50 Facts About Megadeth

Megadeth has had numerous guitarists, drummers and bassists throughout its 39-year career, with Mustaine being the last remaining original member of the group.

Megadeth's current lineup includes Mustaine, guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren as well as bassist James LoMenzo, who was a part of Megadeth in the mid-late 2000s, and later as a touring bassist in 2021.

Megadeth earned platinum certifications in the United States for six of its fifteen studio albums, and has received twelve Grammy nominations.

Megadeth won its first Grammy Award in 2017 for the song "Dystopia" in the Best Metal Performance category.

Megadeth has hosted its own music festival Gigantour, several times since July 2005, and held its first annual MegaCruise in October 2019.

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Megadeth formed the band Fallen Angels, and after numerous band members, the band's name was changed to Megadeth.

In 1984, Megadeth recorded a three-song demo tape featuring Mustaine, Ellefson, and Rausch.

Megadeth's version generated controversy during the 1990s, when its writer, Lee Hazlewood, called Mustaine's changes "vile and offensive".

In mid-1985, on a bill with Canadian speed metal band Exciter, Megadeth played its first North American tour: the Killing for a Living Tour.

In February 1987, Megadeth was the opening act on Alice Cooper's Constrictor tour, and the following month began its first headlining world tour in the United Kingdom.

Poland was initially replaced by Jay Reynolds of Malice, but as the band began working on its next record, Reynolds was replaced by his guitar teacher, Jeff Young, when Megadeth was six weeks into the recording of its third album.

In June 1988, Megadeth appeared in Penelope Spheeris' documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.

Early in 1990, Megadeth joined Slayer, Testament, and Suicidal Tendencies for the successful European Clash of the Titans tour, featuring several American thrash metal bands.

Megadeth spent nearly four months in the studio with Norman, writing and recording what became the band's most commercially successful album, Countdown to Extinction.

Aerosmith said that Megadeth was "dumped" because of Mustaine's erratic behavior, while Capitol Records said it was due to "artistic restrictions".

In early 1994, Megadeth reunited with producer Max Norman for the follow-up to Countdown to Extinction.

Megadeth hired fashion photographer Richard Avedon to enhance the band's image.

In 1995, Megadeth played in Europe and North America with several opening acts, including Corrosion of Conformity, Korn and Fear Factory.

In January 1995, Megadeth appeared on the soundtrack of the horror movie Demon Knight with the song "Diadems".

In September 1996, Megadeth went to London to work on songs for the next album.

That month, Megadeth recorded a cover version of the Black Sabbath's "Never Say Die" for the second Nativity in Black tribute album.

Megadeth put the recording on hold and toured North America during the second quarter of 2000.

Two days before the release of The World Needs a Hero, Megadeth appeared in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music showcasing Mustaine, Ellefson, several past members, and Mustaine's old Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.

Megadeth was diagnosed with radial neuropathy, which left him unable to grasp or make a fist with his left hand.

Megadeth headlined the inaugural tour with acts such as Dream Theater, Nevermore, Anthrax, and Fear Factory.

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Megadeth was replaced by James LoMenzo, who had worked with David Lee Roth, White Lion, and Black Label Society.

The new Megadeth lineup made its live debut headlining the Dubai Desert Rock Festival in the United Arab Emirates with Testament.

The second Gigantour began during the third quarter of 2006; Megadeth again headlined, this time with Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy and Overkill.

In May 2006, Megadeth announced that its eleventh studio album, United Abominations, was near completion.

Late in the year, Megadeth returned to the United States to headline its Tour of Duty.

In January 2008, Glen Drover quit Megadeth, stating that he was tired of the frequent touring and wanted to spend more time with his family.

Broderick's former Nevermore bandmate, Van Williams, congratulated Megadeth on "getting one hell of a good player, more importantly they're getting a great guy to hang out with and a true friend".

In January 2010, Megadeth was set to embark on the American Carnage tour with Slayer and Testament, but the tour was postponed due to Tom Araya's back surgery.

Later that month, Megadeth released "Sudden Death" for the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

Megadeth returned to its own Vic's Garage studio in 2011 to record its thirteenth album, to be produced by Johnny K, because Andy Sneap, the producer of Megadeth's previous two albums, was unavailable.

Megadeth said this had been spurred by the death of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, which gave him a sense of mortality.

In October 2015, Megadeth streamed "Fatal Illusion" off the album Dystopia, which was released in January 2016.

Mustaine announced that Adler, who was performing with both Lamb of God and Megadeth, was no longer in the band due to scheduling conflicts between the two bands.

Megadeth was replaced by Dirk Verbeuren from Soilwork, on Adler's recommendation.

In 2018, Megadeth marked their 35th anniversary by re-releasing their 1985 debut album Killing Is My Business.

Megadeth was scheduled to embark on a co-headlining tour in North America with Lamb of God dubbed "The Metal Tour of the Year" in the summer of 2020, with Trivium and In Flames as support acts, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Megadeth re-entered the studio in Nashville in mid-2020 to resume recording their new album, tentatively planned for release in 2021.

Megadeth revealed a song title from the album called "The Dogs of Chernobyl".

Megadeth shared screen shots of Snapchat and WhatsApp messages related to the allegations.

An official statement released the next day from Megadeth stated that the situation was being "watched closely".

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Megadeth described the style as a mix of "the instrumental virtuosity of the NWOBHM with the speed and aggression of hardcore punk", while drawing lyrical inspiration from the horror-obsessed punk band Misfits.

Megadeth develops songs starting with a particular riff that, with modifications, becomes the central part of the song.

Megadeth has said that song fragments are composed separately, and then the band makes a compact structure from them.

Megadeth is considered one of the most musically influential groups that originated in the 1980s.

Sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris wrote that the mainstream success of Megadeth was one of the reasons for the expansion of extreme metal to countries where it had previously been unknown.