Jon Zazula
Metallica Remembers Jon Zazula: ‘Heavy Music Lost One of Its Great Champions’
Metallica has paid tribute to the late Megaforce Records co-founder Jon Zazula as the band’s father figure, and the captain of the heavy music ship. Zazula died Tuesday (Feb. 1) at the age of 69, passing a year after his wife and label co-founder Marsha Zazula. “Heavy music lost one of its great champions today when Jonny Z left this world far too soon,” reads a social post signed by the four band members. Explore Explore Metallica See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In 1982, the message continues, “when no one wanted to take a chance on four kids from California playing a crazy brand of metal, Jonny and Marsha did, and the rest, as they say, is history.” Today, Metallica is arguably the most successful metal band of all time. They’re creators of the “most...
Jon Zazula, Megaforce Records Co-Founder Who Discovered Metallica, Dies at 69
Jon Zazula, co-founder of the influential metal label Megaforce Records, has died. He was 69. Alongside his wife and Megaforce co-founder Marsha Zazula, who died last January, Zazula was instrumental in launching the burgeoning thrash-metal subgenre that exploded into the culture in the mid-to-early 1980s. Through Megaforce, the couple put out early records by pivotal bands including Anthrax, Testament, Overkill and future mainstream superstars Metallica, whose first two albums — triple-platinum Kill ‘Em All and six-times platinum Ride the Lightning — were released by the label in the first half of the decade. “The world of rock and metal would not be what it is today without Jon Zazula,” wrote Megaforce Records in a tweet on Tuesday announcing his death. “Jon’s love of music and musicians...
