Demo album released in 1984 Vocals/Guitar: Dave Mustaine B-Vocals/Bass: David Ellefson Drums: Lee Rausch 0:00 : Last Rites / Loved To Death 4:18 : Mechanix 8:20 : The Skull Beneath The Skin
Lee was my drummer after he left Megadeth ,and was probably one of the fastest drummers of the time.Certainly the fastest I had ever played with.Dude was brutal.
William Lee Rauch (September 10, 1964 - June 23, 2023) RIP - Brutal Demo Ever! I know that this demo was recorded by Gar but I leave this homage to two monsters that went through that visceral time of the band.
Stunning!!! Fastest, angriest, most brutal and vicious metal record of the early eighties, and most technical of thrash too. Dave was the man back then.
A that time, there were more brutal, angrier, faster and heavier albums/demos released... Just look at bands like Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Bathory, Sodom, Early Death/Mantas or Mayhem.
@Jesse Vortex Sungte it's not though, it's just because the tape sped up over time, which is why the instruments are tuned higher and the vocals sound higher. Megadeth isn't known for playing their stuff live much faster.
Every first band demo tape, no matter who it is, always has a requirement that the bassist always has to be turned up to 100 Of course, I don’t know that for sure, it just seems like it
Fun fact: The recording equipment was so poor of quality that it actually makes the sound a full step higher. So, even tho the guitars are tuned down to 1/4 step from standard, the sound is a 1/4 step higher. I just tried it on my guitar, and found this out.
+zzzhuh I'm sorry, that doesn't have to do with the quality of the equipment. The higher pitch could be due to the fact that it was sped up. Or something like that.
eduardo0796 It absolutely does. The tape gets worn out over the years and causes that. Metallica for sure would speed their demo's up, and sometimes the vocals because James normally sang lower, and it didn't work with the tuning. Megadeth isn't known for speeding tracks up.
If you grew up during the pre CD era, you'll probably know that lots of cassette tape players had an artificially fast speed. My original boombox from the late 80's was like this. When I re-bought my favorite albums on CD, I noticed the speed was noticeably slower, and it seemed weird at first.
@Fred-fen Spinerir What it has to do with solos? The Slayer riffs are definitely more evil. Is there something dirtier than Venom? Ever heard NME "Unholy Death"?
Let's not get carried away dude. This is the start of Megadeth. That's all. Very good but you need to calm down. And I love Megadeth. Been a fan for 35+ years. The bands you named are all legendary. You sound foolish putting them down.
Dude, they're all great but this pre Gar drummer is insane, he's like a run away train. You can literally hear the demented speed freak anger pouring out of them all
Ikr?! Rausch is easily the fastest Megadeth drummer ever. Not as jazzy as Gar but had exceptional technique that puts him over Gar and every other MD drummer for me
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS demo. On a side note - I love when people conclude that KIMB is crap because of the production. That album was groundbreaking for me in the 80's as a teen. If you knew anything about tape trading in the 80's you'd know NEVER to expect a good production as what you were getting was usually 50th generation :)
I hate to tell you guys, but this is not Lee Rauch on drums, it is the late Gar Samuelson. Lee was their live drummer when Kerry was briefly in the band and there are a few live recordings out there, and I have heard there are some rehearsals also. However, this is Gar on drums. I was Gar's drum tech and friend for many year's and I can promise you this is Gar. Somewhere there has to be a statement from Dave acknowledging that, there must be. I don't know how the rumor started but I have seen this on almost every post for the Last Rites demo incorrectly crediting Lee.
@@Troy.Ritter I'm telling you I am not wrong. I'm going to message Dave and David and see if they will message me back something I can post as a quote.
@@Troy.Ritter This is a quote from David "There is some misinformation about the "Last Rites" demo. Lee never did any studio recordings with the band. The "Last Rites" demo that is out there on the web was recorded 100% by his successor, our other fallen brother, Gar Samuelson on drums. That three song demo was recorded as a three piece with me, Dave & Gar in summer of 1984. Our then-manager Jay Jones brought Gar into the fold shortly after Lee departed the group in April, 1984 as he funded the making of that demo during several late night sessions at Hitman Studios in Hollywood." ~ David Ellefson. I'm not trying to be a Know-It-All, I'm just trying to get the correct info out there. Gar was a good friend and I would be a shitty one if I didn't still stick up for him. RIP Gar and Lee.
I saw that Dave did post Lee recorded the Last Rites demo on his social pages. I don’t know why he said that, maybe he was referring to writing songs or rehearsals. This demo is the same demo they released as bonus tracks on the KIMBABIG in 2002. I know Gar’s playing anywhere. I sat on the side of his kit 100s of times and his fill placement and ghost notes are unmistakeable.
Thank you for that very cool. Do you know why Mustaine did not give credit on the bonus track demos of Killing is my Business? I mean I assume it's the same recording.
I first bought this demo at a Connecticut flea market back in '92. It had No Life 'til Leather, the Ride the Lightning Demos, "Day of the Saxons" by Witchkiller, and these songs at the end. Awesome way to end the cassette!!!
Wow, blows away pretty much everything else from 1984. I'm not a huge Megadeth fan, but those first two albums especially are some of the best metal of any kind ever made, and this is really amazing for 1984.
The fist four albums were brutal. With Rust in Peace being the best. They toned it down with Countdown and they completely lost me with Youthanasia. I think Rust is probably the best thrash album ever made, by pretty much anyone.
OMFG,this is some rare shit I've been searching for YEARS!!!! Just LOOK at the amount the bass is tuned to for Last Rites.Holy CRAP!!!And I personally love that low tuned ascending snarl at the start of Loved to DETH
You searched it for years? And nobody ever told you it's been available in its entirety on an official Megadeth record since 2002? The KIMB remaster mentioned above, in fact both of the remasters '02 AND '18 include the whole demo nowadays, of course the latter wasn't out when you wrote the comment. I just think it's weird you didn't find this sooner, but fuck it, it's three tracks of perfect, raw-as-fuck and FAST trash metal! So as long as every Megadeth fan hears it at some point in their life, it's all good.
Subwoofer Dildo It was supposed to be the cover for KIMB from the get go.. but Combat Records lost the drawing and as such, we have the laughable original cover.
@@tylercox1875 fast and angry: Venom, Exodus. Fast, angry and way more technical than anything else: Watchtower. Check their 1983 demo of Meltdown: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QciX28N-1Zk.html
@@tylercox1875Bruh do u even listen to metal. Death By Metal - Death, Death Metal - Possessed, Haunting the Chapel - Slayer, Both Hell Hammer albums, Morbid Visions - Celtic Frost, Bathory, Discharge
@@somethingfierce8859 Nah. Megadeth didn't start writing really good songs until Peace Sells. The Antichrist, Die By The Sword and Black Magic from Show No Mercy are better than any songs on Megadeth's first album, and the production is way better as well.
If these songs were recorded well it would be the version to listen to them. So much faster and more brutal. Dave just really leaning into that thrash style of shrieking in tone.
anyone else notice that this is the riff to 'four horsemen'. Dave Mustane made it when he was in metallica and when they kicked him out he kept the riff he made for this song.
Thank you ^ mechanix was originally a metallica song. Then they changed it to four horseman with different lyrics. Mustaine brought mechanix back with megadeth
+Carnivorous Mower yeah, I feel ya. I didn't pay much attention to my own wording on the first comment, I forgot the simple fact that mechanix did come first as a metallica song. released on their demo in 82' I forgot that it wasn't called the four horsemen back then, I just remembered that mustaine made the riff for it, he also made the riffs for alot of the songs set for the kill em' all but also remembered, (but didn't quite think about it originally being mechanix before the the title changed at the time I posted this) that this was the only metallica riff he kept for megadeth. lol my bad about the confusion.
I like the guitar tone on the demo better . I think Mustaine was using a Rocktron amp for the recordings on Killing Is My Business, even though it’s the same equipment, the first record was not properly produced.
I heard there’s a demo recording of Rattlehead from the same sessions as these three songs. If that’s true I hope it eventually sees the light of day at some point
Ellefson played with his fingers until around the peace sells - so far so what era, then he started using picks. But this isn't Ellefson playing anyway, this was recorded before the Dave's met.
You can hear hetfield sing the mechanix on metallicas no life til leather demo . The differences between megadeths mechanix and metallicas horsemen are 1 James added 1 riff 2 Lars said it should have a slow part and dave played sweet home Alabama as a joke but Lars liked it and kept it and Kirk wrote a solo for that part 3 dave had music called the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse , James wrote lyrics for it but later put them on the mechanix . the original 4 horsmen music ended up in the song ride the lightning ( the 3 riffs after the intro )
Nathan Brooks that wouldn't happen. Dave probably isn't able to play stuff like this anymore. And his voice is aged. Plus I think he said he didn't like their debut because it was a waste of riffs or something like that. But don't quote me on the last one. I may be wrong.
Well looks and sounds like metallicas first album was more of a megadeth album with guest vocals guest drummer and guest bassist the best thing that happened to Dave Mustain was getting kicked out imagine if cliff left with him
![Megadeth -'84- Last Rites [Full Demo Album]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
