Left to right: James Lomenzo - Bass Guitar, Dirk Verbeuren - Drums, Dave Mustaine - Lead Vocals & Guitar, Teemu Mäntysaari - Guitar
Megadeth are one of the pioneers of Thrash Metal, a subgenre of metal known for it's more fast and aggressive style. Other bands well known for this style include Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer.
Megadeth were formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by lead vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine, who has remained the only consistent member of the band since then.
Dave originally played guitar with Metallica, but was ejected from the band due to the behaviour caused by his addictions. It was then he formed Megadeth with bass player David Ellefson, guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson.
The band's first album, titled 'Killing is my Business... And Business is Good!' released in 1985 to good reviews and moderate success, beginning the 40 plus year journey of a band that would become genre icons.
Vic Rattlehead, an idea conceived by Mustaine, has become known as the bands mascot. He is a skeleton with a steel visor across his eyes, staples on his mouth and metal caps with chains hanging from where his ears would be. Vic has appeared on almost every Megadeth albom cover, as well as countless t-shirts and other merchandise. Vic has also joined the band on stage for some shows. Also, on a personal note, Vic is my one and only tattoo as of writing.
In 2025, Megadeth officially announced that the band was coming to an end with one final album and a world tour.
In February 2026, the final, self titled album was released and plans and dates are starting to roll out for the farewell tour. Megadeth have been a part of my life for almost 25 years and seeing it all end has been an emotional experience for me. I've only managed to see them live a
few times so I hope I can get tickets to be there and say goodbye to my favourite band in person.