Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer, responsible for the genre's development and popularization. Their music features complex arrangements and fast rhythm sections, dual lead guitars, and lyrical themes of war, politics, religion, death, and personal relationships.
Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on June 12, 1985, by Combat Records. At the beginning of 1985, the band was given $8,000 by Combat to record and produce its debut album. The band was forced to fire their original producer and produce the album by themselves, after spending half of the album's budget on drugs, alcohol, and food. Despite the poor production, the album was a well-received effort that obtained strong reviews in various music publications. Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! played an essential role in establishing thrash metal as an authentic subgenre of heavy metal music. It explores themes of death, occultism, and violence.
Rust in Peace is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 24, 1990, by Capitol Records. It was the first Megadeth album to feature lead guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. The songs "Hangar 18" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" were released as singles. A remixed and remastered version of the album featuring four bonus tracks was released in 2004.
Cryptic Writings is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on June 17, 1997, through Capitol Records, it was the band's last studio album to feature drummer Nick Menza. His departure would mark the end of the band's longest lasting lineup to date, having recorded four studio albums. Megadeth decided to produce the record with Dann Huff in Nashville, Tennessee, because they were not satisfied with their previous producer Max Norman. The album features twelve tracks with accessible song structures, specifically aimed for radio airplay. The lyrics were also altered, in order to make the music more inclusive for wider audience. These changes were met with mixed opinions from music critics, who noted the band moving away from their thrash metal roots.
Risk is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on August 31, 1999, by Capitol Records, the band's last album to be released by the label. The first Megadeth album since 1990 to feature a lineup change, Risk marks the studio debut of drummer Jimmy DeGrasso with the band, as well as the final appearance of longtime guitarist Marty Friedman, who announced his departure a year later. Meant to be a breakthrough on alternative rock radio, Risk received a mixed response because of the great deviation from the band's traditional sound. The backlash ultimately resulted with the band returning towards a heavier sound with their next album.
The World Needs a Hero is the ninth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on May 15, 2001 by Sanctuary Records. After the critical and commercial failure of the previous album Risk (1999), The World Needs a Hero represented a change back to a heavier musical direction. Subsequently, the album charted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 upon release.
David Scott Mustaine is an American musician. He is the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth. Mustaine has released sixteen studio albums with Megadeth, sold over 38 million records worldwide, with six albums platinum-certified, and won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2017 at the 59th Grammy Awards, for the title track of their fifteenth studio album, Dystopia.
David Warren Ellefson is an American musician, best known for his long tenure as the bassist for thrash metal band Megadeth.
Nicholas Menza was an American musician best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1989 to 1998. He recorded drums on four of Megadeth's albums: Rust in Peace (1990), Countdown to Extinction (1992), Youthanasia (1994), and Cryptic Writings (1997).
Chris Poland is an American guitarist, best known as the former guitarist of the thrash metal band Megadeth. Since 2002, Poland has been the guitarist of the instrumental rock/jazz fusion bands OHM and OHMphrey, among others, and has appeared on several projects and albums from a variety of different genres.
Lee James Jude Capallero, also known as Lee Ving, is an American guitarist, singer and actor. Ving is the frontman of the Los Angeles-based hardcore punk band Fear. As an actor, Ving played topless club owner Johnny C. in Flashdance (1983), motorcycle gang leader Greer in Streets of Fire (1984) and murder victim Mr. Boddy in the murder mystery film Clue (1985).
The Craving is the debut and only album by American rock band MD.45, released on July 23, 1996, on Slab Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records. A remastered version was released in 2004 on Capitol Records which features the original vocals by Lee Ving removed and re-recorded by the band's guitarist, Dave Mustaine, due to Capitol losing the original vocal tracks. Mustaine stated that he replaced Ving's original vocal tracks "to entice interest from Megadeth fans who might have overlooked the original."
Eidolon was a Canadian power metal band formed in 1993 by brothers Shawn and Glen Drover. The band was signed to Metal Blade Records, and released four records on that Label. Eidolon signed soon after to Escapi Records. The band has released seven studio albums to date. In 2005, Eidolon announced the addition of new vocalist Nils K. Rue.
Jimmy DeGrasso is an American heavy metal drummer.
Warchest is a box set from the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Warchest features five discs and features studio tracks, demos and live recordings of a number of the band's songs from its first ten studio albums and rarities EP. The box set was released on October 9, 2007 by EMI/Capitol Records, and sold around 1,100 copies in the United States in its first week.
F5 is a heavy metal band based out of Phoenix, Arizona, which features ex-Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson and ex-Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso.
Electric Love Hogs were a short-lived American funk rock band formed in San Diego, California in 1991. The band's lineup consisted of John Feldmann, Dave Kushner (guitar), Donni Campion (guitar), Kelly LeMieux (bass) and Bobby Hewitt. They released one self-titled album in 1992, followed by a tour of the United States and United Kingdom, before they disbanded the following year.
Dystopia is the fifteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released on frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft label via Universal on January 22, 2016. It is the first Megadeth album to feature guitarist Kiko Loureiro. The album was produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw and features cover artwork by Brent Elliot White.
The So Far, So Good... So What! Tour was a concert tour performed by the American thrash metal band Megadeth to support their 1988 album So Far, So Good... So What!. This was the only tour to feature the lineup of Dave Mustaine on vocals and guitar, David Ellefson on bass, Jeff Young on guitar and Chuck Behler on drums.
