Former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza dies after collapsing on stage at Baked Potato jazz club
Musician was said to have suffered a heart attack while performing with his band OHM
THRASH metal band Megadeth's former drummer Nick Menza has died after collapsing on stage at a Los Angeles jazz club.
The 51-year-old is thought to have suffered a heart attack during one of his regular sessions with his band OHM.
Menza's management issued a statement confirming his death: "Nick collapsed during the third song into a set with his band OHM.
"Earliest reports indicate he suffered a massive heart attack and was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital.”
Dave Mustaine, who co-founded Megadeth, said that on Twitter that we awoke to the news at 4am this morning.
He tweeted: "Tell me this isn't true."
Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman paid tribute and said: “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.
"I’m beyond sad, did not see this coming at all. RIP Brother.”
J Marshall Craig, Menza's biographer wrote: “We ask for prayers for Nick’s family, his family, and especially his two sons and their mother, Teri.
"He just spent nearly two weeks with the boys in the Pacific north-west and was absolutely glowing.
"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.”
Menza, the son of a jazz musician, played with Megadeth on several of the band's most successful albums in the 90s.
He left the band when he had to have knee surgery during a tour for the 1997 album Cryptic Writings.