Watch NICK MENZA Play MEGADETH's 'In My Darkest Hour' Two Years Before His Death

A 2014 studio video featuring late MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza pounding away at the band's classic song "In My Darkest Hour" can be seen below. This is the final release from the "Menza Mega Video Vault".

Menza's official autobiography, "Megalife: The Autobiography Of Nick Menza" by J. Marshall Craig, was released last December via Post Hill Press.

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.

In the days after Nick's death, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine told Kerrang! magazine that, "The Nick that I know, at the end, I think that he… he went to heaven doing what he wanted to do: play drums. And I think that instead of us all mourning, we should celebrate his life, celebrate his legacy."

Mustaine insisted in interviews that he had a "very, very close" relationship with the drummer, despite Menza's public accusation that the MEGADETH frontman sent him a "ridiculous proposal" for a failed 2015 reunion of the band's classic "Rust In Peace"-era lineup. In interviews and public posts on his social media, Nick revealed that Mustaine refused to pay for him rehearsals or even recording the next record, and offered an insulting weekly touring rate. When Nick's attorney and management submitted a counter-proposal, Mustaine allegedly lost his temper and scuttled the reunion, changing his phone number and e-mail address. Nick and Mustaine never spoke again.

Nick rightfully earned his place as heavy metal's fiercest drummer during MEGADETH's 10-year peak at the top. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio before more than 100,000 people. The lowest point was being fired by Mustaine while he was still in a hospital bed after surgery to remove what doctors feared was a cancerous growth.