For a situation as serious as it has been, guitarist/singer Dave Mustaine has been relatively careful about what he says regarding ex-band member David Ellefson‘s exit from Megadeth. As many folks know by now, Ellefson was kicked out of Megadeth back in 2021 (following a sex scandal he was involved in).
After Ellefson’s exit, Megadeth tapped a couple different bassists to help out the band; at first, Mustaine shared that Testament bassist Steve DiGiorgio would be playing the bass parts for the band’s new album (which came out last week), and then down the road, he and the band announced that James LoMenzo would be the new Megadeth bass player.
During a recent conversation with Rock 100.5 The KATT, Mustaine was asked if LoMenzo was a “first” choice for him after David Ellefson’s departure; Mustaine then ends up speaking to the climate surrounding Ellefson’s sex scandal controversy and his departure from the band. Per Dave:
“When all of that stuff happened, I was pretty blown away. And I didn’t want to do anything to harm anyone; there was already enough stuff going around. So I figured, ‘You know what? I’m not gonna take anybody’s side. All I know is that for now we need to do something.’ The climate was just horrifying, to have something like that. So we parted ways [with David Ellefson]. And I thought about, ‘Do we get someone to come in as a session player? Or do I really, really, really go all in and start the search for a permanent guy?’ And we didn’t have the time. We had to have the record in — it had been two years since we started it and six years since Dystopia, so it was long overdue. And the idea for Steve came up. He came out and recorded [the bass parts for the new Megadeth album] – it was great.
As of recently, Ellefson provided some insight into his past relationship with Mustaine (sharing that Dave was “abusive”). You can find a link to that story below. You can also check out the full conversation featuring Dave Mustaine below.
Dave Mustaine Talks About What ‘The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!’ Represents For Megadeth’s Future
Dave Mustaine Says He Was Once Smacked In The Face For Listening To Judas Priest