Rated amongst the top four trash metal rock bands in the world; Megadeth made its debut in 1983, with rhythm guitarist and vocalist Dave Mustaine leading the band. Shortly after Dave was fired from Metallica, he had only one thing on his mind, ‘revenge’. When he could not find what he wanted, Mustaine took over as the band’s vocalist and also became their main songwriter and rhythm guitarist. The group then added fusion drummer Gar Samuelson and guitarist Kerry King from the band Slayer. He only played a few gigs and was later replaced by Chris Poland in the same year.
Megadeth signed a recording deal with Combat records in 1984. They released their first album in 1985 titled, ‘Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!’.
The band was given $ 8,000 by the company for recording and producing the album. However they spent more than half of this amount on personal expenses and were forced to produce the entire album themselves after they fired the producer. Their second album, ‘Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?’ released in November 1986. Megadeth later released ‘So Far So Good…So What?’, In March 1988. The band’s album ‘Rust in Piece’ with songs like "Hangar 18" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" was well received. The band’s pinnacle of success came in 1992, with their album ‘Countdown to Extinction’. The album reached #2 on the billboard charts and went multi-platinum. Megadeth then released ‘Exposure of a Dream’ in 1993 and ‘Youthanasia’ in 1994. Other albums released by Megadeth include ‘Cryptic Writings’, ‘Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years’ and ‘The World Needs a Hero’. The group then disbanded in 2002 after Dave Mustaine damaged a nerve in his left arm. He couldn’t play the guitar after the incident; however with the help of physical therapy he gradually got better and the band regrouped to release their next album ‘The System Has Failed’ in 2004.
Megadeth’s lyrical rhymes commonly feature war and military themes, especially nuclear warfare. The band’s name “Megadeth” was coined out of a military term meaning 'one million deaths attributed to nuclear activity'. The band had quiet a few band members come and go. Dave Mustaine was the main stay of the band and its current members include Glen Drover, James Lomenzo, and Shawn Drover. |
