Megadeth: The Tragic Death of Drummer Nick Menza
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Published 2021-09-10
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Drummer Nick Menza was part of what many considered the golden era, classic lineup of Megadeth from 1990 to 1998 along with frontman Dave Mustaine, bassist David Ellefson and guitarist Marty Freidman. Sidenote guys i’ve done a whole video on Marty Friedman’s career in the band, the link is down below. Menza would be fired from Megadeth but in the years that followed he appeared to have a complicated relationship with his former band. He would die in a truly shocking way long after he left Megadeth.. Today, let’s explore the life of nick menza.
Born to a musical family, Menza was born in Germany to a jazz saxophonist named Don Menza. His father had a pretty storied career playing with Buddy Richs band starting in 1968 and performed as a member of Johnny Carson’s tonight show band. Don would introduce his son to jazz, a style of music he continue to love during and after his time in Megadeth. Buddy Rich would even give drum lessons to Nick as a child & the aspiring drummer would play in front of his first audience at age 2 when someone placed him on Jack DeJohnette’s (dee-ja-net) drum throne during an intermission at a gig
His professional music career began at age 18 and he would play in a series of groups including Rhoads who was fronted by Randy Rhoads brother. He would even record with John Fogerty. By the late 80’s he would land a job as the Megadeth’s drum tech for Chuck Behler (Chuck Bayler) . Behler would be fired by mustaine over his drug use leading the frontman to ask Menza to join the group in 1989. He would appear on four megadeth albums with 1997’s cryptic writings being his last. The following year while out on tour to promote the album Menza learned of a tumor in his knee. He required surgery to remove it and thankfully for him it was benign. According to menza while he was in hospital recovering from surgery he would recall Mustaine calling him to let him know he was fired from the band.
David Ellefson would tell Metal Hammer why Menza was fired saying "It's funny, Nick has been and still is the most hailed and beloved member of the Megadeth legacy.
"Playing drums is hard, playing drums in Megadeth is even harder, and it beats the shit out of ya.
"Nick put in a lot of good years with us, but by 1998 [when he got fired], he was struggling to do the gig.
"There was a defining moment in Macer, Arizona, where I looked at him during some breaks in 'Darkest Hour' and it was like he was not present. He was beat up, you know?
Following his firing Menza turned his attention to raising his two kids and took up woodworking.
. Menza would recall to Metalholic “I took about 10, 12 years off to raise two boys” It was during this time that Nick made a living through his woodworking selling a perurvian percussion instrument known as a cajons. It was during this time in his life menza famously said “ i don’t want to be nick menza the drummer from megadeth. That chapter of my life is closed.” In addition to raising his kids Menza would still play music on the side putting out a single album under the monicker Menza. And play with the jazz fusion project called Ohm.
In 2004 Menza was thought to be rejoining Megadeth on tour as part of the blackmail the universe tour, but Mustaine revealed to radio station WRIF 101.1 "I had Nick Menza come in and play drums [during the rehearsals for the tour], and he just wasn't prepared. It just didn't work out. We tried for two weeks to get everything to happen, and it just didn't click. Five days before the tour started, I had to send him home.
According to Loudwire in 2007 Menza almost lost his arm due to a power saw accident. It would require him to get reconstrutive surgery. The saw responsible for the accident would be auctioned off by Menza years later. The accident didn’t stop menza from jumping back into music as he would continue to play with OHM.
In 2014 it was rumored that the classic lineup of Megadeth would be reuniting following the departure of guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover . Menza was approached by Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson to replace Drover at the end of 2014 and he would in fact begin working on new music with the band, but th
All Comments (21)
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Good video boss. Im his oldest son and years later still brings tears to my eyes. He was truely an amazing dad, and an amazing person in general. The last time we got to see him was 2 weeks before he passed while he was visiting us in Washington State. Which eriely enough he brough up dying on stage. 2 weeks later we got the news. Still not a day goes by we dont have him in our thoughts. Thanks for the good video and to the fans, thanks for all the continued love and support of my fathers legacy. Much love to all the metal and mega family.
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Massive fan, such a shame he died so early. He was a great drummer and musician/artist.
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One of the best thrash drummers along with Dave Lombardo. He was a beast.
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Side note, the guitarist in the band "OHM" is none other than original Megadeth lead guitarist Chris Poland.
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Kickass drummer,miss him alot. That era of Megadeth was by far the most enjoying for me,my favorite band.
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RIP Menza. His legacy is forever etched in those Megadeth albums and helped make one of the greatest metal albums ever released, Rust in Peace.
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It is sometimes very hard to know what to make of Mustaine.
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Nick Menza brought a Ferocity to the music he created with Megadeth. It hurt my heart when he passed...Salute.
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I had the pleasure of meeting his parents at the Omni New Daisy Theater in Memphis during the Rust in Peace tour. They were a little bit lost and didn’t know where to go so I lead them to the guest area and got a security guy with them. His mother hugged me and kissed my cheek. Later that evening as I was giving my all in the pit, I looked back at them and they were both smiling and waving at me real big. I was like everyone else when I heard the news, just crushed. He was an amazing talent with a wonderful family.
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Menza s drumming in rust in peace will never be forgotten. Thank you Nick
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I have one of his drum sticks. He threw it out and I caught it on the Hanger 18 tour. They played in after Testament on Judas Priest's on Painkiller tour. It was My 18th birthday and I also got autographs from Testament.
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Megadeth truly was at their peak during that era with Marty and Nick. When I think of Nick I always go back to that part of the band's cover of 'Paranoid' and the song ends but Nick keeps banging away. You then hear Dave's voice going "Nick.....NICK!!" before he silences the kit. Ahhhh, good times. I must be the worst fan though, as I didn't realize he had passed away. We've lost so many great musicians. I'm hoping that if there is a Rock and Roll heaven someone finds a way to pirate some music downloads so we get to hear all the greats jamming!!
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The best Megadeth drummer, to this day no one could fill his shoes
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I get the impression that dave mustaine always treated anyone in his band as his employees and not bandmates.
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I heard Mustane said he was lying about having Cancer & that was the final straw, but he did have a tumor, just because it turned out to be benign, it doesn't mean he was lying.
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Megadeth was never my cup of tea, but if you listen to them with an open mind they are ferociously talented musicians. RIP Nick.
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I remember he just started his own YT channel, he was chatting with us, fans, made great drumming vids... and one day, the news came... He dies the EXACT way he wanted (jokingly, ofc, but still!) - while drumming! Rust In Peace, Nick \m/
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Dave Mustaine talked so much shit about Nick Menza when he was alive and even accused him of faking his cancer diagnosis. How do you get a fake tumor removed?
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Best drummer of the big 4 in my opinion. Rust in is a drumming masterpiece and the best metal album of the 90s period. Rip Nick.🙏🏼😔
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I will never forget that day. Me and my gf were at the Rock n derby fest in Schaghticoke, NY, standing in front of the stage for Megadeth. The word spread fast. Dave dedicated a song to him. While playing, Dave had to walk back from the mic for a moment and Dave Ellefson took over vocals. It was an epic show and we were honored to be with the band in mourning. RIP Nick.
