David Ellefson Reacts To Megadeth’s Farewell, Expresses Disappointment Over Being Left Out: ‘I’m A Founding Member’

Reacting for the first time to the news of Megadeth‘s final album and farewell tour, former bassist David Ellefson has shared his complex and emotional reaction, expressing deep disappointment at being excluded from the final chapter of the legendary thrash band he “co-founded” over 40 years ago.

In a candid and wide-ranging monologue on a special episode of his own The David Ellefson Show, the influential bassist admitted that while he is grateful for the legacy, his exclusion from the band’s goodbye is difficult to accept.

“For things to sort of flush out the way that they did with now me not being part of the final farewell of something I started, as one can imagine, [it’s] probably not something I’m super happy about,” Ellefson said. He was unequivocal about his desire to be included in the band’s final run, asking rhetorically, “Would I like to be a part of it? Yeah, of course. Who wouldn’t? I’m a founding member of it. I’m a 30-plus-year member of it.”

Ellefson pointed to the recent Black Sabbath “Back To The Beginning” concert, which saw all four original members reunite, as the ideal model for how a legendary band should say goodbye. “They brought the original, the core four back, and they said goodbye,” he explained. “Not only did they say goodbye, everybody got to say goodbye to them. And I think when you’re doing a farewell, that’s important, that you get to say goodbye and everybody gets to say goodbye to you.”

The bassist, who was dismissed from Megadeth in 2021, delved into his long and complicated history with frontman Dave Mustaine. He recounted the band’s 2002 breakup, the 2004 reformation that excluded him and changed the band’s business structure, and his eventual return in 2010. He revealed that during his second tenure, he deliberately stepped back from songwriting to avoid conflict.

“Dave asked me, he said, ‘Oh, I’d like to have you write.’ I said, ‘You know what? No. Why don’t you write the songs? I’ll play bass for you. Let’s just keep it clean. Keep it simple,'” Ellefson recalled, stating that any time they tried to write together, “it was always a sore spot.”

Ultimately, Ellefson‘s reaction is rooted in his fundamental belief about the band’s identity and legacy, which he feels extends beyond a single member. “Well, I strongly stand against the notion that Megadeth was only Dave Mustaine, ’cause it wasn’t. And everybody knows that,” he declared.

While he acknowledged that he currently has “no say in it” and is just “one guy with an opinion,” that opinion is one of a “founding” father wrestling with the end of his life’s work from a distance, hoping for an inclusive farewell for a band he helped build from the ground up.