From humble farm roots in Jackson, Minnesota, David Ellefson went on to become the bassist and co-founder of Grammy-winning thrash titans Megadeth, a member of the metal collective known as the BIG 4, alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Megadeth have sold over thirty million albums worldwide during their storied thirty-five-year career. Ellefson is also an accomplished author, producer, clinician, music-business lecturer, and entrepreneur, presiding over a global brand portfolio, including his own record labels EMP Label Group and Combat Records, as well as his global coffee shingle, Ellefson Coffee Co. His literary works include the music-business self-help guide Making Music Your Business … A Guide for Young Musicians (Hal Leonard) and My Life With Deth (Howard Books/Simon & Schuster), which was co-written with Bass Player editor Joel McIver.

Born in 1975 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Thom Hazaert is a celebrated music journalist, radio personality, music and film producer, artist manager, and A&R and marketing executive, known for his pioneering work in the world of lifestyle hard-rock marketing for gold and platinum artists including Limp Bizkit, Staind, Coal Chamber, Static-X, Incubus, and many more, as well as his own record labels, Corporate Punishment Records and THC Music, which have released music from artists including Primer 55, American Head Charge, Chuck Mosley, Malfunkshun, Ghost Machine, Switched, and more. In 2015, Hazaert became the head of A&R and operations for David Ellefson’s fledgling EMP Label Group, later spearheading the relaunch of storied metal label Combat Records. Hazaert is also a partner in Ellefson’s hugely successful coffee brand, Ellefson Coffee Co., and the marketing brawn behind Ellefson’s powerhouse umbrella of international brands.

Joel McIver is the author of thirty-four books and writes for several publications as a journalist. He is also the editor of Bass Player magazine. He has written for Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, and he is the occasional guest on BBC. Classic Rock magazine has called him "by some distance Britain's most prolific hard rock/metal author." He wrote the official biography of the world's biggest death metal band, Cannibal Corpse and co-wrote Megadeath's bio from bass player David Ellefson.