James MacDonough (born April 3, 1970) is an American bass guitarist. He has played with heavy metal bands

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida, and based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist, ma ...

Nevermore Nevermore is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1992. The band was formed after three of its members — vocalist Warrel Dane, bassist Jim Sheppard and guitarist Jeff Loomis — ended their prev ...

, and

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

Career

MacDonough was part of Iced Earth's line up from 1996–2000 and again from 2001–2004. With Iced Earth he recorded: 3 full-length albums, an EP, a live album, and a single. In late 2004, he was recruited into Megadeth. James toured with

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Met ...

and the band for almost 2 years, appearing with Megadeth on the first ever Gigantour festival, the brainchild of Mustaine. He appears in Megadeth's music video for the song "Of Mice and Men", the ''Arsenal of Megadeth'' DVD, and (in cartoon form) the band's cameo in an episode of Duck Dodgers. He never recorded a studio album with Megadeth. On February 10, 2006, James posted a message on the Megadeth forums saying he was parting ways with Megadeth. The forum post MacDonough made was entitled "Hello Droogs" and contained the following: The next day Megadeth frontman

posted in the forums saying he had nothing bad to say about James and that he hopes they remain friends. On April 25, 2006, Blabbermouth.net reported that James would fill in for Nevermore bass player Jim Sheppard as he underwent treatment for

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

. James is a long-time fan and friend of the band (on his Megadeth.com bio, he stated Nevermore's ''Enemies of Reality'' as one of his favorite albums) and performed with them on their tour with

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish Heavy metal music, heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990 out of the Swedish death metal, Swedish death metal scene. Their lineup has changed several times, with vocalist Anders Frid ...

in the mid part of 2006. It was then announced on July 25 that James would fill in for Strapping Young Lad bassist, Byron Stroud on the end of the

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

tour, as Byron had to return to Fear Factory for European festival dates. As of November 2024, he has reunited with his former

bandmate Brent Smedley in his band called Out of Darkness.
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Bands

1996–2000, 2001–2004 *

2004–2006 * Out of Darkness(band), Out of Darkness 2024–present

Discography

Iced Earth

* '' Days of Purgatory'' – 1997 * '' Something Wicked This Way Comes'' – 1998 * ''The Melancholy E.P. (Limited Edition)'' – 1999 * '' Alive in Athens'' – 1999 * ''The Melancholy E.P.'' – 2001 * '' Dark Genesis'' – 2001 * '' Tribute to the Gods'' – 2002 * '' The Reckoning'' – 2003 * '' The Glorious Burden'' – 2004

Megadeth

* '' Arsenal of Megadeth'' (DVD) – 2006 * '' Gigantour'' (CD & DVD) – 2006 * '' That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires'' (CD & DVD) – 2007

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonough, James 1970 births Living people American heavy metal bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Megadeth members Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida Iced Earth members Guitarists from Florida American male guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists