Born in the wake of Dave Mustaine's dismissal from Metallica, Megadeth are arguably the most complex and integral of the big four thrash bands.
Megadeth's muscianship has been the cornerstone of the band's popularity. Though Mustaine is the only consistent member throughout the group's history, he has proven as talented at surrounding himself with extraordinary musicians as he is at playing guitar and writing instantly memorable thrash tunes.
While Megadeth's lineup seems an ever-evolving roster of metal's elite, below is a visual guide by year of the band's past and present members - and yes, Kerry King did play briefly with Megadeth during the group's embryonic stage.
“It's like saying, ‘Give a man a Les Paul, and he becomes Eric Clapton. It's not true’”: David Gilmour and Roger Waters hit back at criticism of the band's over-reliance on gear and synths when crafting The Dark Side of The Moon in newly unearthed clip
“The main acoustic is a $100 Fender – the strings were super-old and dusty. We hate new strings!” Meet Great Grandpa, the unpredictable indie rockers making epic anthems with cheap acoustics – and recording guitars like a Queens of the Stone Age drummer
