Megadeth Tickets

More than 30 years ago, Dave Mustaine formed the band MEGADETH and pioneered the genre that became known worldwide as thrash metal. And from the very beginning, the band clearly emerged as one of the most distinctive on the hard music scene, pushing thrash to the limits of musical ferocity and instrumental virtuosity on early releases like their debut Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! from 1985 and the seminal Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? from 1986.

In the ensuing decades, MEGADETH have earned their place as one of metal's most influential and respected bands - not to mention one of its most successful. They have sold more than 38 million albums worldwide, won numerous awards including the 2017 GRAMMY® Award for "Best Metal Performance" for the title track "Dystopia," 12 GRAMMY® nominations and five consecutive platinum albums. With sheer determination and tireless recording and touring, MEGADETH have worked their way up from headlining clubs to headlining arenas, festivals and stadiums, cementing a legacy that continues to grow and spread across the globe.

The band's origins date back to 1984, when Dave Mustaine was determined to form a new band that would be heavier and faster than its peers. Mustaine quickly matured in his songwriting and decided to combine the attitude and energy of punk with the power and intricate riffing of metal along with direct sociopolitical lyrical content. With David Ellefson on bass and Gar Samuelson on drums, the band recorded their infamous three-song demo, which quickly spread through the underground cassette dealer circuit and became an underground hit, leading to a deal with Combat Records. The 1985 debut album Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good was the album that laid the foundation and established MEGADETH as one of the four pioneers, known as the "Big Four", who practically invented the genre and whose debut album was named "the greatest thrash metal debut album of all time" by television station VH1.

MEGADETH quickly signed to Capitol Records and in 1986 released their debut Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?, which became the band's first gold record and MEGADETH's first platinum album, described by Pitchfork as "everything that's great about hardcore, plus a dose of showmanship that makes even lesser musicians' fingers bleed." It was followed by the platinum-selling So Far, So Good, So What! (1988), the GRAMMY®-nominated, platinum-selling Rust In Peace (1990) and the twice-platinum Countdown To Extinction. "She-Wolf" is from the GRAMMY®-nominated and Top Ten-selling album Cryptic Writings (1997).

In 2016, MEGADETH reintroduced themselves as a legendary metal formation led by visionary singer, guitarist and songwriter Dave Mustaine and released their fifteenth studio effort, Dystopia. The title track "Dystopia" won the 2017 GRAMMY® Award for "Best Metal Performance." The album, on which Mustaine was rejoined by regular bassist David Ellefson, was the first MEGADETH effort to feature new guitarist Kiko Louriero and drummer Chris Adler, the latter on loan from Lamb of God. Together, they brought a new level of musical venom and instrumental prowess to an already pretty potent brew.

Since the release of MEGADETH, they have toured continuously around the world in support of Dystopia, with Dirk Verbeuren joining them as MEGADETH's full-time drummer. In between touring, the band was composing and recording in the studio when MEGADETH's plans were temporarily sidelined by Mustaine's cancer diagnosis late last year.

More than three decades on from the release of Killing Is My Business, and in the wake of benchmark metal masterpieces like 1990's Peace Sells, Rust in Peace, 2009's Endgame and 2016's Dystopia, the thrash legends show no signs of slowing down with Mustaine firmly at the helm.