DAVID ELLEFSON On New MEGADETH Album: 'I Hear It And To Me It Just Doesn't Sound Like MEGADETH'

During an appearance on the latest episode of his "The David Ellefson Show", former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson commented on the fact that MEGADETH's latest album includes Dave Mustaine's version of "Ride The Lightning", the title track of METALLICA's 1984 album for which Mustaine got a co-writing credit following his 1983 departure from the band. Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The funny thing, [Dave] was mad at [current METALLICA guitarist] Kirk Hammett for playing [Mustaine's] solos [on the songs that ended up on METALLICA's 'Kill 'Em All' album], and now here's Dave playing Kirk's solos."

Ellefson continued: "I remember being at some party down in Orange County. And I think I remember the woman who owned the place. But that was Dave's haunts. It was Orange County. It's kind of where he came out of. I remember Ron McGovney was there, from METALLICA, the former bass player. He was there with his girlfriend. And it was a big party, and somebody there had the [then-]new METALLICA album, 'Ride The Lightning'. And we listened to it. We put it on. I remember Dave goes, 'They fucking stole my riff.' That [riff in the instrumental break before the bridge] because we had that; Dave used to play that in the apartment. [Early MEGADETH guitarist] Greg Handevidt seems to think that was actually in [the original version of] 'Set The World Afire' [the first song Mustaine wrote after being kicked out of METALLICA]. And he may be right. It may have been in that song. And then we had to take it out because they [METALLICA] used it. So, they clearly used a couple of Dave's riffs. Dave speaks about it now like they were all sitting in the room writing 'Ride The Lightning' together. I wasn't there, so I don't know the details of it, but it seems to me if it was really a finished song, it would've been on 'Kill 'Em All'. But it wasn't. It was a couple of years later. So, look, did Dave have a participation? Yeah, but it seems to me more like that song was sort of put together after he was out of the group. But again, I wasn't there. I do know this much: James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] is a very different lyric writer than Dave was. So by 'Ride The Lightning', you hear very much James coming into his own as his own lyricist, as I hear it. So there's that."

Ellefson went on to say that he has tried to give the new MEGADETH album an objective listen.

"It's funny, I, of all people, am not on the MEGADETH hate train," he said. "I know the fanbase is divided on this new album. I hear about it. Our singer, Chaz Leon, from KINGS OF THRASH, he's big MEGADETH fan, big Dave fan, and he tells me, the fanbase is a bit divided on it.

"I don't care. I've really moved on from Dave, from MEGADETH," Ellefson claimed. "It's all in my rearview mirror. I just did an interview with Guitar Player magazine where I just very clearly said, 'Look, I've certainly forgiven Dave for everything.' And life's moved on. I'm on to new stuff. That's five years in my rearview mirror at this point. And [they asked me], 'Oh, are you gonna be part of the MEGADETH [farewell tour]?' And I said, well, I'm not invited. It's like, look, if they called me, would I grab a bass, go play a couple of songs? Of course. It'd be fun. It'd be cool. But that's not what I'm sitting around going, 'Well, I hope they call.' Fuck that. I'm sitting here learning four other bands' [worth] of songs right now, including METAL CHURCH and 'Bass Warrior' and everything else."

According to Ellefson, he recently listened to an interview Mustaine gave to SiriusXM radio personality Eddie Trunk and he took issue with Mustaine's comment that " the behavior of one of the bandmembers in the past" stands in the way of MEGADETH playing the final show of its upcoming farewell tour with a lineup that could include all surviving former members of the group. Mustaine was apparently referring to his decision to fire Ellefson in May 2021 after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.

"I think it is ridiculous [to say that]… something I did was [so] unforgivable [that we can't play together again]," Ellefson told "The David Ellefson Show". "[It was] a fake story — fake scandal, fake story. Give me a fucking break. Fake news. So that's just silly and ridiculous.

Circling back to Mustaine's interview with Trunk, Ellefson said: "My heart softened toward Dave when I heard that interview, because I hear him. He's obviously in a very different part of his life. He's a lot older. Dave and I haven't talked in five years, and I don't sit around and read and listen to his interviews, but this is one that — ah, what the fuck? It's on. I'll listen to it. So, realizing I've made records with Dave, obviously, for almost 40 years, I can get kind of almost in the room a little bit with it."

Ellefson continued: "I do say this: I don't remember [hearing] any of the songs [that are on the new MEGADETH album]… I thought 'Let There Be Shred'… Look, [current MEGADETH guitarist] Teemu [Mäntysaari] is obviously a great guitar player. He's fantastic. He's a great player. To me, he's kind of the story of MEGADETH right now. He's the shining star of the group. I wish they would not Pro Tool Dirk [Verbeuren, current MEGADETH drummer] so much 'cause the guy can play, and he's got this kind of loose… We always said he's the closest to [early MEGADETH drummer] Gar Samuelson since Gar Samuelson. It's, like, take the guy off the fucking Pro Tool grid, stop quantizing him and let him breathe a little bit. He can play. Let him breathe. And so there's some of those production things that I — even on the last album that I was a part of until I wasn't… I was, like, don't lock everything to the grid, man. It's, like, let people play; let it breathe. Let it feel like the 'Peace Sells' album."

Referencing the fact that the original version of MEGADETH's "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" album featured his tracks on it before he was kicked out of the band and his tracks were replaced by those of Steve DiGiorgio, Ellefson said: "Maybe one day Dave will unmute my bass parts and actually put out the remixed, remastered David Ellefson and Dirk Verbeuren version, because I'm telling you, dude, there was magic in those parts that Dirk and I played on that last album together on that — I hate that title, 'The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!' Ugh.

"But I will say, I listened to the new [MEGADETH album]. I mean, look, Dave's got a new band. He's got a new sound. So I just sat and listened to it just as a listener, a fan even of MEGADETH and even of Dave's abilities. 'cause I am — I admire what he can write and do and stuff. you know. And one thing I will say about Dave — he writes a lyric that makes you wanna listen to what he's saying. Usually with heavy metal, it's like a bunch of riffs. Then the singer comes in either growling, yelling, whatever. You sort of check out — at least I do. Chuck Billy's [TESTAMENT] another one I listen to because he's such a freight train that you can't help but hear him and what he's saying. But Dave does write a lyric that you listen to it. 'Cause I always say, when you're mixing, when the singer comes in, everything else has to kind of step back, 'cause people wanna hear the singer. I mean, that's what women listen to. When they hear a song, it's, like, listen to the singer. So, to me, that's what you should do."

On the topic of MEGADETH's new album being billed as the band's final effort, Ellefson said: "I still look at it as Dave's retirement because I still think of MEGADETH as our band. I think it's a sin to just go off and claim it as his own. And look, at the same time, [there's] this woman who I'd done an interview with. And she tells me that she's also a psychic, and one day she calls me and we do some psychic reading. I'm, like, yeah, there's probably some… just like reading a horoscope to me, there's probably some truth in and around some or all this stuff. So one day she calls me up, and I don't know her. She goes, 'You know Dave doesn't want you on his last album.' I said, 'Yeah, no shit. He's certainly behaving like that. He's taking all my songs off, takes my bass parts off. Yeah, no kidding.' And now I'm not in the band. So on one hand it's sort of, like, all right, look, if the friendship is done, the musical relationship is over, hey, move on. And of course, getting to use the MEGADETH name, well, guess what? Now a million people pay attention to it. Try doing what the rest of us have done — go out under your own name, which I know he tried to do back in 2004 and everybody, they repelled back and said, 'No, we need this album to say MEGADETH.' … That's what's under contract here.. So he gets the the benefit of that. 'Cause I hear it and I go, okay, this is a Dave solo record. This is Dave and his new band, Dave and his new guys. It says MEGADETH, so obviously it gets all the attention, but realistically, I hear it and to me it just doesn't sound like MEGADETH. And that's just me — period. It sounds like Dave doing what Dave does, but with a different set of guys in a new day. And this is Dave's retirement. So that's my view on it in a nutshell."

According to Billboard, MEGADETH has secured its first-ever first No. 1 album in the U.S. with the band's final self-titled effort.

"Megadeth" debuted at the top of the chart after earning 73,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending January 29, according to Luminate. The bulk of that sum was driven by pure album sales (purchases of physical and digital copies of the album),totaling 69,000.

The follow-up to "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", "Megadeth" was released via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

MEGADETH also claims the top spot in Australia (highest previous position No. 2) and Austria (highest previous position No. 8). Other top five spots include No. 2 in Finland (and No. 1 physical),Sweden (plus No. 1 physical; highest previous position No. 9),and Belgium (highest previous position: No. 6); No. 3 in both the U.K. and Germany (highest previous position No. 6); No. 4 in the Netherlands (highest previous position No. 7); and No. 5 in both Italy (highest previous position No. 15) and New Zealand (highest chart position ever). Debuts in additional territories are still being compiled at press time.

"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!", sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown To Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

For its final album, MEGADETH once again worked with Chris Rakestraw, a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two LPs, the aforementioned "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH more than two years ago. He stepped in as the replacement for Brazilian-born guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who announced in September 2023 that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland.

Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

In addition to Mustaine, Mäntysaari and Verbeuren, MEGADETH's current lineup includes bassist James LoMenzo.