Mustaine used to be part of another legendary band, Metallica. However, in 1983, he was fired from the group due to issues arising from his substance abuse. He vowed to form a band rivaling Metallica as revenge. He also wanted that band to play heavy metal, instead of rock, the genre that his former band played. He moved to Los Angeles, where he recruited his neighbor Ellefson to join him in his new endeavor.
They named the new band “Megadeth”, an alternative spelling of the word “megadeath”, which caught their attention on a political campaign pamphlet. In the meantime, Mustaine and Ellefson had trouble filling their line-up. A guitarist named Greg Handevidt only played with them a few months before getting kicked out. They eventually found a drummer, Lee Rausch. Meanwhile, Mustaine took on the lead vocalist role himself after spending much effort trying to find a proper singer to no avail.
In 1984, they produced a demo tape with three songs. They also started to do live Megadeth concert shows around California. This ultimately led to them having multiple choices in record labels - they went with the New York-based indie label Combat Records. So, their debut album came out in June 1985, with the title “Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!”. It became a moderate success, especially in the underground music scene, peaking at the #169 spot on the Billboard 200 list. At that point, the band line-up consisted of the two co-founders, Mustaine and Ellefson, as well as Chris Poland on the lead and rhythm guitars, and Gar Samuelson on the drums.
Since then, the prolific Californian metal band has produced 15 more studio albums, thus they have 16 in total. The best selling one among them so far has been “Countdown to Extinction” from July 1992, which peaked at the #2 spot on the Billboard 200 list. Meanwhile, the new Megadeth album is titled “The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!”, which came out in September 2022.
Megadeth’s biggest hits to date are “Holy Wars...The Punishment Due” (1990), “Symphony Of Destruction” (1992), “Sweating Bullets” (also 1992), and "À Tout Le Monde [Set Me Free]" (1994).
The band’s line-up has changed a lot in the almost 40 years of the band’s existence. Co-founder David Ellefson is no longer with them. He was originally kicked out in 2004. However, after a lawsuit and settlement, he was reinstated in 2010, just to be kicked out again in 2021 due to sexual misconduct allegations. Megadeth’s current members are the other co-founder, Mustaine, as well as bassist and backing vocalist James LoMenzo, guitarist Kiko Loureiro, and drummer Dirk Verbeuren. Check where the next Megadeth concert is taking place on the page above.
Top 10 most played songs by Megadeth in the last 40 concerts.
New to Megadeth? Listen to the best songs first ()
Symphony of Destruction
40
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
39
Trust
39
Hangar 18
38
We'll Be Back
38
Peace Sells
38
Dread and the Fugitive Mind
37
Sweating Bullets
37
Angry Again
35
Wake Up Dead
32
Setlist profile
Songs to be played live in the next setlist have been released on the following albums:
Next Setlist
Listen to the setlist of the Next Concert (playlist updated after every tour date):
How long is the concert?
Based on the average Setlist, Megadeth will be on stage for approx 1:42.
Here is the probable setlist based on previous concerts (99% probability):
Song title
Listen
Popularity
Buy
Hangar 18
Dread and the Fugitive Mind
Angry Again
Sweating Bullets
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
We'll Be Back
Dystopia
A tout le monde
Trust
Tornado of Souls
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Encore #1
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
Megadeth Tour Map 2024
Follow Megadeth around the world with this interactive Tour Map. Explore the places where you can catch Megadeth on tour.
11 Upcoming concerts, touring in the following countries:
Argentina,
Brazil,
Chile,
Colombia,
El Salvador,
France,
Mexico,
Paraguay,
Peru,
Uruguay,
etc.
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