Megadeth

Dave Mustaine on guitar and vocals joined forces with bassist David Ellefson to launch Megadeth in 1983, establishing the band as one of the era’s most celebrated and commercially potent thrash metal acts that continued thriving well into later decades. Alongside Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer, the quartet formed the genre’s “big four,” stretching the standard metal framework through accelerated tempos and a spotlight on blistering technical guitar prowess. Mustaine’s bleak, nihilistic songwriting paired with the ensemble’s ferocious instrumental drive produced a run of foundational thrash landmarks. The 1986 album Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying? and the 1992 release Countdown to Extinction each moved millions of units while shaping the following wave of speed metal groups, whereas 2007’s United Abominations, the Grammy-winning Dystopia from 2016, and 2022’s The Sick, The Dying... And the Dead! underscored the group’s enduring creative momentum.

Across Megadeth’s frequent roster shifts, the constant anchors remained bassist David Ellefson and guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, born September 13, 1961, who served as the outfit’s primary guiding force. Raised in Southern California suburbs by his mother amid family instability, Mustaine often found himself under the care of relatives who discouraged his musical interests and mocked his devotion to heavy metal. In 1981 he co-founded Metallica with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, spending two years cultivating a devoted underground following in the California metal scene until his departure in 1983, reportedly tied to substance issues. Right after the exit, Mustaine assembled Megadeth alongside Ellefson, Slayer guitarist Kerry King, and drummer Lee Rauch, though that configuration dissolved almost immediately, prompting the addition of guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson.

Megadeth spent the ensuing years building an audience through relentless touring before inking a deal with independent label Combat late in 1984. Their debut Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! arrived the next year to enthusiastic notices in both metal-focused outlets and broader music press, achieving robust sales for an indie effort that drew major-label interest. By year’s end the band had moved to Capitol, issuing its first major-label effort, Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?, in fall 1986; the album again earned strong reviews and sales, eventually attaining platinum status.

Even as the band’s prospects brightened, Mustaine’s heroin use deepened and began undermining his reliability, spawning numerous tales of erratic conduct within metal circles. Those accounts gained credibility when he dismissed both Poland and Samuelson ahead of the third album, bringing in guitarist Jeff Young and drummer Chuck Behler. The revised lineup surfaced on 1988’s So Far, So Good... So What!, which climbed to number 28 on the charts, later certified platinum despite mixed critical response, and included a widely noted cover of the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK” featuring altered lyrics.

Mustaine’s addictions continued to hamper progress in the years after So Far, So Good... So What!. Early in 1990 he faced arrest for driving under the influence and entered rehabilitation; by year’s end he had achieved sobriety and reassembled the group, replacing Young and Behler with guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. That lineup delivered the more progressive fourth album Rust in Peace, which reached number 23 on U.S. charts and attained platinum certification. After Metallica’s mainstream breakthrough in 1991, Mustaine streamlined Megadeth’s approach while preserving technical intensity, resulting in Countdown to Extinction, released in 1992. The record debuted at number two, earned double-platinum status, and became the band’s largest commercial success, proving the group retained its core following amid the rise of grunge.

Now among the world’s leading metal acts, Megadeth leaned further toward mainstream appeal with 1994’s Youthanasia, which entered the charts at number four and achieved platinum sales. The following year brought Hidden Treasures, a collection of rarities that showcased soundtrack contributions expanding the band’s early-’90s MTV reach. Cryptic Writings, issued in 1997, found Megadeth embraced by album-rock radio formats that had previously ignored the group. Former Suicidal Tendencies drummer Jimmy DeGrasso joined in 1998 ahead of the next year’s Risk. After 2000’s best-of compilation Capitol Punishment, Marty Friedman departed following Nick Menza’s exit and was succeeded by Al Pitrelli, previously of Savatage and Alice Cooper. The refreshed lineup debuted on 2001’s The World Needs a Hero after the band signed with Sanctuary, a BMG subsidiary.

During a touring break in January 2002, Mustaine sustained a severe injury in Texas that led to a diagnosis of radial neuropathy, rendering him unable to play guitar. The resulting nerve compression in his left arm and hand left the group with no option but to disband in April 2002 after nearly two decades. During his recovery Mustaine oversaw an extensive reissue program, remastering each album and adding bonus material, which laid groundwork for a 2004–2005 resurgence highlighted by the comeback release The System Has Failed and extensive touring. Capitol issued a new best-of titled Greatest Hits as Megadeth headlined Mustaine’s Gigantour festival that summer. The politically charged United Abominations followed in 2007, succeeded by the similarly apocalyptic Endgame in 2009. Th1rt3en arrived in 2011 as the first Megadeth album since The World Needs a Hero to feature founding bassist Dave Ellefson and production from Johnny K (Staind, Disturbed). Blending new tracks with previously unrecorded older material, the record delivered some of the band’s heaviest and darkest songs in years. In 2012 the group toured performing Countdown to Extinction in full, yielding the live album Countdown to Extinction: Live the next year. Super Collider, their fourteenth studio effort, appeared in 2013; shortly afterward Mustaine announced via the band’s site that songwriting for the follow-up had already begun.

Challenges accumulated over the next two years. Mustaine’s mother-in-law, battling Alzheimer’s, disappeared in October 2014 and was found deceased at a campground the following November. Ellefson’s brother died after battling cancer, prompting a short hiatus for support. Rumors of a possible Rust in Peace lineup reunion preceded the departures of drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick. Recording finally commenced in April 2015 at a Nashville studio with new guitarist Kiko Loureiro (Angra) and drummer Chris Adler (on loan from Lamb of God). Co-produced by Mustaine and Toby Wright, mixed by Josh Wilbur, and featuring orchestrations by renowned Music City arranger Ronn Huff (father of producer Dann Huff), the project yielded Dystopia. Mustaine previewed artwork and track listing in late July; the pre-release single “Fatal Illusion” followed in October before the full album dropped in January 2016. Dystopia became the band’s second-highest-charting record after Countdown to Extinction, and its title track earned the 2017 Grammy for Best Metal Performance—Megadeth’s first Grammy win following several prior nominations.

A deluxe reissue of the debut, Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! The Final Kill, surfaced in 2018, encompassing a remastered original, live recordings from England, Germany, and the U.S. between 1986 and 1990, a three-track 1984 demo, and the rare cover “These Boots.” The next year Mustaine personally curated 35 tracks spanning the band’s studio catalog for the anthology Warheads on Foreheads, released in March 2019.

Studio work on the successor to Dystopia began later that year but encountered multiple setbacks. Mustaine received a throat-cancer diagnosis, the Covid-19 pandemic curtailed the 2020 tour, and longtime bassist Dave Ellefson departed in 2021 after sexually explicit videos involving him and a young fan appeared online. Mustaine nevertheless committed to continuing, and the band completed its sixteenth studio album, The Sick, The Dying... And the Dead!, between 2019 and 2022. Ellefson’s bass parts were excised after his dismissal, with Testament’s Steve Di Giorgio supplying new lines. The release also marked the debut of drummer Dirk Verbeuren, included a guest appearance by Ice-T, and featured digital bonus tracks with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals for a cover of his 1979 song “This Planet’s on Fire (Burn in Hell)” plus a spirited version of the Dead Kennedys’ “Police Truck.” Six years separated Dystopia and The Sick..., the longest interval between studio albums in Megadeth’s nearly forty-year history.