Megadeth may be sidelined right now while main man Dave Mustaine battles throat cancer, but bassist David Ellefson has plenty else on his plate to keep him busy. For one, he has his side-project supergroup duo Altitudes & Attitude with Anthrax’s Frank Bello, and for two, Ellefson is about to release his first-ever solo album, Sleeping Giants, due July 16th via Combat Records. The LP will serve as a companion piece to the bass player’s forthcoming memoir, More Life With Deth, and feature an array of new material as well as unreleased tracks and demos from projects including F5, Ellefson’s band with former Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. The record also boasts a slew of eclectic guest stars including DMC of Run-DMC, Armored Saint/former Anthrax singer John Bush, Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti, ex–Guns N’ Roses guitarist Bumblefoot, and actor and DJ Kristian Nairn, a.k.a. Game of Thrones’ Hodor, who contributed a remix of lead-off track “Vultures.”
Today (June 28th), Ellefson offered up the lead single from Sleeping Giants, the ripping “Hammer Comes Down.” The thrashing number finds the bass player joined by Thom Hazaert and Eric AK on vocals, Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti and ex-Megadeth member Chris Poland and Sacred Reich’s Joey Radziwill contributing guitar work, and former Machine Head/current Sacred Reich skinsman Dave McClain on drums. Check it out below.
For Ellefson, check out our recent interviews with him, on his standout shows, and on his go-to songs for every mood.
