MEGADETH's KIKO LOUREIRO: 'We Pray Just Before Going On Stage Every Night'

In a brand new interview with "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show", MEGADETH's Kiko Loureiro was asked how David Ellefson and Dave Mustaine's Christianity is reflected in the way they work in the band. The 46-year-old Brazilian guitarist, who joined MEGADETH in 2015, responded (see video below): "Well, in many ways. The respect… In many ways… We pray just before going on stage every night, which, I've never seen that my whole career. I wouldn't expect that from MEGADETH. When I was a teenager listening to MEGADETH, I wouldn't imagine that before going onstage, we would pray. But it's very good, because sometimes it's tough, to be on the road, different countries and different situations. So it's always good to have this two or three minutes of only the band and saying something important for that night."

Mustaine spoke about "spirituality" during a 2016 interview, telling Honolulu, Hawaii radio host Dave Lawrence: "A lot of people believe that I'm into religion, because I had said that I had become a Christian. So let me just say that religion's for people who are afraid of going to hell, and spirituality's for people like me who've been there. And I say that there's a whole spirit world of stuff that… There's good and bad in everybody and in all things."

Those comments echoed what Mustaine said three years earlier in a chat with the Nashville Scene. He stated at the time: "I don't think that my faith has anything to do with my lyrics. I try and keep religion out of it. Frankly, for me, I don't believe in religion. I have a personal relationship with God and with Christ, and that's it. I don't push that on anybody; it's private. I kind of leave it there. Dave's [Ellefson] real open about it."

In a 2012 interview with Great Falls Tribune, Ellefson talked about how he and Mustaine renewed their interest in Christianity. "It's pretty funny, isn't it? When you fight [God], you have struggles and it's an uphill battle. When you surrender to it and you embrace it, that becomes like a jet engine that rockets you forward with not just great success but ease," he said. "All of a sudden, you're not operating from a place of always being so competitive and fear-based. You start to go downstream instead of always paddling upstream."

Ellefson also shot down speculation that MEGADETH would somehow incorporate its Christianity into its songwriting. He said: "That's the misconception that if you're a metal guy, you only sing about the devil, and if you're a church guy, you only sing about the Lord. What a lame stereotype that is.

"The only reason we talk about [our faith] is because people ask us about it," he added. "The MEGADETH tour isn't some crusade. We're not on some mission."

Ellefson, who grew up attending Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Jackson, Minnesota, re-embraced his faith at the age of 25, after going through a 12-step recovery program. When Ellefson later settled down in Arizona, he started a contemporary worship service at a church in Scottsdale. He called it MEGA Life, partially a play on MEGADETH. But it's also a reference to a verse from the Gospel of John: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."