Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, shortly after Mustaine’s dismissal from Metallica. Mustaine wanted the new band to play faster and heavier music than Metallica. According to Mustaine, the name “Megadeth” represents the annihilation of power. It is a misspelling of the term megadeath, meaning one million deaths by nuclear explosion. The name came from a pamphlet by California senator Alan Cranston that Mustaine found on the floor of a bus after being fired from Metallica. It read : “The arsenal of megadeath can’t be rid no matter what the peace treaties come to.”
A pioneer of the American thrash metal scene, the band is credited as one of the genre’s “big four” with An...