Megadeth

Megadeth
Megadeth in 2010. From left to right: David Ellefson, Dave Mustaine, Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick. In the background artwork is mascot Vic Rattlehead.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Heavy metal thrash metal speed metal
Years active	1983–2002 2004–present
Labels	Combat Capitol Sanctuary Roadrunner Tradecraft
Associated acts	Metallica MD.45 F5 Slayer Angra Lamb of God Anthrax Soilwork
Website	www.megadeth.com
Members	Dave Mustaine David Ellefson Kiko Loureiro Dirk Verbeuren
Past members	cf. List of Megadeth members

Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson formed the band in 1983 shortly after Mustaine's dismissal from Metallica. A pioneer of the American thrash metal scene, the band is credited as one of the genre's "big four" with Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer, responsible for thrash metal's development and popularization. Megadeth plays in a technical style, featuring fast rhythm sections and complex arrangements. Themes of death, war, politics and religion are prominent in the song lyrics.

In 1985, the band released its debut album on the independent label Combat Records. The album's moderate commercial success caught the attention of bigger labels, which led to Megadeth signing with Capitol Records. Their first major-label album, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, was released in 1986 and influenced the underground metal scene. Despite its prominence in thrash metal, frequent disputes between its members and substance abuse issues brought Megadeth negative publicity during this period.

After the lineup stabilized, the band released a number of platinum-selling albums, including Rust in Peace (1990) and Countdown to Extinction (1992). These albums, along with touring worldwide, helped bring public recognition to Megadeth. The band temporarily disbanded in 2002 when Mustaine suffered an arm injury and re-established in 2004 without bassist Ellefson, who had taken legal action against Mustaine. Ellefson settled with Mustaine out of court and rejoined the group in 2010. Megadeth has hosted its own music festival, Gigantour, several times since mid-2005.