10 Biggest Band Blowups In Hard Rock
6. Chris Poland & Gar Samuelson - Megadeth
After Dave Mustaine got the boot from thrash legends Metallica, he returned to San Franciso with an intense fury. Determined not to be counted out, Mustaine put together Megadeth with bassist David Ellefson to create a band big enough to rival his former outfit. Though the band had a rock solid foundation with drummer Gar Samuelson and guitarist Chris Poland, everything went to Hell once drugs got involved.
Coming from the jazz scene, Samuelson and Poland had been nursing addictions to heroin shortly after the band had formed. Though the band had been prospering on the strength of the album Peace Sells, the new kids were taking all of their earnings and taking them straight to their dealers. The whole thing ended up getting out of hand when David Ellefson went to the rehearsal space one day and found a bunch of his instruments missing.
After questioning the rest of the band, it was revealed that Poland and Samuelson had run out of money and had been pawning the band's gear all over California in order to feed their habit. This ended up being the breaking point, with Mustaine quickly replacing them with Jeff Young and Chuck Behler on So Far So Good So What. Megadeth were not necessarily known for their clean lifestyle, but when you have to go to pawn shops to grab your own instruments, something's got to give.