Megadeth and Exodus

Formerly the lead guitarist of highly revered metal band Metallica, Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth alongside bassist David Ellefson in 1983. Alongside Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer, Megadeth is credited as being one of the driving forces of thrash metal music over the ‘80s and ‘90s, dropping the progressive rock influences common and instead emphasizing the skills of its instrumentalists.

In the early years, Megadeth’s line-up changed regularly. In 1984, it replaced Lee Rausch with jazz fusion drummer Gar Samuelson and guitarist Chris Poland. The band’s debut album, Killing Is My Business… and Business is Good!, released through Combat Records in 1985, attracted major label interest and became popular in both underground and mainstream metal circles.

After signing with Capitol Records, Megadeth released its major-label debut Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? in 1986, which eventually went platinum, followed by So Far, So Good… So What! in 1988.

Around that time, Mustaine’s behavior became erratic, leading him to enter rehab and the band to partially break up. After hiring guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. Megadeth’s fourth studio album Rust in Peace, signaled the group’s return.

In the hope of appealing to the same mainstream audience Metallica did, Megadeth stripped back their sound on Countdown to Extinction in 1992, but lost none of the technical proficiency fans had come to expect. The album was certified double platinum and resulted in Megadeth becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.

Megadeth’s sixth full-length album Youthanasia in 1994 followed the same mainstream trend as its predecessor, and was succeeded by a rare collection of unheard recordings titled Hidden Treasures. The band subsequently released Cryptic Writings in 1997, Risk in 1998 with former Suicidal Tendencies drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, and The World Needs a Hero in 2001.

In 2002 Mustaine relapsed on his drug addiction after receiving pain medication following the removal of a kidney stone. He subsequently suffered nerve damage to his left arm, which left the guitarist unable to use his left arm. After temporarily disbanding Megadeth, Mustaine underwent a great deal of physical and mental therapy before releasing the compilation album Still Alive… and Well?.

The band reformed in 2004, and has since released The System Has Failed (2004), United Abominations (2007), Endgame (2009), Thirteen (2011) and Super Collider (2013). Megadeth has sold over 50 million records worldwide, earned platinum certification for six of their fourteen studio albums. The band has been nominated for 12 Grammy awards, and won its first Grammy for the song “Dystopia” in 2017 for Best Metal Performance.

Due to COVID-19, Megadeth’s tour, The Metal Tour of the Year with Lamb of God, Trivium, and In Flames, was postponed from the summer of 2020 to 2021, with Hatebreed replacing In Flames due to visa complications.

In early 2021, Megadeth announced the upcoming release of its next studio album during a Masterclass Zoom video. Leading up to the album’s release, the song “The Dogs of Chernobyl” dropped and drummed up a lot of fan anticipation. However, before The Sick, the Dying...and the Dead! was officially released, sexually explicit videos of Ellefson surfaced online. He was subsequently dismissed from the band and formally replaced by James LoMenzo.

To create buzz around the replacement, the band released a photo showing the neck of the bass guitar and the new band member without revealing his identity.

Over the course of its 39-year career, Megadeth has had numerous guitarists, drummers, and bassists. Mustaine has the distinction of being the only original band member still in the group. Following the dismissal of Ellefson, the band’s current lineup includes Mustaine, drummer Dirk Verbeuren, guitarist Kiko Loureiro, and bassist James LoMenzo.

To promote the album, the band is currently on tour again. The current tour, The Killing Road, stretches across the globe, hitting several major cities. It will continue through late 2023, so keep an eye on the band’s official website for timely updates on Megadeth tour dates, tickets, and cool fan perks.

The band boasts a dedicated fanbase. In return, Megadeth offers some fantastic fan merchandise and benefits. For the current tour, there are VIP packages available for the die-hard fans out there.

The Exclusive Viewing Area Experience includes a premium reserved ticket or a general admission pit ticket — plus, VIP early access to the venue, a photo with the band, a commemorative VIP laminate, and more. The Q&A Experience includes a premium reserved ticket or a general admission pit ticket — plus, a special Q&A session with the band, exclusive VIP merchandise, and a collectible Megadeth poster. These VIP packages have limited availability, so be sure to purchase early.

Membership is open for true Megadeth fans to join the Cyber Army Fan Club. There are multiple levels of membership, including a free tier. The top membership tier, the premium level, comes with loads of perks and exclusive access to members-only contests, giveaways, and prizes.

Megadeth creates tons of fan merchandise. For beer lovers, the band even has its own beer line, which includes two tasty selections: Unibroue Megadeth A Tout Le Monde and Unibroue Megadeth Saison 13. Purchase the gift set, which also comes with a Megadeth-branded pint glass, to try them both.

The band has its own mascot named Vic Rattlehead. The mascot regularly appears on stage with the group during performances and on tours. He is also featured on album cover artwork and promotional materials.

Megadeth hosted its own music festival, dubbed Gigantour, in July 2005 and numerous times since then. The group also had a MegaCruise in October 2019.

With a career behind them that - on and off, with a few breaks - has now spanned more than thirty years, Exodus have proved to have had more longevity than many of their eighties heavy metal contemporaries, even if you have to concede that the lineup has by no means been stable down the years. As things stand, drummer Tom Hunting is the only founding member of the band to still be involved, although he only rejoined as recently as 2007; the rest of the present lineup includes longtime axeman Gary Holt on guitar, Steve Souza - around since 1986 - on vocals, Jack Gibson on bass and Lee Altus on guitar.

The band’s original lead guitarist was Kirk Hammett, now best known for being the longtime lead player in metal titans Metallica; James Hetfield’s men, along with Exodus and Testament, all hail from the Bay Area of California and are considered pioneers of the thrash metal genre. With a career spanning ten full-length records, countless tours and no fewer than five million albums sold, Exodus show no signs of slowing down; their 2014 release ‘Blood In, Blood Out’ met with fine reviews in the metal community and beyond, and was also their highest charting album in twenty-four years.