MD.45 was the name of an obscure, one-off side project that briefly united the unlikely duo of Megadeth's Dave Mustaine and Fear's Lee Ving. When Mustaine found himself with extra time on his hands (as well as unused songs) after Megadeth wrapped up a promo tour for their Youthanasia release, he decided to work on tracks with Ving, also enlisting then-Alice Cooper drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (who would soon after join Megadeth) and Shrine bassist Kelly Lemieux. The group's name was derived from reversing the initials of both Mustaine and Ving's names (MD: Mustaine, and 45: Ving, since VL would be 45 in Roman numerals). 1996 saw the release of MD.45's lone release, the 11-track The Craving. ~ Greg Prato