Megadeth

Megadeth was formed after Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica in '83. He vowed his new band would be more succesful, faster and heavier than Metallica. Fueled by his hatred for his former colleagues he began to write some of the most imaginitive, thought provoking and aggressive music in Thrash. The band itself was very unpredictable due to an insane ammount of drugs and alcohol comsumed by the members. Mustaine has been in rehab sixteen times but has been sober since 2000. He has been said to be "genetically engineered to rock and raised by wolverines". The story of Megadeth is more the story of Dave Mustaine the only original member still in the band, this is due to his drug problems, his abbraisive personality and ability to hold a grudge on an epic level.

The Eighties

Megadeth began two months after Mustaine was fired from Metallica for drug and alcohol abuse. He met Dave Ellefson in L.A after throwing a flower pot at him. He joined as the groups bassist. Kerry King from Slayer joined for the live shows and Gar Samuelson was hired on Drums. He later brought his friend Chris Poland to play lead Guitar. Unfortunately both Chris and Gar were into Heroin and Mustaine and Ellefson soon got into it too but Cocaine was their prefferd vice. Mustaine searched for a vocalist for a long time but couldnt find a suitable singer. So on New Years day he decided to take over the singing himself on top of playing the guitar.They recorded two albums with this line-up, "Killing is my Business ... And Business is Good" a hit and miss album but still very good, and the masterpiece "Peace Sells... But Whos Buyin'". They received alot of attention because of the intensity of the music and his very public bashings of Metallica. Soon after this Chris sold all of Megadeths equipment for drug money and he and Gar were throw out. They were replaced by Jeff Young and Chuck Behler, this began the revolving door band they became. This new line-up recorded the album "So Far, So Good...So What!" in '88 it took a Punkier outlook while still being rooted in Thrash. Mustaine then fired Jeff and Chuck because he felt they werent good enough for him. He then hired Guitar virtuoso Marty Friedman and Drum tech Nick Menza. This was the start of Megadeths most successful era.

The Nineties

In 1990 Megadeth released "Rust In Peace" a political shot at the current Administration in America. It dealt mainly on topics such as Nuclear war, Government Cover-ups and The Gulf War. It was also in a new league of technicallity musically, no doubt a consequence of Friedmans super-human abilities on the guitar and Mustaines ability to pen storming tracks. They toured this album for two years before Returning with another album. "Countdown to Extinction" was a step in a more lighter direction. They toned down the speed and heaviness but became more melodic and wrote even more technical tracks. The next album "Youthanasia" was in the same vain as "Countdown" but was a massive commercial success. Although controversial artwork hindered its distribution in markets like Germany which has a massive metal market. This stopped goin no 1 on the Billboard chart. Two more albums were released this decade, "Cryptic Writings" which a leap into popier music and "Risk" which did so badly ended the relationship between Mustaine and Friedman as he urged Mustaine to become more "Radio Friendly".

Megadeth During their most successful period.

The 2000's

In '01 Friedman left the band and Menza was forced to leave due to cancer in his knee. They were replaced by Al Pitrelli(Lead guitar) and Jimmy DeGrasso(Drums). This short lived line=up returned to a heavier style of music. "The World Needs a Hero" was released in '02. It was a decent album with no real highlights but a big improvement on the previous two. Then Mustaine damaged nerve endings in his arm. Doctors told him he would never play again. Megadeth was disbanded in late '02. Mustaine attended regular Pysiotherapy and other procedures and in '03 stated that he was able to play again and would be reforming Megadeth... without David Ellefson the only other original member. "The System Has Failed" was released in '04 it was a return to form in ways. It was still accessible but was raw and heavy at times due to the lack of a stable band. Most of the musicians were Session Musicians hired to record only. Since then Mustaine has gathered a Set Band consisting of himself, guitar master Chris Broderick, Shaun Drover on drums, and James Lomenzo on bass. They released one album called "Unoted Abominations" and are recording another due for next year.