In a recent interview, former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson revealed his personal preference for Metallica‘s original bassist, Ron McGovney, over his more widely celebrated successor, Cliff Burton. Ellefson made the comments on his podcast, The David Ellefson Podcast, explaining that McGovney’s work on the early No Life ‘Til Leather demo tape was a more significant influence on him.
Ellefson was clear that his preference was not a slight against Burton, who is a legend in his own right. “And it’s not anything against Cliff,” he said (as transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “Ron McGovney was more ‘my Metallica bass player,’ y’know? And it’s not anything against Cliff, because by the time I saw Metallica, Cliff was in the band. But by the time I saw Metallica, Kirk Hammett was in the band.” His connection to the band’s earlier lineup stems from a formative experience. Ellefson recalled hearing the No Life ‘Til Leather demo for the first time in Dave Mustaine‘s apartment, a moment that he said “kind of scared me.” He described the sound as “super heavy, it was kind of violent, it was fun, it was next level.”
He went on to state that the demo’s sound was unlike anything he had ever heard before. As a fan of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, including bands like Iron Maiden and the Scorpions, he found the No Life ‘Til Leather demo to be on another level entirely.
Ellefson also discussed the noticeable sonic shift that occurred between the demo and the band’s 1983 debut album, Kill ‘Em All. He pointed out that the tempos on the album were noticeably slower, and he particularly favored McGovney‘s bassline on “Mechanix,” a track that Megadeth would later record as “The Four Horsemen.” Ellefson explained that while recording his version of the track, he was thinking of McGovney‘s original performance. “I play Ron‘s line in ‘Mechanix’ with Megadeth,” he said. “In my mind I was going to Ron McGovney. Because to me, it was a cover song. It was Dave‘s song, but in my mind we were kind of covering the No Life ‘Til Leather version of it.”
