his life—was about to finish.
For Mustaine, it was another alternative to struggle like hell.
IN MY DARKEST HOUR takes readers from the therapy room to the studio as Mustaine chronicles how his prognosis impressed him to take up the pen and guitar choose, going from radiation and chemotherapy appointments straight into hours-long recording classes, leading to Megadeth’s sixteenth studio album, The Sick, The Dying…and the Lifeless! Alongside the best way, Mustaine particulars how confronting his personal mortality introduced him nearer to his household, taught him tips on how to ask for assist, strengthened his religion, and challenged the vulnerability of his artwork.
Crammed with perseverance, hope, and the dedication to by no means let the bastards grind you down, IN MY DARKEST HOUR is a masterful portrait of a Dave Mustaine that the world has but to see, and serves as a transferring reminder that even our most invincible heroes are human.
Now, six years faraway from that preliminary prognosis, Mustaine is seeing the largest success of his 40-plus-year profession with Megadeth’s last studio album and tour. Dedicated to exit on high, Megadeth’s new album (launched in January 2026) debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 within the U.S., marking the band’s highest debut week ever on the chart. World wide, the album garnered important acclaim and hit #1 in 11 international locations and landed Prime 5 positions on 11 extra charts.
About Dave Mustaine: Dave Mustaine and his band Megadeth are at all times and endlessly the purpose of no return for steel. It might be almost not possible to conceive the place heavy music and tradition would’ve gone with out the band based, fronted, and fueled by vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Dave Mustaine. As a founding member of Metallica, after which founding father of Megadeth, the blast radius of Mustaine’s influence has solely been magnified since 1983. Up to now, they’ve offered 50 million data worldwide, acquired a GRAMMY® Award (with 12 extra nominations), generated billions of streams, notched 9 Prime 10 entries on the Billboard 200, and enthralled tens of millions of diehard followers in arenas and stadiums throughout the globe. Their catalog spans indeniable classics such because the platinum Peace Sells… However Who’s Shopping for? (cited at #8 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Biggest Steel Albums of All Time”), the platinum Rust In Peace, and double-platinum Countdown To Extinction, which captured #2 on the Billboard 200. In the meantime, Dystopia notched a Prime 3 debut and earned a GRAMMY® Award within the class of “Finest Steel Efficiency” with its title monitor. They solely upped the ferocity with The Sick, The Dying… And The Lifeless! in 2022. It noticed them return to #3, obtain a “Finest Steel Efficiency” GRAMMY® Award nomination for “We’ll Be Again,” and incite rave evaluations. In 2026 Mustaine and the band reached the apex of their success: a #1 debut with their self-titled last album on the Billboard 200. Together with #1s on seven extra Billboard charts, Mustaine and Megadeth logged #1s in eleven international locations. The band is at present on their multi-year farewell tour.
About Da Capo:
Da Capo is an imprint devoted to publishing definitive biographies, memoirs, and narrative non-fiction about music and musicians. Via music, we encounter the world and the counterculture traditions which have animated inventive actions within the 20th and 21st centuries. From traditional rock and punk to steel, jazz, and hip hop, Da Capo’s books are made with the lively listener in thoughts, whose music is a cornerstone of their identification.
About Grand Central Publishing:
Grand Central Publishing reaches a various viewers via books that cater to each type of reader. Its imprints are Stability, Cardinal, Da Capo, Ceaselessly, Grand Central, and Legacy Lit. Grand Central Publishing is one in every of three divisions of the Grand Central Publishing Group, which additionally contains Hachette Nashville and Union Sq. & Co.
About Hachette E-book Group:
Hachette E-book Group (HBG) is a number one US general-interest guide writer made up of dozens of esteemed imprints throughout the publishing teams Fundamental Books Group; Grand Central Publishing Group; Hachette Audio; Little, Brown and Firm; Little, Brown Books for Younger Readers; Orbit; and Workman Working Press Group. We additionally present customized distribution, success, and gross sales providers to different publishing firms.
Our books and authors have acquired the Pulitzer Prize, Nationwide E-book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Peace Prize and different main honors.
We’re dedicated to range in our firm and our publishing packages, and to fostering a tradition of inclusion for all our staff and authors. We’re proud to be a part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third-largest commerce and academic writer.
Go to hachettebookgroup.com to be taught extra about HBG imprints. For up to date information comply with HBG on Fb, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X.com, Pinterest, and YouTube.
Leave a Reply