The life of late Megadeth drummer, Nick Menza, was celebrated with a special live stream on Saturday, May 21st - marking the sixth anniversary of Menza's passing. That live stream is available to view below.
Executive producer and film director Holly Mollohan from Screaming Butterfly Entertainment, and co-producer David Ellefson, hosted a celebration of the late drummer's life, as they answered viewer questions during a Q&A session on the making of the upcoming feature-length Nick Menza documentary film, This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza.
The event also featured a few special mystery guest musicians involved with the writing and recording of the film's soundtrack. These newly written songs feature previously recorded drum tracks by Nick Menza, and what's known to be his final studio drum recordings.
This Was My Life will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza's legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life Including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic Rust In Peace lineup.
This Was My Life will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.
The soundtrack will feature a very diverse posthumous album worth of heavy music that will consist of 8-9 tracks from Nick's un-earthed / un-released drum riffs late drummer recorded for a project he started working on between 2013 / 2015. David Ellefson will play bass on a few of the tracks and will also helm the position as executive producer.
The cover photo for the film was shot by Los Angeles music photographer Alex Solca and designed by Brazilian artwork designer Alcides Burn of Burn Artworks.
Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at the Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Nick rightfully earned his place as one of heavy metal's fiercest drummers during Megadeth's 10-year commercial peak. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio in 1991 before more than 100,000 people.
