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MD.45 | |
|---|---|
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1996 |
| Labels | Slab,Capitol |
| Spinoff of | |
| Past members | Lee Ving Dave Mustaine Kelly LeMieux Jimmy DeGrasso |
MD.45 was an Americanheavy metal/punk rock[1] band formed as a side project byMegadeth guitarist/vocalistDave Mustaine andFear vocalistLee Ving. BassistKelly LeMieux (of Fear) and drummerJimmy DeGrasso (of Y&T and on a break fromAlice Cooper, who later joined Megadeth) rounded out the band's lineup.
The band's name was derived from Mustaine's initials backwards (MD), combined with45 which is derived from converting Ving's backwards initials (VL) to their numerical value in Roman numerals which is 45.[2]
The band released only one album, 1996'sThe Craving. Many of the songs from the album were originally written forMegadeth, but due to the band almost breaking up, where Megadeth's guitaristMarty Friedman and drummerNick Menza at the time focused on their solo projects, Mustaine decided to start a side project instead.[3]
On June 24, 2023,Megadeth andLee Ving performed the song "Nothing is Something" live at a concert inTampa, Florida. This marks the only time an MD.45 song has been performed live.[4]
In 2004, while remixing the Megadeth catalog, Mustaine was offered US$ 250,000 by his-then record labelCapitol Records to re-release the album.[3] Mustaine omitted all vocals and harmonica parts from Ving. Instead, Mustaine himself recorded the vocals, and played guitar where the harmonica should have been. In his 2011 autobiography, Mustaine said:[5]
The change was an effort to entice interest from Megadeth fans who might have overlooked the original.
In 2020, Ving publicly spoke about his disapproval, saying in a podcast that he was never consulted about the changes, and Mustaine didn't contact him in any way.[6] The remastered version was released byCapitol Records.[2]
| Date of release | Title | Label | Chart positions | US sales |
| July 23, 1996 | The Craving | Slab Records | 53,000 | |
| July 24, 2004 | The Craving (remastered) | Capitol Records |
Two decades ago, Mustaine told Classic Rock magazine that "a lot of" the music on "The Craving" "was intended for MEGADETH, but every time I turned around, Marty [Friedman, then-MEGADETH guitarist] had a solo record coming out; Nick [Menza, then-MEGADETH drummer] had his own solo project. Y'know, was this MEGADETH or not? I said, 'You don't see me going off to play with anybody else. If I'm not doing it, then none of you guys are. And if I do it, then we all can — but I might not come back.' By the time I got into the studio with Lee, I figured it was a case of goodbye. But we got back together after a little period of time."
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