Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson, after Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums. A pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Megadeth rose to international fame in the 1980s and was ranked as one of the \"Big Four of Thrash\" along with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, who were responsible for creating, developing and popularizing the thrash metal sub-genre.
Over the band's 29 active years, over 20 different people have officially performed as part of the group, with Mustaine being the only constant member. Megadeth is known for its distinctive, technical instrumental style that often features dense, intricate passages and trade-off guitar solos. Megadeth is also known for recurring lyrical themes including politics, war, addiction, personal relationships, and religion. Megadeth has sold over 38 million albums worldwide with six consecutive albums being certified platinum or multi-platinum in the US. As of 2012, Megadeth has received ten Grammy nominations
