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Nick Menza

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Musician

The Resume

    (July 23, 1964-May 21, 2016)
    Born in Munich, Germany
    Drummer in Megadeth (1989-98)
    Played on the albums ‘Rust in Peace’ (1990), ‘Countdown to Extinction’ (1992), ‘Youthanasia’ (1994) and ‘Cryptic Writings’ (1997)
    Was also a member of the bands Rhoads, Orphaned to Hatred, Deltanaut and OHM
    Recorded the solo album ‘Life After Deth’ (2002)

Why he might be annoying:

    He almost became a member of Slayer, but was passed over when original drummer Dave Lombardo returned (1988).
    He was fired from a Megadeth reunion tour during rehearsals, with Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine saying he ‘just wasn’t prepared.’ (2004)
    Mustaine later said about fan pressure to reunite with Menza and Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, ‘That makes as much sense as somebody saying ‘Put a rotten tooth back in your mouth.’’
    Six years after nearly losing his arm in an accident with a power saw, he auctioned off the bloody saw blade and an autographed set of x-rays of the damage (2013).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was trained by jazz legend Buddy Rich. (Partly because his father, Don Menza, played sax in Rich’s band.)
    Before joining Megadeth, he was drum technician for their previous drummer, Chuck Behler.
    While in the hospital recovering from surgery to remove a benign tumor from his knee, he got a phone call from Mustaine who said, ‘Your services are not needed anymore.’
    After leaving Megadeth, he largely supported himself through woodworking, including making and selling hundreds of cajons (a Peruvian percussion instrument often featured in Latin jazz).
    He suffered a fatal heart attack while performing at a jazz club in Studio City, California.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 57 Votes: 85.96% Annoying