MEGADETH

Megadeth began in 1983 with its roots in thrash metal, a genre that its founder, singer/songwriter and guitarist Dave Mustaine helped pioneer. Mustaine's musical roots began early on listening to AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, and took form in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal when he joined Metallica in 1982. Megadeth emerged in 1985 at the forefront of the thrash/speed metal scene with their seminal debut "Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good", and continued on a blistering path of albums and tours throughout the decade. The nickname "world's state-of-the-art speed metal band" and the critic-coined "intelligent metal" were often used to describe Megadeth's sound, referring to Mustaine's niche for angry, witty, intelligent lyrics about topics like politics, drugs and war, fused with aggressive, intricate guitar structures and a jazz-influenced rhythm section. The 90's saw a change in Megadeth's sound with the polished and commercial "Countdown To Extinction" album, which skyrocketed them into multi-platinum success and MTV stardom. The incorporation of this new sound would be a trademark of every release to come, and would eventually earn them 10 Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance and 7 platinum certifications. After a brief hiatus early in the 2000's, Mustaine triumphantly returned with a comeback album, a heavy metal festival called Gigantour and a new display of prodigious musicians to back him. The band's legacy continues with 2009's critically acclaimed "Endgame", which debuted at #9 on the Billboard charts and 2010's multi-platinum "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" featuring the "Big Four" of 1980's thrash metal — Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. Megadeth's 13th studio album, "TH1RT3EN" was released on November 1, 2011 debuting at position #1 on The Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart and #11 on the Billboard 200. The album was recorded at Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California with producer Johnny K. Megadeth's 14th studio album is in the works and is tentatively due for release in early 2013.