Nick Menza, former drummer for the heavy metal band Megadeth, died at age 51 after collapsing on stage at a Los Angeles club late on Saturday, 20 May, according to a spokesperson.
Menza collapsed while performing with his current band OHM at a club in Studio City, California, where he lived. A heart attack is the suspected cause of death, although an autopsy is yet to be performed.
Audience members and friends tried to resuscitate him until medics arrived, but Menza died 25 minutes after failed resuscitation attempts, in an ambulance en route to a local hospital.
Menza was the longest-serving drummer for Megadeth from 1989 to 1998. Megadeth was prolific in this phase- and recorded several of their most successful albums, including Rust in Peace, Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia.
Megadeth, founded in 1983, became one of the great four giants of trash metal in the 1980s, along with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax.
Menza played drums for many of the band’s hit songs, including the soulful Á Tout Le Monde.
In Tornado of Souls, it is traditionally Dave Mustaine, founder and guitarist of the band, who gets the most credit due to his guitar solo, but if one pays close attention to the drums, the genius of Menza can be found in his continuous shift in style and tempo, and the way in which he accompanies the rest of the band to perfection.
He left Megadeth after discovering a tumour on his knee while touring in 1998. After working on several solo projects, Menza joined OHM with another ex-Megadeth musician, the guitarist Chris Poland. The band played a fusion of Jazz and rock music, well suited to Menza’s unique style of drumming.
The news of the drummer’s death has been met with an outpouring of grief and condolences from the music community. Artists took to Twitter and Facebook to mourn the loss of the deceased drummer.
A shocked Dave Mustaine posted on Twitter:
Megadeth updated its profile on Twitter and Facebook with a picture of Menza and Dave Mustaine.
Marty Friedman, ex-guitarist for Megadeth paid tribute to Menza on Facebook.
Mike Portnoy, drummer for Dream Theater, also mourned his peer’s death on Twitter.
Sebastian Bach, of Skid Row fame, thanked the drummer for his music and talent.
The passing away of Menza is a huge loss to the metal and rock n’ roll community, which has seen the death of other great musicians like David Bowie, Prince and Jimmy Bain of Dio fame, in the year 2016 alone.
(With inputs from Reuters.)