David Ellefson Asked Megadeth to Leave His Bass Tracks on Their New Album
David Ellefson has revealed that he asked Megadeth not to re-record his tracks for their upcoming album with a different bassist.
The Metal Voice recently asked Ellefson about being replaced on the forthcoming The Sick, the Dying, and the Dead, for which his parts were already completed when the band fired him earlier this year. Ellefson replied:
“They did what they did. I don’t think they had to do that. I asked them not to. But they did what they did. It’s the path they chose.”
Ellefson also didn’t close the door on being in a band that makes money again reconciling with Megadeth in the future:
“Look, I don’t have — believe it or not; people might find this hard to believe — I don’t have any ill will toward [Dave Mustaine] or [the other current members of Megadeth]. I really don’t.”
Ellefson was, of course, fired amidst a sex scandal. But in the statement announcing Ellefson’s dismissal, Megadeth said that the bassist had “an already strained relationship” with the band prior to his dismissal. A couple of months later, Mustaine asserted that there’s “no chance” of Ellefson ever re-reuniting with the group. Point being, it seems as though Ellefson’s public embarrassment was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and not the sole cause of his firing. Assuming this was the case, Mustaine was probably overjoyed to be able to re-record Ellefson’s parts.
Megadeth replaced Ellefson for their recent tour with James LoMenzo (White Lion, Black Label Society, Firstborne, etc.), who was previously in the band from 2006 until 2010. It’s currently unclear whether his tracks for the new album were re-recorded by LoMenzo or someone else.
The Sick, the Dying, and the Dead does not yet have a release date.
Ellefson’s new band, The Lucid, recently released their self-titled debut via SpoilerHead Records. In addition to Ellefson, the band includes vocalist Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge), guitarist Drew Fortier (Zen From Mars), and drummer Mike Heller (Fear Factory).
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