American thrash metal band, founded in 1983 by Dave Mustaine and considered one of the "big four" bands of the genre, which have shaped its development and popularity.
Megadeth has sold 38 million records worldwide, six of the band's fifteen studio albums have been certified platinum in the United States, and the band has received twelve Grammy nominations.After being kicked out of Metallica, Dave Mustaine found bassist David Ellefson and formed his own band, which he called Megadeth (the term megadeath in US military terms refers to the deaths of millions of people in an atomic war). Dave Mustaine became the new band's lead singer and main songwriter, as well as guitarist. They were soon joined by drummer Lee Rausch and guitarist Greg Handevidt. Handevidt was soon replaced by Slayer guitarist Kerry King, who played only five gigs with Megadeth. He was replaced by guitarist Chris Poland, who brought in drummer Gar Samuelson.
Soon after, Megadeth recorded a three-song demo, Last Rites. In 1985, the band released the album Kiling Is My Business...And Business Is Good!, which they ran out of money to complete, as Dave Mustaine spent about half of the $8,000 Combat Records budget on drugs. However, the poor quality of the recording did not prevent the band from gaining notoriety and a large and loyal fan base. The album was well received and is deservedly hailed as one of the classic albums of metal music for its effort to fuse thrash metal and speed metal.
When recording for the second album began, Megadeth was offered a job under the Capitol Records umbrella, which the band accepted, thus securing a substantial payday. In 1986, Megadeth released the album "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?". This album showed the band's improved work, better sound and is still considered one of the best and most influential thrash metal recordings to date. However, things didn't work out for the band. Drugs, success and exhausting gigs were destroying the relationship between the musicians, and soon Dave Mustaine fired Chris Poland and Gar Samuelson. They were soon replaced by former guitar teacher Jeff Young and drum technician Chuck Behler.
In January 1988, Megadeth released the album "So Far, So Good...So What?".
In 1990, with the addition of guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nickel Menza, Megadeth released the album Rust In Piece. It is one of the band's most mature works, and was played on a 20th anniversary tour of North and South America, Europe and Australia in 2010.
The band's most commercially successful album, Countdown to Extinction, was released in 1992, featuring hits such as "Symphony of Destruction" and "Skin O My Teeth".
1994 saw the release of Youthanasia as Megadeth moved further away from the thrash metal sound.
1995 saw the release of Hidden Treasures, a collection of previously unreleased tracks.
1997, After a long hiatus, Megadeth released their seventh studio album, Cryptic Writings. It is an even lighter work than the previous albums, varying between heavy rock and metal styles.
1999 saw the release of Risk, perhaps the album furthest from Megadeth's musical roots. In the same year, long-time member Marty Friedman left the band.
In 2001, Megadeth returned to a more conventional sound with the release of The World Needs A Hero.
In 2004, after a considerable period of time due to the band's scattered line-up and an injury to Mustaine's arm, the album The System Has Failed was released, originally intended to be a solo project for Mustaine, and was recorded with a number of guest players, including the band's original guitarist Chris Poland. A month after the album's release, Mustaine formed a new line-up with his brothers - guitarist Glen Drover and drummer Shawn Drover - and bassist James MacDonough. He is later replaced by James LoMenzo.
In 2007, Megadeth signed to Roadrunner Records and released the band's eleventh album, United Abominations. In 2008, guitarist Glen Drover was replaced by Chris Broderick.
The band's twelfth album, Endgame, was released in 2009 to considerable critical acclaim and success.
