MEGADETH's DAVID ELLEFSON: Why Reunion Of 'Rust In Peace' Lineup Probably Wouldn't Work

MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was interviewed on a recent edition of Australia's "Blood, Sweat And Metal" show. You can now listen to the chat below.

Asked what needs to take place for a reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup to become a reality, Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Here's the thing about reunions... Everybody wants to try to relive this glory day, because of what that period represented to them through that music. But you have to realize that it's greater than the sum of its parts; it isn't just the four people that recorded those songs. It is the darkness we were in, and then the clarity that we had getting sober and the people who were around us.

"That 'Rust In Peace' record is a story of a journey; it's really what you're hearing. That's why every record that we did with that lineup in particular told a different story, because we were in a different phase of our lives, [both] as individuals and together. And then came this point where that lineup just stopped making music together. There was no more harmony, there was no more melody, there was no more music together. And that's why that lineup split up. So to think that somehow that's just gonna all come back together… If it stopped working once, why would it ever work again? You know what I mean?!

"Life moves forward, man. Life is a verb, and it’s always in action. And music is just a reflection of life, you know. That's why I would say that the next MEGADETH record — whoever is gonna be on it — has to be able to tell the story of MEGADETH today, in 2015. Whoever that may be. Okay? And that… someone from the past, someone of the current day, that person has to be able to tell that story, and that's why…

"I know fans want to go see… Believe me, me and [former MEGADETH guitarist] Marty Friedman were second row to the KISS reunion in 1996 when they played in Phoenix, Arizona. Me and Marty were there together, as friends, as bandmates, watching our favorite band put the makeup back on and present to us the 1996 version of KISS 'Alive II' that came out in, like, 1978. So I know. And there's a part of me that said, 'Just lose yourself in the fantasy of being 14 years old all over again,' you know what I mean?! And I did. And then there's the other part of me that I looked at them and I went, 'Yeah, but now they're all, like, in the forties, and this is sort of just a recreation… There is nothing new being created here; this is just a recreation of past stuff.' So, believe me, I had that personal experience. There was the teenage fantasy and then there was the reality. And it's the same with MEGADETH. There's this teenage fantasy of [going] back to recreate some glory day versus the reality.

"MEGADETH in 2015, we can either go back and just recreate past glory days, which would probably sell a lot of tickets and we would probably make a lot of money. But MEGADETH has never been about just going out and making a bunch of money; it has never been about that — ever. So, to us, it's about creatively the next chapter of our story, and that's what you get when you go in the studio together — you get to write and create your next chapter. That is where MEGADETH is right now. That really is the page turner right now."

As BLABBERMOUTH.NETfirst reported on March 14, MEGADETH is rumored to have hired Chris Adler (LAMB OF GOD) and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro (ANGRA) to play on the band's new album.

If true, Adler's involvement with MEGADETH would apparently be limited to studio work only, and he would not be expected to join the band on the road to promote the CD, which is scheduled to be recorded starting on March 17 in Nashville, Tennessee.

MEGADETH was still finalizing the recording lineup for its new album last week, with the band's mainman, Dave Mustaine, tweeting on March 10 that he was "excited to be auditioning one of my final picks for my new guitarist today."

The band has yet to officially announce replacements for drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick, who quit the group last year.

Speculation has been rife over the last three months as to whether fans could expect a reunion of MEGADETH's classic late 1980s and early 1990s lineup featuring Nick Menza on drums and Marty Friedman on guitar.

Both Menza and Friedman indicated in recent interviews and online postings that they weren't opposed to rejoining MEGADETH, with Menza saying: "I'm open to whatever could possibly happen. That's up to Dave [Mustaine." Friedman, who was also part of the band's "Rust In Peace" lineup, said in January that he "would not be against considering" a possible return to the band as the replacement for Broderick, but cautioned that fans shouldn't "get [their] hopes up either."