1.7.2008 - Band name?

How did you come up with your band's name? Megadeth... personally not the first thing that i would think of as a name for a band. i heard Dave toured as "Vic & the Rattleheads" or something like that, but that's all i really know Alex

What's in a name? Well, in this case, after Dave Mustaine's untimely departure from his former band, Metallica, he was on a four day cross country bus ride home to the bay area and was jotting down some lyrics on the back of a handbill to pass the time. The pamphlet was from California Senator Alan Cranston and was a political discussion of the dangers of nuclear armament. One quote said "The arsenal of megadeath can't be rid no matter what the peace treaties come to." This line also influenced the lyrics to "Set the World Afire". A Megadeath is the death of one million people attributed to a nuclear blast. Drop the second "A" and you got a pretty sweet powerful name for a new speed metal band. Incidentally, The Megadeaths was also the original name of the band the preceded Pink Floyd, which took its eventual name from two bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council to acknowledge its bluesey roots. I'll direct you to my column dated 3-7-05 available in the Scorpion Archives for an explanation of Vic & The Rattleheads.

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