Megadeth’s latest album The Sick, The Dying… and The Dead! was one of the biggest metal releases of the year, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Former bassist David Ellefson, however, is not one of the many owners of the record, and insists he has no intentions of ever having a copy.
Ellefson parted ways with Megadeth in 2021 after a series of private conversations with a woman were leaked online, leading many to believe he’d been grooming her. The bassist has been involved in a variety of projects since his departure from the thrash group, though, and asserted during a conversation with The Metal Voice that he’s moved on.
“I played on [The Sick, The Dying… and The Dead!], of course I heard it… I heard bits and pieces of it as it was being put together — obviously, vocals and lyrics and things like that. I do not own a copy of the new one, nor will I,” Ellefson declared. “Honestly, once I was let go, I moved on. And I didn’t look back.”
The bassist added that he believes a lot of people were upset about the outcome of the situation, but it wasn’t the first time in his life that he was out of Megadeth.
“The first time, I’d only done Megadeth for almost 20 years, so when it ended, it was a pretty abrupt… the plane fell from the sky pretty frickin’ hard for everybody. This time I was prepared for it,” he admitted. “I mean, look, we didn’t work very much in the last five years I was in the band anyway — that album took almost five years to get it together and get it out.”
During the years it took to put the new Megadeth album together, Ellefson had already been working on other material, both for his solo career as well as with other artists, such as Ministry’s Al Jourgensen. As a result, he simply saw the dismissal from Megadeth as the end of a chapter.
“So it’s kind of, like, ‘Well, one gig went away. Oh, well. Next. Move on.’ I don’t have time to sit around and get all butthurt about it. I just fucking moved on. And that, I think, kind of just keeps me positive and moving forward.”
See the full interview below.
Earlier this month, Ellefson joined forces with former Megadeth guitarists Jeff Young and Chris Poland for a tour under the moniker Kings of Thrash, which saw them perform the albums Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! and So Far, So Good… So What! in their entirety over a span of four dates.
David Ellefson Doesn’t Own New Megadeth Album – ‘I F–king Moved On’
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