Physical Wellness

Nick Menza Cause Of Death: Why Megadeth Drummer Died

By Brian McNeill | Update Date: May 24, 2016 06:00 AM EDT

Nick Menza, the former drummer of Megadeth, died over the weekend after collapsing on stage alongside his new band, OHM. The group was performing at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California.

OHM was on its third song before Menza collapsed. Per TMZ, paramedics tried to revive him for 45 minutes before eventually transporting him to the hospital. He was declared dead on arrival.

"The group's bassist texted me last night after it happened," said OHM band manager Steve Bauer told CNN in an interview following word of Menza’s demise. "We are all still in shock."

As to the cause of death, BBC reports that Menza suffered from a “massive heart attack” on stage. He is survived by his parents Don and Rose and two young sons.

“He was scheduled to fly to my home in Cape Cod tomorrow so that we could finish the comic-book version of the book we wrote on his life, MenzaLife, both of which were slated for release late next month. This morning we are all too numb to think about anything but Nick’s family,” per the Megadeth website.

The unfortunate loss sees the passing of an iconic member who hit it big in the 90s. Megadeth was one of the “Big Four” bands at the time with the others being “Metallica”, “Slayer” and “Anthrax”.

Menza played with Megadeth for nine years and was part of the top albums like "Rust in Peace," "Youthanasia," and "Countdown to Extinction" which was the most commercially successful album that went as high as the number two spot in the US and number 5 in the UK.

Menza left Megadeth in 1998 after finding a tumor on his knee. He joined OHM just last year when the band lost David Eagle due to heart complications. With OHM, he also reunites with another former Megadeth member in guitaris Chris Poland.

Former Megadeth bandmate, guitarist Marty Friedman, also shared his sentiments on Menza’s passing via Facebook.

"We all know the great and unique drummer that Nick Menza was, but he was also a trustworthy friend, a hilarious bandmate, as well as a very loving dad.

Friedman and Menza jammed on three of the former’s albums in the 90s- Scenes, Introduction and True Obsessions. Menza also released a solo in 2002 with “After Deth”.

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