The band's name was derived from Mustaine's initials backwards (MD), combined with
45 which is derived from converting Ving's backwards initials (VL) to their numerical value in Roman numerals which is 45. The band released only one album, 1996's
The Craving. Many of the songs from the album were originally written for
Megadeth, but due to the band almost breaking up, where Megadeth's guitarist
Marty Friedman and drummer
Nick Menza at the time focused on their solo projects, Mustaine decided to start a side project instead. On June 24, 2023,
Megadeth and
Lee Ving performed the song "Nothing is Something" live at a concert in
Tampa, Florida. This marks the only time an MD.45 song has been performed live.
Remixing controversy In 2004, while remixing the Megadeth catalog, Mustaine was offered US$ 250,000 by his-then record label
Capitol Records to re-release the album. In 2020, Ving publicly spoke about his disapproval, saying in a podcast that he was never consulted about the changes, and Mustaine didn't contact him in any way. The remastered version was released by Capitol Records. == Lineup ==