MEGADETH's DAVID ELLEFSON 'Sensed That A Change Was Coming' Before DROVER, BRODERICK Quit Band

Australia's Maximum Volume recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Asked if he foresaw the departures of drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick prior to their exit from MEGADETH last November, Ellefson said: "I did sense that a change was coming, especially when they both did it together. It was sort of, like, 'Okay, they're obviously musically onto something else. And sometimes people do need to walk away and move into a different chapter of their lives in order to be clear and focused and give a new endeavor their hundred-percent attention. I went through a similar thing like that back in 2002 when MEGADETH disbanded. I was sort of forced into it, just because MEGADETH ended; I mean, it was over, it was done. So I was kind of forced to move ahead with that. Fortunately, I had those years for… I guess it was about eight years until I came back into MEGADETH, in 2010, where that process, being in different groups and writing songs with people and being involved in a lot of different endavors, it definitely helped me grow up, and I appreciate having done that outside of my main man, MEGADETH. And now, as I've come back into the group, MEGADETH is in a much different position."

He continued: "I think when we were much younger, it's important to stay one hundred percent focused on your band, and you don't do side projects or solo records. But, you know, MEGADETH is in a much different position now. Our legacy is definitely secure. If I step out and do another endeavor, people know I haven't quit the group, I'm still there, and I think people enjoy hearing some things that we do outside of our main bands…. from time to time — not always, but from time to time. And I think also it's a way that you can exercise a little bit of your creative liberties outside of the band, because if you don't do that, you tend to exercise that inside the band. And I think we've learned over the years that when people buy a MEGADETH record, it needs to sound like MEGADETH. It can't be, like, 'Well, here's some other songs that I really wanted to play, and I didn't have anywhere else to do it, so we put 'em on a MEGADETH record.' I think we've very clear that, you know, 'Okay, great songs, but save it for your solo project.'"

Ellefson was also asked to address persistent rumors of a possible reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup, featuring Marty Friedman on guitar and Nick Menza on drums. He said: "You know, I'm not gonna comment on any [possible new additions to] MEGADETH right now. Our first thing, and above all else right now, we're writing a new record. So there'll be a tour to follow, and that news will unfold on its own time, and we'll make the appropriate announcements when it's ready to do so."

Only hours after Drover announced his exit from MEGADETH on November 25, 2014 to "to pursue [his] own musical interests," Broderick revealed he also quit the legendary metal band, saying that he was leaving the group "due to artistic and musical differences."

Broderick joined MEGADETH in late 2007 as the replacement for Glen Drover, who left the group in order to focus on family life.

Shawn joined MEGADETH in 2004 as the replacement for Nick Menza, who had only just rejoined the group. Drover performed on four MEGADETH studio records: 2007's "United Abominations", 2009's "Endgame", 2011's "TH1RT3EN" and "Super Collider".

Interview (audio):