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TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS: 'To Me, MEGADETH Is Not MEGADETH Without DAVID ELLEFSON'

February 10, 2010

Vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, BEYOND FEAR, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH),who co-founded the metal supergroup HAIL! last year with bassist David Ellefson (F5, MEGADETH),has released the following statement regarding Ellefson's return to MEGADETH:

"I just want to say good luck to David... I hope everything works out for him. This is where he belongs. To me, MEGADETH is not MEGADETH without Mr. Ellefson!!"

Video footage of HAIL! performing the MEGADETH classic "Symphony Of Destruction" on April 27, 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey can be viewed below.

Speaking to Classic Rock magazine, Ellefson stated about his return to MEGADETH after an eight-year absence, "It literally happened over the weekend. And I can hardly believe it myself. There was clearly gonna be a change in the lineup, because James Lomenzo was leaving. Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH mainman] and I talked on the phone, and all the feuds, all the arguments we've been having over the years just melted away. It just goes to show what direct contact can achieve!"

Regarding how the whole thing came about, Ellefson said, "Obviously, I have no clue what happened within the band. But I got a text from Shawn [Drover, drums] and it just said, 'If ever there was a time for you and Dave to talk, now is it.' It's one of those messages you act on immediately. Typically of MEGADETH, things then happened big and fast.

"In all honesty, talking to Dave again was wonderful. It was the right thing at the right time, done in the right spirit."

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