David Ellefson and the band he co-founded will be on the same stage in Louisville next week, about five hours apart. Asked whether he plans to stay and watch, the bassist was unbothered either way.
Ellefson, who has played bass in Metal Church since last year, appears with them at Louder Than Life on Thursday, September 17, the same day Megadeth play the main stage and Iron Maiden headline it. Speaking to Meltdown of Detroit station “WRIF“, he began with a story about running into Steve Harris.
“Well, I saw Steve Harris [of Iron Maiden, who will headline the main stage at Louder Than Life on September 17] on the Monsters Of Rock cruise [when Steve played the cruise with his side project British Lion], and he’s great. He just hangs out with everybody on the boat. He’s a cool guy, and he’s just very approachable, and kind, and everything. So, we were chatting a little bit, and I said, ‘Hey, I’ll see you at Louder Than Life. I’m playing in Metal Church now.’ So I was on [this year’s Monsters Of Rock cruise] with Ellefson-Soto back in — whenever that was — May, April, whatever it was,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
On his own position five years out of the band: “Look, to me, I don’t care anymore. I haven’t been in Megadeth now in five years. I’ve done so much more. My musical palette is wide, it’s full. I’ve got a whole new friend group and buddy group and I’m in a new tribe. And that doesn’t negate the music and all that. Obviously, look, I was just out for two weeks with [the] Kings Of Thrash [project] playing [early Megadeth] songs probably that Megadeth won’t be playing when I see them next week.”
Then the question itself: “Will I stay around and see [Megadeth at Louder Than Life]? Who cares? I don’t mind. Whatever. It’s not my band anymore. That group, as it sits now, is not my Megadeth. So, to me, it’s Dave‘s [Mustaine] band, and he’s doing his thing. And like I always said five years ago, I wish you well.”
Ellefson was in the band from its formation in 1983 until the 2002 breakup, and again from 2010 until 2021.
“I’m grateful for my time there. The band wouldn’t have happened without me. I’m a founder of it. I helped start it, me and my friend [early Megadeth guitarist] Greg [Handevidt]. And there’s a long story. That’s why on my podcast, on ‘The David Ellefson Show‘, I had Greg Handevidt on there so he could go back tell the story and sort of put some of the early pieces together and kind of tell the really full story of what really happened [when Megadeth was formed] rather than through any one of our singular memories, put it together. You try to piece together what really happened. I guess it’s kind of like a documentary. You get a whole bunch of people to weigh in, you kind of get the full, all the color. So, look, that was one part of the journey for me. And I’m always grateful for it. Like I said, I was out doing Kings Of Thrash, playing [songs from] those earlier [Megadeth] records, and fans loved hearing that and the way that we did it, which I think is pretty damn good. And so there can be both. So you don’t have to hate one in order to love the other. I never understood that. I have Metallica and Megadeth records… And I was in Megadeth. So, for me, why not? Why not have all of it?” he said.
Megadeth are working through a farewell tour behind their self-titled final album, which came out in January and gave them their first US number one. Ellefson was asked on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” on July 8 whether he would take part alongside other former members such as Marty Friedman.
“I never closed that door to that thing… When Dave [Mustaine] put the group back together, when he said he wanted to work again in 2004, I said the same thing. ‘Cause there was this talk of, ‘Should we do the Rust In Peace reunion?’, and that didn’t happen, of course. And then that was even revisited again in 2015 right before — 2014, I guess — which, when that didn’t happen, then we basically rebuilt the group and put out the Dystopia album,” he said at the time.
From there, he laid out the distinction that gives the story its headline. To Ellefson, the band simply isn’t the same entity when he’s not in it.
“But I said to Dave in 2004, which was the first time trying to put it back together as a band, which really kind of turned out to be more of a solo [project]… When I’m not in Megadeth, I always look at it like it’s Dave‘s solo band. That’s just how I look at it. And not that it’s good, bad or otherwise; it’s just different. To me, it just is a different feel than the Megadeth of Ellefson and Mustaine together,” he continued.
He went on to recall pitching a much bigger idea years ago — a reunion built around the band’s full history, drawing in several eras of the lineup at once:
“So, for me, I said even then, I said, ‘Why don’t we bring Jeff Young, Chris Poland, other surviving members, Nick Menza, even Marty [Friedman]? Why don’t we make it be something bigger?’ And what hit me on it is at that time ASIA and YES were doing that — to huge success. They were kind of bringing both bands together touring, because it was a very different world. Young bands like Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage, these guys were kind of owning the landscape. And thrash metal was, I guess you could say, was making a comeback, so to speak, in the 2000s.”
Ellefson likened the appeal to how Kiss fans gravitate toward specific eras of that band, the ’70s lineup, the ’80s lineup and so on, each with its own devoted following, arguing every Megadeth roster and album has fans who’d want their version represented.
“But I think now for sure, before you put something down of that size, especially with that legacy that had all these different members who were so key, and every lineup and every album of that lineup had its own fans. And we know this as Kiss fans. So there’s ’70s Kiss, there’s ’80s Kiss, there’s different versions. And they each get different fanbases that come into that. And so for me, yeah, if I were calling the shots, absolutely. But then again that’s me and I get along with everybody. So who knows how that’ll play out?” he said.
Dave Mustaine was asked by Guitar World whether former members would be invited onto any of the farewell dates.
He said at the time: “We’ve already done that with [former Megadeth guitarist] Marty [Friedman],” Dave responded. “And I mean, let’s look at the other people we’ve played with… there’s a lot of people. [Laughs] That would be a huge undertaking. I don’t think I want to do that. I’d rather keep doing what we’re doing and let the fans [experience] Megadeth music and be happy about it. It’s not ‘puppet show Megadeth.’”
Mustaine had touched on a similar topic earlier during a December 5, 2025 appearance on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” where he was asked if Megadeth’s last show could feature a lineup that reunites all surviving past members. At the time, he replied: “Well, I can’t really do that, because of the behavior of one of the bandmembers in the past. I just can’t — I can’t. Because, first off, it would be unfair to the other bandmembers if I didn’t play with them as well,” he said.
Reflecting on past collaborations, Mustaine highlighted his special connection with former guitarist Marty Friedman, who rejoined him on stage in Japan in early 2023.
“The thing about what we did with [former Megadeth guitarist] Marty [Friedman] in Japan [in early 2024], that was a no-brainer. That was brilliant. And I love Marty. We had our separation, and he went his way and we went our way. But it was a very, very intense relationship I had with Marty, because that was the first relationship I had with a guitar player.”
He also spoke about his relationships with other former guitarists, noting that while they were positive, they didn’t match the depth he shared with Friedman. “My relationship with [former Megadeth guitarist] Chris [Poland] was really great, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty,” Dave said. “My relationship with [former Megadeth guitarist] Jeff [Young] was good, but it wasn’t as good as it was with Marty.”
Mustaine clarified that aside from the late Gar Samuelson, he wouldn’t have an issue performing with most of the former members. Still, he emphasized fairness to the current lineup: “I’m just not gonna do anything that is gonna, in any way, seem unfair to the other bandmembers.”
When asked whether Megadeth would announce a definitive final show or quietly end their touring career, Mustaine admitted he’s uncertain. “I don’t know. I was joking around with our management and said, ‘You guys should probably book some fake dates at the end of the tour that I don’t know about so I won’t go out there on the last date and just blubber like a f**king 175-pound wuss.’”
Ellefson‘s first spell ended in 2002, when Megadeth briefly broke up after Mustaine sustained severe nerve damage that left him unable to play. Mustaine reassembled the band with an entirely new lineup in 2004, and Ellefson sued him for $18.5 million, claiming he was owed merchandise and publishing royalties. The case was dismissed in January 2005. He returned to the band five years after that and stayed until 2021.
He now plays in Metal Church alongside founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, guitarist Rick Van Zandt, drummer Ken Mary and vocalist Brian Allen, a lineup announced in November last year with a new album due through Rat Pak Records. He also works with Kings Of Thrash, Ellefson-Soto, Dieth, The Lucid and Metal Allegiance.
