Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1983. Founded by Dave Mustaine following his departure from Metallica, the band has since released twelve studio albums, six live albums, two EPs, twenty six singles, thirty-two music videos, and three compilations.
As a pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Megadeth rose to international fame in the 1980s, but experienced numerous line-up changes, due partly to the band's notorious substance abuse problems. From 1983 to 2002, Mustaine and bassist Dave Ellefson were the only continuous members of the band. After finding sobriety and securing a stable line-up, Megadeth went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums, including the platinum-selling landmark Rust in Peace in 1990 and the Grammy nominated, multi-platinum Countdown to Extinction in 1992. Megadeth disbanded in 2002 after Mustaine suffered a severe nerve injury to his left arm. However, following extensive physical therapy, Mustaine reformed the band in 2004 and released The System Has Failed, followed by United Abominations in 2007; the albums debuted on the Billboard Top 200 chart at #18 and #8, respectively. Megadeth, along with their new lead guitarist Chris Broderick, released their twelfth studio album, titled Endgame, on September 15, 2009.

Megadeth is known for a distinctive guitar style, often involving complex, intricate musical passages, and trade off guitar solos. Mustaine is also known for his original "snarling" vocal style, as well as his recurring lyrical themes, often involving politics, war, addiction, and personal relationships.

Megadeth has had some commercial success worldwide and has sold more than 25 million albums, with six consecutive albums being certified platinum in the USA. The band has also received great critical acclaim with seven consecutive Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance. In the band's 24 active years, Megadeth has had 20 official members, with Dave Mustaine remaining as the driving force, main songwriter, and sole original member following the end of his musical partnership with David Ellefson in 2002, due to personal disagreements. In the mid-late 1980s, Megadeth were one of the "Big Four of Thrash," along with Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, who were responsible for creating, developing and popularizing the thrash metal sub-genre.

Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Heavy metal, thrash metal, hard rock,[1][2][3] speed metal[4]
Years active	1983–2002 2004–present
Labels	Combat, Capitol, Roadrunner
Associated acts	Metallica, F5, Panic, MD.45, Hail, Eidolon, Jag Panzer, Nevermore, Slayer, Anthrax

Members
Dave Mustaine Dave Ellefson Chris Broderick Shawn Drover
Past members

	Greg Handevidt	1983	guitar
	Dijon Carruthers	1983	drums, percussion
	Lee Rausch	1984	guitar
	Kerry King	1984	guitar	none
	Gar Samuelson	1984–1987	drums, percussion	Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985) and Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (1986)
	Chris Poland	1984–1985, 1985–1987, 2004	guitar	Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985), Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (1986) and The System Has Failed (2004)
	Mike Albert	1985	guitar	none
	Chuck Behler	1987–1988	drums, percussion	So Far, So Good... So What! (1988)
	Jeff Young	1987–1989	guitar	So Far, So Good... So What! (1988)
	Nick Menza	1989–1998, 2004	drums, percussion	All Megadeth releases from Rust in Peace (1990) to Cryptic Writings (1997)
	Marty Friedman	1990–2000	guitar	All Megadeth releases from Rust in Peace (1990) to Risk (1999)
	Jimmy DeGrasso	1998–2002	drums, percussion	Risk (1999), The World Needs a Hero (2001) and Rude Awakening (2002)
	Al Pitrelli	2000–2002	guitar	The World Needs a Hero (2001) and Rude Awakening (2002)
	Vinnie Colaiuta	2004	drums, percussion	The System Has Failed (2004)
	Jimmy Sloas	2004	bass	The System Has Failed (2004)
	James MacDonough	2004–2006	bass	Gigantour (2006) and That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires (2007)
	Glen Drover	2004–2008	guitar	Gigantour (2006), That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires (2007) and United Abominations (2007)
	James LoMenzo	2006–2010	bass, backing vocals	United Abominations 2007, Blood in the Water: Live in San Diego (2008) and Endgame 2009