Does DAVID ELLEFSON Envision A Time When He And DAVE MUSTAINE Will Play Together Again? He Responds

In a new interview with The Classic Rock Podcast, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked if he envisions a time where he and the Dave Mustaine can get back together and work on MEGADETH again. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I suggested that in 2004, when he was coming back from his hand injury, talking about putting it back together again. I said, 'Why don't we do…?' 'Cause ASIA and YES had just done it. I thought it was so cool. They brought everybody back — Steve HoweandTrevor Rabin. And I'm a Trevor Rabin fan. I'm kind of more of a fan of that era. But there's some that are the fan of the other guy. So, I thought, 'What a cool thing [it would be] to bring [former MEGADETH guitarist] Marty [Friedman] and [former MEGADETH drummer] Nick [Menza].' Nick was still with us. At that point, Gar [Samuelson, former MEGADETH drummer] was the only deceased member the legacy. And I just thought, 'Man, how cool would it be to bring everybody back?' Even if it was a tour, to just do something like that, because as the years go on, it's harder and harder to do that. I guess now they save that shit for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. Then they get everybody there."

Ellefson continued: "Look, the truth of it is we've all had a great journey. We've had our own personal journeys, our journeys together. Look, Dave's doing his thing. He seems happy where he's at doing that. Jeff [Young, former MEGADETH guitarist] and I are happy over here doing our thing [with KINGS OF THRASH and other projects]. And when you spend some years and some miles together in the yellow submarine, the tin can of a tour bus and hotels and planes, look, it's easy to get on each other's nerves. You just need some space. And especially, I think, as we get older and we've done it a lot more. As I told the guys [in KINGS OF THRASH] last week — we were on the bus — I was, like, 'Guys, I've been bouncing around in these tin cans for 40-plus years.' And it's fun… But for people that haven't done it as much, it's thrilling. And it's still fun for me, man. Get on a bus, lay in your bunk, lay in your coffin and go, 'All right. I guess if I die here, I'm just driving 70 miles an hour down the road tonight.' That's the journey. That's where the journey ends. That's the life of a troubadour, the life of a musician. So, I think for us to just be out doing what we love to do, and the fact that people still actually wanna pay us to do it, and still ask us to go to the stage, I mean, that is a real gift. It's a real treat that they still wanna hear that from us. So we're lucky that we all got to be in one of the cool bands, that people still wanna see and hear us do this."

A little over a year ago, Ellefson was asked by Loaded Radio podcast if he would consider returning to MEGADETH if he was ever asked again. He responded: "Well, look, I'm not the one who closed the door. [Laughs] You know what I mean.

"Dave's always gonna be my brother, man. And it's funny, when I think about Dave — I'm just walking around the house, I'm thinking about some moment in our friendship and our history together — they're usually fond memories. And look, brothers fight, brothers hug and make up, and that's the journey. As a musical gig, it's, like, oh, well, set that off. That's off the palette now. Clearly I've moved on with other things that you can see I really enjoy. So… whatever.

"I've talked to other friends of mine about this who have had bands, and they're in other bands where members have come and gone and whatever, and especially when you're a principal, key member and a founding member and all these different things, you have a deferent kinship to your fans.

"I always say this: when you make a record, you're making it for you. But when you put that record out, that record is for your audience," he explained. "And at that point, it now becomes bigger than you; it becomes bigger than the four or five or three of you, whatever are in the band — it's bigger than you now. And those songs are gonna outlive us. And everything about that legacy and the stories we just talked about here are now in infamy; they're gonna last forever.

"So, for me, you're part of a family. And look, should there ever be a family reunion? Hey, of course, I'll always take the call," Ellefson added. "But with that said, I'm not sitting around waiting for a MEGADETH reunion. Let's just put it that way. I'm very forward focused right now and I'm very laser focused on what's ahead."

In a May 2023 interview with Brazil's Heavy Talk, Ellefson was asked if he spoke to Mustaine "about a solution" before he was fired from the group in May 2021, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. He responded: "I got one call: 'You're fired.' [Laughs] And I said, 'What the fuck, man?' I said, 'Some shitty fucking people just dropped a bomb on my house. And that's it? It's not even true. It's fucking bullshit. And this is how you treat me?' It was non-negotiable. I mean, I asked. I said, 'I'm gonna take care of it. Let me just deal with it. And it will fucking be done. We'll be ready to go on the road in two months, and everything will be fine.' And it was. Because it was just false allegations and bullshit. But [Dave] didn't wanna know about it. I think he was getting pressure from some other people around him. And it's too bad it went that way. Because it was really nothing. I took care of it. And then once the word came out that I was fired, then it turned into this big fucking thing, which, quite honestly, was very damaging and very hurtful and not fair. I'm glad I don't have that fucking amends on my shoulder, because that was fucked up.

"Look, I have no choice but to have to forgive it so I can move on. I really don't," he continued. "So I don't know what more to say about it other than that. Look, at some point… The damage was done. So you move on. We're all human, and it is what it is. You can't lament it. I've watched how he's treated his dismissal from METALLICA, still bitching about it 40 years later, and I think it looks fucking pathetic. And it's, like, 'You know what? Fix you shit and move on.' And that's how I've chosen to deal with it: fix your shit and move on. And that's why I put out four records in the time the last fucking MEGADETH record came out, and I think every one of 'em are as good or better than the latest MEGADETH record. I think the quality… And part of it is I'm working with great people. Whether they're famous or not doesn't matter. I'm working with good people. They're safe, they're reliable, they're truly men of integrity, and I think that really makes a big difference. I feel safe around them. And the creative process is fun. It's not restrictive. It's unlimited. And so this creative explosion has happened. And again, listen, I'm not trying to be in 85 bands — believe me, I'm not. But it's interesting that there was this sort of post-MEGADETH season here where all these records came out. And rather than try to limit them and restrict them, I'm, like, 'Fuck it. Put 'em out. Let's go.' In a lot of ways, it's turned out okay. It's been fine. And I'm okay. People ask, and I'm, like, 'I'm okay.' It was kind of a weird ending."

Ellefson added: "I mean, look, I knew three things when I met Dave: one, our band was gonna be successful; two, it was gonna be a lot of work; and three, one day this is gonna end really badly. I just could tell. [Laughs] Even at 18 years old, a kid from the farm, naïve as I was, I went, 'Yeah, all three of those things.' And I was right: check, check, check. I certainly didn't see it ending like that. And part of me, I always kind of go, 'Is it really the end of the story?' I mean, look at how it ended in 2002. In 2004 and [200]5, we were in litigation over business matters and stuff, and I ended up going back to the band. So I'd rather not disrespect it and be pissed about it. These are things that you work out privately, not publicly. And the press liked to have a field day with it because it was good clickbait there for a season. But the truth of it is Dave and I aren't talking about it anymore, and that's why I'm not talking about it anymore. At some point, you move on. You let the music do the talking now."

Shortly before Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH, he released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders.

Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — released a statement on May 24, 2021 announcing the bassist's departure from the band. In the statement, Dave said: "We do not take this decision lightly. While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward."

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Mustaine, alleging the frontman shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.