Nick Menza dead: Former Megadeth drummer dies aged 51 after collapsing on stage

Menza is thought to have suffered a heart attack while he was performing on stage at a Los Angeles club

He recorded drums on a number of the band's most successful albums, including Rust In Peace, Youthanasia and Countdown to Extinction

The former drummer of US thrash metal band Megadeth, Nick Menza, has died after collapsing on stage.

The 51-year-old is thought to have suffered a heart attack while he performed on stage with his band at a Los Angeles club, the Baked Potato.

Mike Simpson, a fan who said he was at the gig, said Menza had collapsed before the band’s third song.

“Thoughts and prayers going out to drummer Nick Menza," he wrote on Facebook. “I was watching his band OHM at the Baked Potato tonight and he collapsed on stage. Paramedics were saying it looked like a heart attack. Positive thoughts.”

The LA club posted on its Facebook page "RIP Nick Menza" .

Menza was the son of a jazz musician and started playing drums at the age of two. He joined Megadeath for the 1989 recording of Rust In Peace and played with the band for the next nine years.

Menza is associated with the group's most profitable and prestigious era, recording drums on a number of the band's most successful albums, including Rust In Peace, Youthanasia and Countdown to Extinction. He left the band during a tour for the 1997 album Cryptic Writings after he had to have knee surgery.

Menza joined current band OHM last year after the band's previous drummer, David Eagle, died of a heart attack and had open-heart surgery in May 2015.

Upon hearing of the news of his death, Dave Mustaine, the original lead guitarist for the band, wrote "tell me this isn't true" on Twitter.

Fans have expressed shock and paid homage to the singer on his Facebook page and that of the venue.

Allen E Hall, a friend of Menza, sent his condolensces to the musician.

"We lost an amazing talent and fantastic person yesterday," he wrote on Facebook. "Nick Menza was the nicest and most sincere guy you should ever hope to meet. He would take the shirt off his back to help you if you needed it. He had a passion for artwork, not just metal music. His tastes were far wider than that genre, which always irked his manager."