The band behind the Megadeth merch and albums are credited for being one of the pioneers of heavy metal thrash music. It wasn’t a very smooth path for the band though. They probably even took what many would say was an unlikely route to success.
For the band, everything started with the story of Dave Mustaine’s life. Megadeth has been in existence for almost thirty years and in this span of time, Mustaine has never wavered as its founder and main mover. He was so dedicated to the group that he once was the vocalist, lyricist and guitar player all at one time.
Megadeth wasn’t initially in Mustaine’s sights. After all, he was already a member of a rising act, Metallica. To date, his own band still trails in commercial sales to Metallica. While playing for the rock hall of fame group, drug use took the better of him and this led to his exit from the group. Mustaine became so enraged that he promised to one day exact revenge on the group that rejected him.
At the time of his exit, Mustaine thought that the best revenge would be to form Megadeth and soon create a Megadeth album that would be so much heavier and quicker than anything by Metallica that fans in goth clothing will flock to them in droves. The feeling of bitterness and the urge for revenge was so strong that the band’s characteristic sound and its name were intentionally adopted because they represented destruction and widespread death. Besting Metallica took on the form of extremely loud music that would leave audiences shell shocked.
Drug use issues however never left Mustaine and it even became a problem for band members as well. The overuse and misuse of drugs is one of the reasons cited for the constant change in band membership. The group has registered a surprising 20 members. That’s nearly one band member for every year and a half that the band has been around. Aside from drug use problems though, personal reasons have also been cited by previous members for deciding to leave the group.
Apparently, drugs became such a big deal with the band members that their first release in 1985, Killing is My Business… and Business is Good! almost didn’t come out because they used half of their already measly budget on drugs. They were however, able to self-produce the album and it was thought to be good enough to merit the start of a fan base.
Drug use and band membership problems endured but this did not stop the band from making more albums. They now have a total of 12 albums released. After their debut, they released Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying, So Far, So Good… So What!, Rust in Peace, Countdown to Extinction, Youthanasia, Cryptic Writings, Risk, The World Needs a Hero, The System has Failed, United Abominations and Endgame.
Apparently, there are songs in Megadeth albums that almost seem like Metallica songs. Obviously, Megadeth would not appreciate the comparison but the similarities are clear in the long instrumental parts and the solo guitar plays. The bands definitely don’t fit the same black hoodie though. What sets Megadeth apart from Metallica is its abrasiveness. Also, they tackle many different social and political issues such as war, drug use and suicide.