David Ellefson recently shed light on the circumstances that led to drummer Nick Menza’s departure from Megadeth. He shared details from a pivotal moment during the band’s 1998 tour in an interview on the David Ellefson Podcast.
Ellefson recalled a specific performance at Mesa Amphitheatre on June 6, 1998, just before the band was set to perform at Ozzfest. During this show, Ellefson noticed that Menza was not performing at his usual level. He appeared fatigued and disconnected from the stage.
“We were on a short little run of dates, and then we were going to go right into Ozzfest ’98,” Ellefson said. “Which was big, obviously. We played the Mesa Amphitheatre, which was hometown for Megadeth. And I remember there was a moment during ‘In My Darkest Hour’, there’s these little breaks. And I’d go back to Nick, and we’d kind of rock out together. And I went back there…and he was sleeping most of the day. He wasn’t really ‘alive’ on stage in his normal fashion. It was laborious in effort.”
After witnessing Menza’s performance that night, Ellefson made the difficult decision that a lineup change was necessary. He wanted to ensure the band’s upcoming tour would be successful.
“I went back to Nick and he just was not there. In fact, I remember he’s playing, he kind of looked over at me like, ‘What are you doing here dude?’ And I was like, ‘Oh shit.’ Now, all of a sudden, I was going, ‘You know what? We got to make a change. This is gonna be a bad summer if we go like that,'” Ellefson continued. “And that’s not to shame Nick in any way. Things happen that way.”
Menza was dealing with significant personal health issues at the time, beyond the immediate performance concerns. According to Ellefson, Menza was struggling with knee problems and faced uncertainty about a potential serious diagnosis.
“This hits drummers first and the hardest,” Ellefson noted. “Nick has talked about that we even talked about it in this documentary movie that we did, and his sister Donia weighed on it too; he had problems with his knee. He thought it might be cancer, because there was a diagnosis done that he needed to come in for some more X-rays and stuff. So there was stuff weighing on him.”
The decision to part ways with Menza was more complex than a simple performance issue. Blabbermouth reported that Menza underwent surgery in 1998 to remove a growth from his knee. Doctors initially feared it might be cancerous, though it was later determined to be benign. This medical emergency occurred during a critical period for the band, just as they were preparing for their summer tour schedule.
The timing of Menza’s departure remains a point of contention in the band’s history. Ultimate Metal documented that Menza claimed he was fired by Dave Mustaine while still recovering in a hospital bed. This occurred just two days after undergoing surgery to address what doctors feared could be a cancerous growth. This account differs from the narrative of a mutual decision, highlighting the difficult circumstances surrounding his exit from the band.
Menza’s departure marked the end of what many consider Megadeth’s classic lineup era. KQED noted that Menza had been with the thrash metal band during their most celebrated period from 1989 to 1998. He contributed to some of their most iconic albums and performances. After leaving Megadeth, Menza pursued interests in jazz and became an accomplished woodworker. He eventually passed away in 2016 after collapsing on stage during a performance.
Ellefson’s recent podcast explanation provides additional context to a departure that has been discussed and debated among Megadeth fans for over two decades. The bassist emphasized that the decision was made with the band’s best interests in mind. However, the full picture reveals a drummer struggling with both physical limitations and serious health concerns during one of the most demanding periods of his career.
