In his extensive review of Megadeth‘s newly released self-titled final album, former bassist David Ellefson zeroed in on the record’s most controversial track: a cover of Metallica‘s 1984 classic, “Ride The Lightning.”
During the latest episode of “The David Ellefson Show,” the founding member addressed the inclusion of the song, on which Dave Mustaine received a co-writing credit despite being fired from Metallica prior to its release. Ellefson was quick to point out the humor in hearing Mustaine perform the lead guitar work on the new version.
“The funny thing is [Mustaine] was mad at Kirk Hammett [Metallica guitarist] for playing his [Mustaine‘s] solos and now here’s Dave playing Kirk‘s solo, unless that’s Teemu,” Ellefson said (as transcribed by theprp).
Ellefson also took a trip down memory lane, recalling the specific moment in the mid-1980s when he and Mustaine first heard the original Metallica recording. He described a party in Orange County attended by former Metallica bassist Ron McGovney, where the needle dropped on the vinyl for the first time.
“We put it on and I remember Dave goes, ‘They f**king stole my riff.’ That’ dah-dah-dah-du-dah-dah-dah’ right? Because we had that. Dave used to play that in the apartment,” Ellefson said.
He noted that former Megadeth guitarist Greg Handevidt believes the riff was originally intended for the Megadeth track “Set The World On Fire,” but the band was forced to scrap it once Metallica released their version.
“And then we had to take it out because they [Metallica] used it. So, you know, they clearly used a couple of Dave‘s riffs,” Ellefson added.
While acknowledging Mustaine‘s musical contribution, Ellefson expressed skepticism regarding how the song was actually constructed, suggesting that the final arrangement likely came together after Mustaine‘s 1983 ejection from the band.
“Dave speaks about it now like they were all sitting in the room writing ‘Ride The Lightning‘ together. I wasn’t there, so I can’t, you know, I don’t know the details of it. But it seems to me if it was really a finished song, it would have been on Kill ‘Em All, but it wasn’t. It was a couple years later.”
He concluded by praising the lyrical evolution of James Hetfield during that era, distinguishing it from Mustaine‘s style.
“So look, did Dave have a participation? Yeah, but it seems to me more like that song was sort of put together after he was out of the group. But again, I wasn’t there. But I do know this, James is a very different lyric writer than Dave was. So by ‘Ride The Lightning‘, you hear very much James coming into his own as his own lyricist, as I hear it.”
During the same interview, Ellefson argued that the project feels less like a collaborative band effort and more like a solo vehicle for frontman Dave Mustaine.
“I still look at it as Dave‘s retirement because I still think of Megadeth as our band,” Ellefson explained. “I think it’s a sin to just go off and claim it as his own.”
He elaborated on his sonic impression of the record, noting a distinct departure from the classic group dynamic he was once part of.
“I hear it and I go, ‘Okay, this is a Dave solo record. This is Dave and his new band, Dave and his new guys. It says Megadeth so obviously it gets all the attention, but realistically, I hear it and to me it just doesn’t sound like Megadeth. And that’s just me, period. It sounds like Dave doing what Dave does but with a different set of guys in a new day. And this is Dave’s retirement.”
The self-titled Megadeth album, which features the cover, was released on January 23 and has since become the band’s first-ever release to top the Billboard 200 chart.
