Noisey is reporting that Nick Menza, a former drummer for thrash metal pioneer Megadeth, has died. Menza collapsed on stage during a performance with his new band, Ohm, on Saturday night. The cause of death is being listed as heart failure.
Menza joined Megadeth in 1989, after serving for a year for as the drum technician—and potential stand-in, in the event that substance abuse rendered him unable to tour—for his predecessor, Chuck Behler. Menza ultimately played for nine years with the group, the second-longest tenure for a drummer in a band with a notoriously high turnover rate, at least for anyone who wasn’t bassist David Ellefson or frontman Dave Mustaine.
Menza’s run with the group—stretching from 1990’s Rust In Peace to 1997’s Cryptic Writings—is generally viewed as “classic” Megadeth, with Rust In Peace moving the band from underground success into the wider mainstream metal world. His drums appear on a number of the band’s most well-known songs, including “Symphony Of Destruction,” Hanger 18,” and “Trust,” the success of which marked Megadeth’s transition into more commercial rock.