Former MEGADETH Bassist DAVID ELLEFSON On The Resurgence Of Thrash Metal

March 23, 2009

Rockpages.gr recently conducted an interview with F5/ex-MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Rockpages.gr: Being a key figure of the thrash scene of the '80s, what do you think of the current status of the genre?

David Ellefson: I like that there has been a resurgence with bands like LAMB OF GOD and other new bands who grew up on our music and are now doing something unique with it themselves. They were one of my favorite shows I saw last year… AMAZING! I'm quite burned out on the whole metalcore thing as I think most of those bands are all starting to sound too much alike. I'm interested to see what the third generation of thrash-influenced bands will sound like because I think they will offer yet a whole new sound to the genre moving forward. Keep in mind, I'm not one of these guys who says, "Bring back the old school," because to me life moves forward and I like to hear music progress rather than regress. Let's keep coming up with something new rather than always running back to our comfort zones.

Rockpages.gr: Name your all-time favorite thrash metal albums and is there a classic thrash record that is highly estimated and you can’t stand listening to it?

David Ellefson: I think, to some, extent MOTÖRHEAD were the coolest groundbreaking thrash band to really popularize the movement years ago and "Ace of Spades" was one of my all-time faves. I also like METALLICA's "Kill 'Em All" and all that they've done for the genre. Can't say there is one record that I absolutely can't stand, but like any scene, by the late 1980s, much of it was just being rehashed and quite honestly, wasn't all that good anymore like it was in the early '80s when it was really being created with such passion. It was like discovering a new and mass and we all just ran in and pillaged the place when we discovered it!

Read the entire interview at Rockpages.gr.

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