Nicholas Menza (July 23, 1964 – May 21, 2016) was an American musician best known as the drummer for
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
from 1989 to 1998. He recorded drums on four of Megadeth's albums: ''
Rust in Peace
''Rust in Peace'' is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 24, 1990 by Capitol Records. It was the first Megadeth album to feature lead guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. The songs " Ha ...
'' (1990), ''
Countdown to Extinction
''Countdown to Extinction'' is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on July 14, 1992, through Capitol Records. It was the group's second studio release to feature the "classic" lineup of Dave Mustaine, Marty ...
'' (1992), ''
Youthanasia
''Youthanasia'' is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994, through Capitol Records. It is stylistically similar to their previous album, ''Countdown to Extinction'' (1992). The title is a pl ...
'' (1994), and ''
Cryptic Writings
''Cryptic Writings'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on June 17, 1997 through Capitol Records, it was the band's last studio album to feature drummer Nick Menza. His departure would mark the end of t ...
'' (1997).
Early life
Menza was born in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Germany, where his father, jazz musician
Don Menza
Don Menza (born April 22, 1936) is an American jazz saxophonist.
Career
Menza was born in Buffalo, New York. After serving in the U.S. Army, he was part of the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra from 1960 to 1962 and then briefly worked for Stan Kento ...
, had been stationed with the U.S. Army. He began playing drums at the age of two, at which age he performed at his first public concert when during the intermission someone sat him down on
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer.
Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, ...
's drums and he proceeded to play. Menza's influences stem from being nurtured around the tutelage of such notables as
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time.
Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...
,
Steve Gadd
Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...
,
Nick Ceroli
Nicholas Mathew Ceroli (December 22, 1939 – August 11, 1985) was an American jazz drummer.
Biography
Ceroli was born in Niles, Ohio, United States. He did a tour of Central and South America in 1963 with Ray Anthony, and that same year ...
,
Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...
, and
Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...
.
Beginning his professional musical career at the age of 18, drumming in the band Rhoads featuring singer Kelle Rhoads, brother of the late
Randy Rhoads
Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo alb ...
, Menza released his first record with Rhoads, titled ''Into the Future'', in Europe in 1986.
Following Rhoads, Menza was part of a succession of Los Angeles metal bands, including The Green (with Rhoads bandmates John Goodwin on guitar and Darwin Ballard on bass), Von Skeletor (another collaboration with Goodwin and Michael Guillory on guitars, Cam Daigneault on drums, and Menza handling lead vocals on the band's demo and self-released album, ''Injection of Death''), and Cold Fire (also featuring
Warrior
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have been p ...
guitarist Joe Floyd) before joining Megadeth.
Career
Moving on to session playing including styles ranging from R&B to
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
,
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty
Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...
, Menza caught the attention of then
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
drummer
Chuck Behler
Charles Conrad Behler (; born June 13, 1965) is an American musician who played drums for the heavy metal band Megadeth from 1987 through 1989, recording the album '' So Far, So Good... So What!'' with the group in 1988. He also appeared in t ...
and became his tech. When Megadeth needed a drummer in 1989, Menza was asked by
Dave Mustaine
David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has releas ...
to join the band. Mustaine noted that Menza previously filled in on drums when Behler was unable to. Menza first played live with Megadeth on May 12, 1988, in Bradford, England. This prior experience and personal relationship led to the invitation to join Megadeth for the 1990 recording ''
Rust in Peace
''Rust in Peace'' is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 24, 1990 by Capitol Records. It was the first Megadeth album to feature lead guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. The songs " Ha ...
''.
For the next ten years, Menza became associated with Megadeth's "classic" period and also his Greg Voelker Rack System. This included a double-bass drum kit with the tom-toms mounted on a lower chrome rack and all cymbal crashes mounted on a higher rack, which was supported by two chrome bars behind the drummer. This was later adopted by Megadeth on 2004's Blackmail the Universe tour, which featured a similar rack system.
During his stint in Megadeth, Menza also played drums on his bandmate
Marty Friedman
Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until ...
Introduction
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
'' (1994) and ''
True Obsessions
''True Obsessions'' is the fourth studio album by guitarist Marty Friedman, released on April 17, 1996 through EMI Music Japan, Toshiba EMI (Japan) and October 8, 1996 through Shrapnel Records (United States).Cryptic Writings
''Cryptic Writings'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on June 17, 1997 through Capitol Records, it was the band's last studio album to feature drummer Nick Menza. His departure would mark the end of t ...
'', Menza was having knee problems and sought medical advice. He was informed he had a tumor, which was later found to be
benign
Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse.
Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous benign tumor, ''benign'' tumor in that a malign ...
, and had it removed. Rather than cancel any dates, Megadeth hired
Jimmy DeGrasso
Jimmy DeGrasso (born March 16, 1963) is an American heavy metal drummer.
DeGrasso played with Mama's Boys and Lita Ford before eventually working with Y&T and Megadeth and as a session or touring musician for Ozzy Osbourne (1986), White Lion ...
as a temporary replacement. When the time came to record a follow-up album, Menza was not asked back and DeGrasso became the band's official drummer. Menza has said in several interviews that, while in the hospital recovering from knee surgery, he received a phone call from Mustaine that simply said "Your services are not needed anymore". After his departure, he began work on ''Menza: Life After Deth'' with guitarist Anthony Gallo, bassist Jason Levin, and guitarist
Ty Longley
Ty Christopher Longley (September 4, 1971 – February 20, 2003) was an American guitarist. He was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Brookfield High School in Brookfield, Ohio. He joined the band Great White in 2000, played in ...
. The album was initially intended to have a 2002 release date and tour to follow; however, on the tour in 2003 with the reformed Great White, Longley was among the 100 people killed in
The Station nightclub fire
The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the evening's headlini ...
in Rhode Island and a year later Jason Levin died of heart failure, Menza and Gallo were devastated and the ''Life After Deth'' tour was never announced. Guest guitarist
Christian Nesmith
Christian DuVal Nesmith (born January 31, 1965) is an American musician from Los Angeles, California, and the eldest son of Michael Nesmith of the Monkees and Phyllis Gibson.
Nesmith has worked with his father (on the album '' The Garden''), Mic ...
, son of
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
'
Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966â ...
, did some leads and Menza hired producer
Max Norman
Max Norman is a British record producer and recording engineer active since 1973. He produced many acclaimed heavy metal releases.
While Norman was resident engineer at Ridge Farm Studios in London, Ozzy Osbourne was recording his debut solo ...
(
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
, Megadeth).
Following the reissue of the entire Megadeth catalog, Menza was invited to reunite with Megadeth in 2004. Days after a reunion was announced, Menza was fired after rehearsals and replaced with
Shawn Drover
Shawn Drover (born May 5, 1966) is a Canadian drummer, best known for his work with the American heavy metal band Megadeth.
He began playing the drums at the age of 13. In 1993 he founded the power metal band Eidolon with his brother Glen. H ...
. Mustaine said that this was because Menza "just wasn't prepared" for a full-scale U.S. tour, physically.
In April 2006, Menza joined the Los Angeles-based metal band Orphaned to Hatred. The group describe their sound as "a continuation of the heavy style of '90s
Pantera
Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...
". He left the band in late 2010.
Menza nearly suffered the loss of an arm in 2007, after having an accident with a power saw. He required reconstructive surgery and metal plates in his arm and a lengthy rehabilitation, but later recovered. Menza later auctioned off the blood-stained saw blade and an original copy of an X-ray from the incident.
In March 2011, Menza appeared in a music video for Mindstreem's "We Up Next", a song originally written by
SIN 34
SIN 34 was an American hardcore punk rock band formed in 1981 in Santa Monica, California. The band featured a female front-person, Julie Lanfeld-Keskin. The band's rhythm section would go on to form Painted Willie in 1984, and sign with SST ...
guitarist Anthony Gallo featuring Tony Lanza and Daniel Wayne, Jr. on vocals. The actual recording is Menza (drums), Gallo (guitars), Gregg Babuccio (bass), and Tony Lanza and Daniel Wayne Jr. (vocals).
Also in March 2011, Menza's band Deltanaut posted a video for the song "Sacrifice" in conjunction with the release of their
Roy Z
Roy Z (born February 1968) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Bruce Dickinson (from Iron Maiden), Halford, and Judas Priest. He also is the founder of Tribe of Gypsies, a Latin-influenced har ...
produced digital-only five-song EP. The lineup consisted of Menza, his old Rhoads and The Green bandmate, bassist Darwin Ballard, guitarists Christopher Grady and Colin Reid, and lead vocalist Brian Williams. Menza's father
Don
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
plays saxophone on the song "The King"; other guests include Roy Z on guitar and Ed Roth on keyboards.
In 2015, Menza contributed drum tracks to the song "Are We Alone?" on the album ''Warless Society (The Global Invasion)'' by Ci2i, with John Goodwin and Darwin Ballard on guitar and bass, respectively. In 2015, he also began working with Los Angeles band Sweet Eve on their follow up album "The Immortal Machine" as producer and drummer.
Death
On May 21, 2016, Menza was performing with his band OHM at
The Baked Potato
The Baked Potato is a prominent jazz club on Cahuenga Boulevard in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, opened by Don Randi (father of bassist Leah Randi) in 1970. Randi formed his own group, Don Randi and Quest, as the house band. Over the ye ...
jazz club in
Studio City, Los Angeles
Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...
. Only three songs into the set, Menza collapsed onstage. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. An autopsy later showed the cause of death to be
atherosclerotic
Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually no sy ...
,
hypertensive
Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...
-induced
congestive heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
. Menza was 51.
Bands
* Rhoads (1986–1987)
*Cold Fire (1988)
*
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
(1989–1998, 2004)
*
Marty Friedman
Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until ...
Rust in Peace
''Rust in Peace'' is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 24, 1990 by Capitol Records. It was the first Megadeth album to feature lead guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. The songs " Ha ...
'' (1990)
*''
Countdown to Extinction
''Countdown to Extinction'' is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on July 14, 1992, through Capitol Records. It was the group's second studio release to feature the "classic" lineup of Dave Mustaine, Marty ...
'' (1992)
*''
Youthanasia
''Youthanasia'' is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994, through Capitol Records. It is stylistically similar to their previous album, ''Countdown to Extinction'' (1992). The title is a pl ...
'' (1994)
*''
Nativity in Black
''Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath'' are two Black Sabbath tribute albums, released in 1994 and 2000 respectively. The albums feature various heavy metal groups performing cover versions of Black Sabbath songs in tribute to the band.
...
'' – ''Tribute to Black Sabbath'' (1994)
*'' Hidden Treasures'' (1995)
*''
Cryptic Writings
''Cryptic Writings'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on June 17, 1997 through Capitol Records, it was the band's last studio album to feature drummer Nick Menza. His departure would mark the end of t ...
Arsenal of Megadeth
''Arsenal of Megadeth'' is a DVD by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on March 21, 2006 via Capitol. Presented as an anthology of the band's first 20 years, the two-disc DVD set contains music videos, live performances, interviews, h ...
'' (2006)
*''
Warchest
''Warchest'' is a box set from the American heavy metal band Megadeth. ''Warchest'' features five discs (4 CD + DVD) and features studio tracks, demos and live recordings of a number of the band's songs from its first ten studio albums and rar ...
Introduction
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
'' (1994)
*''
True Obsessions
''True Obsessions'' is the fourth studio album by guitarist Marty Friedman, released on April 17, 1996 through EMI Music Japan, Toshiba EMI (Japan) and October 8, 1996 through Shrapnel Records (United States).Reduced to Ashes'' (2006)