Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has revealed what he believes was the starting point of his final falling out with bandleader Dave Mustaine: a 2018 proposal that Megadeth should re-record Metallica‘s legendary No Life ‘Til Leather demo, a project Ellefson flatly refused to endorse.
Speaking on the latest episode of The David Ellefson Show on July 21, the bassist claimed that this disagreement over revisiting Mustaine‘s very public past with Metallica created a rift that festered throughout the making of Megadeth‘s 2022 album, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!.
“For me, it started in 2018 when Dave came in… and he said he wanted to re-record [Metallica’s] No Life ‘Til Leather demo,” Ellefson recounted (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). His reaction at the time was one of disbelief. “‘Are you kidding me? This is where we’re at? After all this time? We’re supposed to be writing a new album and new songs.’ And I was just, like, ‘I am not down with that.'”
He continued: “As fun as it would be to play those songs… I was just, like, ‘Yeah, I ain’t down with that.’ I’m sorry. I couldn’t kiss the ring for that one. I was, like, ‘I’m out.’ And so I think our problem started then.”
Ellefson described the subsequent recording process for The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! as “a terrible process” that he is now “glad to be away from.” He alleged that his contributions were systematically removed from the album. “It was spiteful, it was vengeful and it was hateful. And it was not my record,” he stated. “Every song I wrote for it got taken off — every riff I added, every lyric I added.”
The plan to reissue an expanded version of No Life ‘Til Leather, a 1982 demo that featured Mustaine on lead guitar, has been stalled for years. Mustaine himself stated in 2018 that the project was halted due to a dispute with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich over songwriting credits, which Mustaine claims belong solely to himself and James Hetfield.
Ultimately, Ellefson‘s bass tracks were officially removed from The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! in July 2021. He was later permanently replaced by former Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo. To this day, Ellefson says he has not listened to the final version of the album. “The record brings up bad feelings for me,” he admitted. “And not being thrown out of the band, but just everything about that record.”
