Lee Rauch

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American drummer (1964–2023)

title: "Lee Rauch" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1964-births", "2023-deaths", "megadeth-members", "20th-century-american-drummers", "american-male-drummers", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "musicians-from-toledo,-ohio"] description: "American drummer (1964–2023)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Rauch" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American drummer (1964–2023) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist "]

Field	Value
name	Lee Rauch
image	WilliamLeeRauch.jpg
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth_date
birth_place	Marion, Ohio, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Lakeview, Ohio, U.S.
genre	Thrash metal
occupation	Drummer
years_active	1983–1987
past_member_of	Megadeth, Dark Angel, Wargod, Grimace
::

William Lee Rauch (also spelled Rausch; September 10, 1964 – June 23, 2023) was an American drummer who played in several thrash metal bands based in California from 1983 to 1987, most notably playing Megadeth's first live shows.

Career

Megadeth

Rauch's career began in late 1983. Former Metallica lead guitarist Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth shortly after having been abruptly fired from Metallica for "his problems with drink, drugs, and aggression towards fellow bandmembers". Brett Frederickson, Rauch's predecessor, briefly played with Megadeth in November 1983, while Frederickson was enrolled at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood.

Megadeth, consisting of Rauch, Mustaine, Slayer guitarist Kerry King, and bassist David Ellefson, began rehearsing in December 1983 at Curly Joe's and would rehearse there in early 1984 for their first gigs.

The band played their first live gig at Ruthie's Inn in Berkeley, California on February 17, 1984. The band played their second gig two days later at The Stone in San Francisco and also played a gig at The Keystone in Berkeley that April.

Megadeth recorded their first publicly released demo, Last Rites, on March 9, 1984, in San Francisco on a twenty-four track multitrack recording. This consisted of three tracks: Last Rites/Loved to Deth, Mechanix and The Skull Beneath the Skin; Metal Hammer states that the demo was recorded at Hitman Studios in Hollywood. The lineup on this demo is debated, with former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson claiming the lineup consisted of himself, Mustaine, and Rauch's replacement Gar Samuelson. Other sources, including the Megadeth website, a 1984 issue of Metal Forces, Samuelson would not join the band until October of 1984, though Ellefson recalls Gar joining around April of 1984.

The same year, Rauch would leave the group due to internal conflict.

Dark Angel and Wargod

After leaving Megadeth in 1984, Rauch would play for Dark Angel, another well-known thrash metal band from California; however, though Rauch did play live shows with the band, he never recorded anything official with them during his tenure.

In 1986, Rauch joined guitarist Michelle Meldrum's band Wargod, replacing Gene Hoglan who had left the group to join Rauch's previous band, Dark Angel. With Wargod, Rauch recorded their second demo, consisting of two tracks: Intimate with Evil and Burning Insanity.

Ultimately, Wargod would eventually split-up in 1987.

Grimace

Though it is not entirely clear exactly when, Rauch drummed in short-lived Missourian thrash group Grimace during the late 1980s. This band produced the song "Hell's Angel", which featured on their only recording, a self-titled demo.

Personal life

Rauch graduated from Toledo Whitmer High School in 1982. Though Rauch was no longer a part of any bands after Grimace in the late 1980's, he would continue to play from time to time locally in northwestern Ohio. Later in his life, Rauch also spent time as the owner of a local handyman business, as well as the church drummer at Indian Lake Community Church in Indian Lake, Ohio. According to his obituary, "He [Rauch] enjoyed working with his hands, gardening, fishing, and going to automotive races".

Death

Rauch died on June 23, 2023, at the age of 58. His cause of death is currently unknown, but Rauch dying has been described as "unexpected".

References

Taylor, Tom. (May 10, 2023). "Why was Dave Mustaine fired from Metallica?". Far Out.
(August 15, 2015). "A look into my past…". Drummersrule.
"Obituary information for Brett Douglas Frederickson". Heritage Funeral Chapels.
(March 21, 2021). "DAVID ELLEFSON Looks Back On Guitarist KERRY KING Leaving MEGADETH For SLAYER - "He Saw There Was An Audience For It, And The Bay Area Was The Holy Grail"". [[Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles]].
"Megadeth: First Band Rehearsals w/ Kerry King/Photos Posted Online @ Curly Joe's Studio, L.A. '83-'84". Full in Bloom.
"Megadeth w/ Kerry King of Slayer @ Rehearsal in Los Angeles (1984)". Full in Bloom.
(March 14, 2017). "Megadeth Plays First Show 31 Years Ago Today".
(June 28, 2023). "DAVE MUSTAINE Pays Tribute To Late MEGADETH Drummer LEE RAUCH – Farewell, My Friend".
(April 29, 2017). "5 Awesome Megadeth Live Videos You Need to Watch". Ultimate-Guitar.
(January 6, 2017). "Megadeth - Last Rites Demo 1984". [[Discogs]].
Hammonds, Steve. (1984). "Megadeath". [[Metal Forces]].
Wiederhorn, Jon. (October 12, 2023). ""We went through everything, from homelessness to starvation." Megadeth at 40: how Dave Mustaine's "revenge" on Metallica lay the foundations for a thrash metal dynasty". [[Metal Hammer]].
Wiliams, Stuart. (June 29, 2023). "Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson pay tribute to late Megadeth drummer Lee Rauch".
"Megadeth.com – History". Megadeth.com.
Kielty, Martin. (April 11, 2023). "Dave Mustaine After Metallica: 40 Moments for 40 Years". [[Ultimate Classic Rock]].
Cobanoglu, Cansu. (November 4, 2022). "Dave Mustaine's Remorse About Megadeth's Gar Samuelson". Rock Celebrities.
(1986). "Wargod - Demo 1986". Discogs.
(April 11, 2011). "GRIMACE LIVE:HELL'S ANGEL". YouTube.
"Grimace - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
"Official Obituary of William Lee Rauch September 10, 1964 - June 23, 2023".
(June 25, 2023). "Former Megadeth Drummer Lee Rauch Dies".

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