10 Times Megadeth Did It Better Than Metallica

Whereas Metallica had difficulty (whether due to death or resignations) with finding a permanent bass player, Megadeth has had a worse issue keeping a consistent drummer. Current stick man, Dick Verbeuren, is the band’s tenth. However, with the majority of Megadeth’s biggest tracks coming from the years 1989 and 1998, Nick Menza can be considered the quintessential Megadeth drummer.

German-born Nick Menza was the backbone of the rhythm section for the albums Rust In Peace, Countdown to Extinction, Youthanasia and Cryptic Writings, respectively. During Rust’s first track, Holy Wars, Menza is frenetic in his thrashing of the skins. The tone is brighter, the skins are tighter, and he just shines throughout six-minute onslaught.

In Countdown to Extinction, Menza experiments with a swing beat for the chorus of Sweating Bullets and helps establish it as one of Megadeth’s finest tracks. Menza demonstrates exactly how musicians can explore other styles within their signature genre.

Lars, on the other hand, has just been consistently okay throughout his forty-year tenure with Metallica. His skins are looser, giving the rhythm section of the band a sloppier feel. Also, Ulrich has been shown to struggle with keeping tempo in several YouTube videos. It’s become a running joke during their live shows.

Ulrich’s finest hour came about in the song, Battery, maintaining a fast tempo for the Thrash anthem. However, he never evolved his style, and in some songs dominated the overall sound when it came to mixing the album (Nothing Else Matters goes downhill when Lars comes crashing in).