The Birth of Megadeth

Shortly after being kicked out of Metallica, Dave Mustaine went back to Los Angeles to get back on his feet and to find a way to get back at Metallica for abandoning him. The first aspects of Megadeth began to form when Dave met his soon to be bass player David Ellefson, who was living in the same apartment complex as Dave. David first met Dave while practicing his bass and after a few beers they decided to form a band. They had auditions for the remaining spots. Greg Handevidt and Dijon Carruthers, two jazz musicians, filled the rolls of secondary guitar and drummer. No vocalist was found so Dave decided to fill the roll himself. The band name Megadeth came from the actual word megadeath which is a term for one million deaths; Dave thought it sounded cool so it stuck.