ELLEFSON On Life After MEGADETH: 'I Moved On And Am Very Happy With Exploring New Territory'

The Metal Den recently conducted an interview with former MEGADETH and current F5/HAIL! bassist David Ellefson. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

The Metal Den: What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about you?

Ellefson: Maybe that I should return back to my "former" band. Truth is when that ended, I moved on and am very happy with exploring new territory now. At the end of the day, my resume speaks for itself. You don't get that body of work unless you've actually earned that body of work. Nay-sayers be damned.

The Metal Den: Are you still doing work for Peavey as an artist relations representative?

Ellefson: Yes, I started that back in 2002 and it has been a really cool gig. I'm generally a pretty good people-person so it's been a good fit. I'd like to think I'm able to be very helpful to the company as well as many, many artists worldwide.

The Metal Den: You, like Dave Mustaine, are a committed Christian, right? Do you currently go to church?

Ellefson: I do go to church when I'm home but I rarely talk about it openly because so much antagonism surrounds the subject, especially in the metal community. For me, I'd rather "walk the talk" than always be out "talking the talk." I find the ones who poke fun at me for it are the very ones who probably need a little church in their lives!

The Metal Den: Let me ask , have you listened to MEGADETH's "Endgame" yet? If so, what did you think of it?

Ellefson: I have not heard it.

The Metal Den: Mustaine seems to really hate metal news sites like BLABBERMOUTH.NET and others. Do you enjoy these sites? Don't you think sites like The Metal Den do good to help promote metal music, whereas most music sites/magazines (Spin, Rolling Stone) don't even talk about metal music really?

Ellefson: I think when the general spirit is to promote the unity of metal, then it is good. However, when the spirit is to slag artists and entice the fans to throw us under the bus (hence cause division),then they are used with a wrong purpose.

The Metal Den: Did Dave Mustaine seem to always have a problem with his METALLICA days when you were around him in the past? He seems to dwell on it a bit still and blow up in interviews over the subject.

Ellefson: Not to dodge the question, but I think that is all pretty well documented now for quite a few years.

The Metal Den: Do you — like me — think heavy metal gets a bum rap for being this "Satanic devil-worshipping" music?

Ellefson: Well, rock n roll has by its very nature has always gone to the edges to rebel. That is probably why the church crowd and conservatives don't like it, because it is often directly opposed to how they view God, thus the "anti-Christ." Hence, rock 'n' roll being shunned by that legion of believers. To add fuel to the fire, certain metal guys rebel even further and take it out even more extreme and blatantly call themselves devil worshippers. I get the fun in that but at the same time when was the last time you heard someone at the Grammys or anyone in their life become hugely successful and give thanks to the devil?

The Metal Den: Let's change gears. How do you spend down time away from music?

Ellefson: I mostly spend time with my family. We're active in sports. I value my life as it is right now, in that I can choose the work and travel I want to do so I can be active with my kids growing up. I've had a great career and now I want to spend time with them so they are hopefully raised well.

The Metal Den: Do you watch reality television?

Ellefson: I hate that stuff. After a full day of reality, why would I come home and watch more of it?! I'm not mesmerized by watching train wrecks in people's lives, partly because I've worked really hard to get away from all of that myself over the last 20 years. I think most of them are sad and pathetic.

Read the entire interview from The Metal Den.