Who Really Named Megadeth? Band's Original Guitarist Refutes Dave Mustaine's Account

Original Megadeth guitarist Greg Handevidt has refuted Dave Mustaine's account of how the band got their name, claiming he was the one who suggested the moniker and its unconventional spelling.

Handevidt shared his side of the story in a new episode of The David Ellefson Show, which you can watch below.

Greg Handevidt Recalls How Megadeth Got Their Name

Megadeth briefly performed under the name Fallen Angels, though it didn't take long for that to change. "We were sitting down in our little apartment, and Dave had read a pamphlet by Senator Alan Cranston talking about the 'arsenals of megadeath,' and I think that really triggered something in him about nuclear war and just how devastating it was and everything," said Handevidt, who played with the band in 1983.

"And I remember thinking, 'Holy shit, the arsenals of megadeath.' And he had that line in the lyrics [of "Megadeath," later renamed "Set the World Afire" and released in 1988]. And it just occurred to me: 'Megadeath.' I'm like, 'That would be a cool name for a band.'"

Although Handevidt liked the name, he thought it needed an adjustment to be more palatable. "And I sat down, and at the time — and I still kind of feel this way, although my attitude about it sort of softened — but I was like, 'Do you really want the word "death" in the name of your band? Do you really want that?' It seemed kind of negative-karma-ey to me back then; that's what sort of was in my head."

He continued: "So I sat down and I just wrote it out as one word and I dropped the 'A' out, and I just wrote it on a piece of paper and I was like, 'I think this is cool. We could call the band Megadeth. One word. We take out the 'A'. It's unique. It doesn't have any sort of dark connotation around it. And I think people would see it and not be put off. It wouldn't put people off.'"

Watch Greg Handevidt Recall How Megadeth Got Their Name

Handevidt, who formed the thrash band Kublai Khan after leaving Megadeth, said he was thinking of the band's commercial prospects when he suggested dropping the second "A" from the name.

"I'm not sure Capitol Records was ready to sign a band called 'Death' at the time," he explained. "And maybe, maybe not. But even after all this, and I came back and I formed Kublai Khan and we were shopping demos around, we kept getting stuff back sent to us saying, 'This is way too heavy. This isn't commercially acceptable. We can't sign you. This would never sell.'"

Handevidt also said it took Mustaine a little while to warm up to the name change. "Dave didn't like it at first. It took him a couple of days," he said. "And then I remember a couple of days later he came back and he was like, 'Yeah, you know, this is growing on me.' And that's how it came about. That's the story. It was a quick little thing."

Dave Mustaine's Account of How Megadeth Got Their Name

Mustaine didn't credit Handevidt with naming Megadeth — but, impressively, he also didn't credit himself. In the bandleader's 2010 book Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir, Mustaine gave the honor to Megadeth's short-lived vocalist Lawrence "Lor" Kane.

"In the beginning, I was skeptical about my own singing ability, so we brought in a vocalist named Lawrence 'Lor' Kane," Mustaine wrote. "Lor wasn't in the band long, but give credit where credit is due: It was Lor who suggested Megadeth as the band's name. It happened when we were driving around one night, talking about finding exactly the right moniker. Lor knew I had already written a song entitled 'Megadeth' ['Set the World Afire'] and thought it would work equally well as a band name. And he was right. So, thanks for that, Lor."

The Senate Pamphlet That Inspired Megadeth's Name

The aforementioned pamphlet that inspired the name Megadeth came from California Senator Alan Cranston, who was concerned about the dangers of nuclear armament. "The arsenal of megadeath can't be rid no matter what the peace treaties come to," Cranston wrote.

This pamphlet caught Mustaine's eye during his cross-country bus trip back to the Bay Area after he was fired from Metallica. He repurposed Cranston's warning in the lyrics to "Set the World Afire," singing: "The arsenal of megadeath can't be rid they said / And if it comes, the living will envy the dead."